Imaginary (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – A woman returns to her childhood home to discover that the imaginary friend she left behind is very real and unhappy that she abandoned him.

My Take – Though, Blumhouse, the house of horror has franchises like Insidious, Paranormal Activity, The Purge and recent Halloween trilogy to its name, its mainly gained fame for yielding neat profit by producing a string of low-budget well-received hits like Split (2016), Get Out (2017), Happy Death Day (2017), The Invisible Man (2020), among others, and not so well-received money-spinners like Ouija (2014), The Gallows (2015), Ma (2019), Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023), among others.

But while quality control has always been an issue and in the last few years, it seems to be only diminishing. With the exception of M3gan (2022), which upended critical expectations and scored reviews as impressive as its box office total, their projects have consisted of mostly misses than hits.

Coming right behind the soggy haunted swimming pool horror, Night Swim (2024), this latest from Truth or Dare (2018) and Fantasy Island (2020) director Jeff Wadlow aims to introduce thrill seeking audience to a new antagonist: Chauncey the supernatural stuffed teddy bear. Backed by an ambitious set up that ventures into the realm of childhood imagination, a territory both familiar and unnervingly surreal, and sees imaginary friends taking a chilling turn.

However, unfortunately, despite possessing all the necessary ingredients to create a worthwhile experience, the film ends up falling short in the execution department. While the family dynamics are well-established, and contains enough twists to keep things moving, it lacks the necessary scares and horror to make it a truly memorable.

Sure, there are interesting ideas in this tale of an imaginary friend with a mind of its own and a dangerous sadistic streak, but director Wadlow just doesn’t do much with them, instead seeming content in taking cues from other Blumhouse features rather than act on any original ideas.

Overall, the film is passable enough, but while it does set up a potential sequel, it’s difficult to envision there being a huge demand, considering its poor reception and not so much box office numbers, unless Chauncey and M3GAN are set up to cross paths.

The story follows Jessica (DeWanda Wise), a celebrated children’s writer and artist whose chief creation is Simon the Spider, a cartoon monster inspired by recurring nightmares in which she’s chased in her childhood home by the vicious arachnid demon and her mentally-ill father Ben.

Now moving back into the house which she left as 5 years old, following her mother’s death and her father seemingly snapping mentally, with her husband Max (Tom Payne), and his daughters, the surly teen daughter, Taylor (Taegen Burns), and the sugary youngest, Alice (Pyper Braun), Jessica has the chance to be the mother she never had.

Especially with Max, a musician, heading out on tour, leaving the girls behind. But as Jessica struggles to connect with the girls, she is forced to deal with the dark secrets of a past she’s long forgotten.

With all of threads leading back to Alice’s new imaginary friend, Chauncey Bear, who loves scavenger hunts, is always hungry, and demands obedience. As Jessica begins to realize something is definitely wrong in her not-so-sweet home, she must bond with her daughters to conquer a ravenous evil of the past.

Starting off as a relatively low-key thriller with intriguing psychological depth, eventually succumbs to the inanities plaguing so many recent horror efforts like same company’s Night Swim (2024): all ambition, no scares. Plot-wise, there are similarities with Mama (2013), the Andy Muschietti directed horror treat, and recalls the poorly received Hide and Seek (2005), starring Robert De Niro and Dakota Fanning, but director Wadlow‘s film is less haunting and more playful in its approach.

Co-written by Wadlow, Greg Erb, and Jason Oremland, the film feels pretty standard for a low-budget horror effort, providing a moderate level of spookiness and a few cheap jump scares to remind teenagers why they bought their tickets. For much of the running time, it struggles to find the balance and clarity in writing needed to make the style work, and the film instead mostly meanders through a solid hour of bloodless buildup spent investing in its characters, which gets exhausting after a while.

On paper, the film at least has an interesting villain to invest in. Although it’s obvious from the premise that Chauncey is evil, the film keeps him silent and nearly motionless for a long stretch; we only hear Alice talking to him during their conversations, and learn about his motives through Alice’s relaying of his unheard voice.

But director Wadlow also doesn’t seem confident enough in this setup as an avenue for slow-burn horror, because the filmmaker keeps throwing garish and unimaginative CGI monsters onscreen, as in the opening, or a quick and otherwise decently creepy scene in which Liam (Matthew Sato), a dumb typical teenage neighbor gets harassed by Chauncey, that was more awkward than terrifying. It should be highlighted that the stuffed bear isn’t the only threat of the film, but rather the physical manifestation of something much larger. But the concept feels half-baked, resulting in a confusing third act.

Despite its flaws, the film is not without its merits. CGI aside, the film’s strengths lie in its visual representation. The slick cinematography and the surreal landscapes of Jessica’s nightmares are commendable. The use of color, in particular, adds depth and atmosphere, making it, at times, a visual feast for the eyes.

Performance wise, DeWanda Wise delivers a very strong turn as the beleaguered heroine and is equally well supported by Taegen Burns and Pyper Braun. Betty Buckley playing a mysterious neighbor frantically ranting about demonic mythology isn’t as much fun as it should have been. Tom Payne is wasted in basically what is a cameo. On the whole, ‘Imaginary’ is a passable horror which falters in execution of its interesting ideas.