Brace yourself for giant fireballs . . . of hype?

A trailer for a mysterious and untitled new film produced by "Lost" co-creator J.J. Abrams -- with tie-ins to enigmatic Web sites -- is becoming the latest film to go the viral marketing route, using fan message boards, intrigue and word-of-mouth to generate buzz about the movie, much like "The Blair Witch Project" did eight years ago.

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The campaign is testing new waters for viral marketing -- with fans dissecting every frame of the 90-second trailer on YouTube -- but time will tell if it leads to commercial success. Similar hype led to a commercial windfall for "Blair Witch" but to dudville for last year's Internet-hyped "Snakes on a Plane."

The preview clip, being shown before screenings of "Transformers," begins with the logo of Bad Robot, Abrams' television and movie production company.

Shot verite-style with hand-held cameras, the clip joins a bunch of raucous 20-somethings at a going-away party in New York City. Abruptly, the lights go out and fiery explosions and a monstrous roar go off in the distance. The party-goers run to a rooftop and then a chaotic Manhattan street amid the fireballs and chaos when -- right before the trailer ends -- the head of the Statue of Liberty crashes into the pavement.

The screen then says "From producer J.J. Abrams" and "In theaters 1-18-08." There is no title, no voiceover -- only a credit screen saying it's directed by Matt Reeves ("Felicity") and written by Drew Goddard ("Lost" and "Alias") -- all who have partnered with Abrams on those TV productions.

Within hours of the "Transformers" premiere July 3, camera-phone movies of the clip started appearing on YouTube, which naturally gave Paramount Pictures (which has a production deal with Bad Robot) the publicity coup of having the clips removed.

Attention next went to www.1-18-08.com, which was bare except for two photos: one of the party in full swing, time-stamped at 12:01 a.m. Jan. 18, and another of two tear-stained women looking heavenward at 12:36.

Thus began the marketing for a movie without a name or any known stars -- with a trailer that did not spell out every plot twist and joke, as many these days do -- more than six months before its debut. And it started with a boom on Web message boards, where Abrams' "Lost" also cemented its place with fans.

"J.J. Abrams is a genius at this thing evolving right now," said Drew McWeeny, West Coast editor of the Web site Ain't It Cool News, who first wrote about the trailer.

"It all boils down to the philosophy of Disneyland. The ride doesn't start when you sit down on the ride; it starts 45 minutes before when you walk in. ... J.J. Abrams is doing that more and more -- extending the experience outside the film or the television show or whatever he's producing."

Such viral campaigns -- which depend on word-of-mouth and fan participation for success -- are becoming common. Steven Spielberg's "AI" (2001) was promoted with its own mysterious trailer and online video game. The latest Nine Inch Nails album, "Year Zero," was marketed by Web clues on NIN merchandise and USB drives found at band concerts.

Abrams himself has used fake ads to promote Web tie-ins to a "Lost" game. And while he is directing the big-budget return of "Star Trek" to the silver screen, his production deal with Paramount also calls for a slate of relatively small, $25 million movies -- the kind that take well to inexpensive viral promotion campaigns and fan interaction.

Since the latest Abrams trailer hit, fans have posted homemade parodies of the clip (dubbed "1-18-08") on YouTube, as well as 10-minute-long discussions of possible clues in the preview, replete with Google Maps plotting the site of the rooftop party and buildings damaged in the trailer.

Fans watching it in slow-motion saw an actor wearing a T-shirt saying "Slusho." That led to another Web site for a frozen Japanese drink made (according to a fake history on the site) with a secret, murderous ingredient found at the bottom of the sea.

The Hollywood box office has slumped again at this stage of the summer, with 4 million fewer tickets sold than in the nightmare 2005 summer season -- and that may have something to do with fan interest in the Abrams movie.

"There's a hefty sense in fandom that this summer kind of laid an egg," McWeeny said. "This trailer has a hint of mystery, something to engage them that right now they can focus on."

While the film is apparently about a monster attack, it is also about catastrophe and mayhem in the lower part of Manhattan island. Given the obvious similarities to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center towers, it may trigger a whole new round of old-fashioned publicity later.