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Director:Jeff Wadlow
Writers:Jeff WadlowGreg ErbJason Oremland
Stars:DeWanda WiseTaegen BurnsPyper Braun
Imaginary Full Movie Review
When Alice finds a teddy bear named Chauncey in the crawlspace of the house, she begins talking to him, developing a strong bond with her new imaginary friend. Chauncey starts to have an overwhelming and dangerous influence over Alice, and when she starts behaving erratically, it becomes apparent that there is a malevolent force hidden in the guise of this cute teddy. With the help of Taylor, Alice's therapist Dr. Soto (Veronica Falcón), and neighbour and former babysitter Gloria (Betty Buckley), Jessica must unravel the secrets of her traumatic childhood and solve the mystery of Chauncey before it's too late for Alice.
Although the film wastes no time in the "I'M GONNA SCARE YOU!" department, starting off with a nightmarish chase through Jessica and Max's apartment, it quickly dips in energy and takes too long to amp up and start telling an interesting story. It spends too much time establishing the familial dynamics, many of which are redundant and should have been excised.
Max is especially superfluous, disappearing at the start of the second act to go on tour even though we haven't been given any indication that he's a musician until his unceremonious exit. Fortunately, when the film does get interesting midway through, it makes some surprisingly effective storytelling choices, and its central conceit — the fate of abandoned imaginary friends and their response to this rejection — is sinister and well developed.
As the latest film from production powerhouse Blumhouse, Imaginary is essentially a gore-less affair, relying on mood, tone and atmosphere rather than body count. While it uses the requisite jump scares (mostly to unremarkable effect), it also makes ample use of the terrors that lurk in the darkened corners of our homes and our minds, the scary things that move in the shadows and go bump in the night (or day).
Although moments of blood-letting are very few and far between, when they do happen, they feel uninspired, even obsequious, appealing to the lowest common horror fan denominator. It's obvious when the film is trying to frighten, yet when it wants to disturb and unsettle, it actually succeeds, thanks in no small part to Pyper Braun's superb performance as Alice.
Braun is a performer with enviable skills, putting to shame not only other child actors, but also most of her adult costars. She's frightening and sympathetic, cold and terrified, amused and distraught, and she explores these contradictions with the talent and power of someone far beyond her years or experience. Putting kids in peril has become de rigeur for Blumhouse productions; Braun's tour de force turn as Alice is a case where the cliché works.
What the film does have going for it, apart from Braun's performance, are the practical effects, which are surprisingly well done. The imaginary world is chaotic and disorienting (even if it does ape a bit too much from the works of M. C. Escher), while many of the creature effects are practical and have a disturbing, and welcome, weight to them. Chauncey's indifferent eyes, coupled with some well-timed repositions, are particularly effective, as are the startling appearances of a humanoid shape throughout the house.
Early in the film, when Chauncey is being cuddled by Alice, he turns to face her, which makes for a disconcerting visual. It's a small, almost insignificant turn, but it's this kind of unexpected shift by an inanimate object that helps give him both life and power — and that's actually scary. These moments and manifestations force us to ask who or what Chauncey is exactly, which the writer's gleefully withhold until the third act.
Of course, Blumhouse films love exposition, and Imaginary is bursting with explanations and unexpected recollections. There's the requisite Creepy Lore section, where a character who has been researching and/or documenting the villainous entity/creature — in this case Gloria.
