Innocent New Yorkers became the victims of a terrifying, yet hilarious publicity stunt for the upcoming horror movie "Devil's Due."

The marketing firm behind "Devil's Due" decided to promote the film by using a robotic devil baby in a remote-controlled stroller to scare people walking the streets of New York City and secretly recording their reactions.

After posting their prank on YouTube Monday, the video instantly went viral, gaining almost 9.4 million views as of Tuesday afternoon. On Thursday, it gained over 22 million views.

In the video, the stroller approaches people on the sidewalks and then the fake demon child screams and spews what looks like milk from its mouth.

The gag was developed to promote "Devil's Due" which is a film that takes a new spin on Roman Polanski's horror classic "Rosemary's Baby." In the 20th Century Fox film, a newlywed couple experience a mysterious lost night on their honeymoon. Afterwards, there's an earlier-than-planned pregnancy, which begins to cause the mother-to-be to become dark and sinister.

The creative stunt was designed by NYC-based viral marketing company Thinkmodo, which was also responsible for crafting the hidden-camera café prank to promote "Carrie."

Despite drumming up scares and buzz around the film, some critics say that the stunt has diluted the scare factor.

"As good as this Reality Prank was creatively, the filmmakers completely demystified the monster and left nothing to my imagination," writes Will Burns of Forbes.

"I am not going to see this movie. I feel like I already have," he concluded.

"Devil's Due," starring Zach Gilford, Allison Miller, and Sam Anderson, will be released in theaters Friday, Jan. 17.

Watch the "Devil Baby Attack" promotional video below.