While I don’t participate often, I like the idea of viral content for a movie. The movie should still speak for itself, but done right the viral content can have an impact on potential audience members in a way that trailers don’t. For people on the fence about going to see it, the right viral marketing can get those could-be fans excited. That being said, bad viral marketing can scream of trying too hard and can detract from any hype your movie might have before it comes out.

So today the upcoming movie Looper came out with what they’re calling an interactive trailer. Curious at just how interactive it was, I gave it a chance. The thing is, it isn’t all that interactive. You’re essentially watching a longer version of the initial trailer, with a handful of special behind-the-scenes videos unlocked a little at a time. You can either choose to pause the video and check out the extra content right away or watch the whole trailer and then click on the extras.

The videos are OK, the other extra I had trouble opening but there was also a kind of cool question you had to answer with each level … usually a what if having to do with the movie’s themes, including “Would you trust your future self to tell you the truth?” So yeah, that was cool. Anyway, you look at enough content and you unlock a “special message” from the writer/director which mostly told me that they have Facebook and Twitter accounts. However, there’s apparently a larger viral game going on and he gives a code for the game.

As for the trailer itself, the one thing I noticed was how much they made Joseph Gordon-Levitt look like Bruce Willis. It’s subtle, but looking at the whole trailer it’s uncanny how they’ve made it that much more convincing that they’re both the same person. And speaking of JGL, if you’re a fan of Gordon-Levitt then make sure to check out the interview clips of him in the interactive trailer.