The first trailer, which debuted ahead of Five Nights at Freddy's: Filmul (2023), was composed almost entirely of sound effects played over a blank screen, prompting viewers to conjure images in their minds.
The family settle into a house on Elm Street in Springwood, a nod to Cosmar pe Strada Ulmilor (1984) franchise, another "imaginary" villain proved to be real.
Director Jeff Wadlow has named Poltergeist (1982) as an influence on this film, remarking, "It strikes the right balance between frights and a gentle sense of wonder, excitement and emotion that comes with having a family you care about."
Pyper Braun's character is called Alice, a nod to the famed "Alice in Wonderland" tale by Lewis Carroll, first published in 1865 and frequently adapted for film and television. Like her literary namesake, Alice is carried into an alternate world inhabited by fantastical creatures.
After Jessica, Taylor and Gloria enter the NeverEver world in search of Alice, a sweeping panoramic shot depicts it as an inverted landscape. This serves as an homage to Labyrinth (1986), specifically the final confrontation between Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) and Jareth (David Bowie). The visual design of both worlds draws on the works of Dutch author and mathematician M.C. Escher.
The film Taylor and Liam are watching on the telly is Warm Bodies.
The scavenger hunt entries on Alice's list are: "Something Happy. Something that burns. A bowl. A paintbrush. A lock of hair. Something that scares you. Something that you would get in BIG trouble for. Something that makes you MAD. Something that HURTS." These are slightly different from the items on Jessica's list, which appear written on the wall in both her dream and her childhood bedroom. The readable entries from Jessica's list are: "Something to paint. Somethin that burns. Something u eat from. Somethin that makes u happee. Some peez of you. Something that makes you mad."
