Movie Review: Imaginary
Premise: When Jessica (DeWanda Wise) moves back into her childhood home with her family, her youngest stepdaughter, Alice (Pyper Braun), finds a stuffed bear named Chauncey. As Alice’s behavior becomes more and more concerning, Jessica intervenes only to realize that Chauncey is much more than the stuffed toy bear she believed him to be.
“Imaginary,” the latest movie from Blumhouse Productions, has an intriguing premise that hints at the eeriness surrounding imaginary friends and the unknown. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t dig any deeper, delivering a narrative that is half-baked and lacks passion. Overall, director Jeff Wadlow’s film is unimaginative and fails to tap into the creative power of its premise.
This news pains me because Blumhouse is one of my favorite movie studios. They have produced many great films. Consider these titles: “Get Out,” “The Invisible Man,” “Upgrade,” “Split,” “The Visit,” “The Black Phone,” “Sinister,” “Megan,” “Happy Death Day,” “The Gift” (amongst others). Blumhouse’s track record speaks for itself, but sadly, they are unable to escape the soulless cash grab mentality that often plagues the horror genre. Instead of crafting an entertaining film with solid characters and worthwhile suspense, they have created a shell of a film, largely devoid of relatability and tension.
The big standout of “Imaginary” is DeWanda Wise, who turns in a stellar performance. Wise has a strong prescene that generates an abundance of warmth and charm. Sadly, the characters around Wise are hollow. The actors try their best, but there’s only so much they can do. Pyper Braun is convincing as an obsessed and misguided child, but the film doesn’t attempt to make her likable or compelling. If anything, the film reduces the character to being a standard movie brat. As the older sister, Taegen Burns brings moments of promise to her thankless teenage role. Her character is usually unkind to those who care about her. A better film would have explored the character’s adversity and uncovered why she was in a frustrating personal dilemma.
Betty Buckley plays Gloria, a next door neighbor who happens to be an author obsessed with the imaginary friend world. Buckley is an icon who has won a Tony Award, two Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Olivier Award. She also gave a fantastic performance in Brian De Palma’s classic horror film, “Carrie” (1976). Buckley is a consummate professional, which makes it even more frustrating that in this film she is relegated to being a lifeless character defined by terrible exposition and obvious observations. It is unfathomable to think that a studio would provide Buckley with such a pointless role.
Lastly, there is Tom Payne, who plays Max, the father of this fictional family. A smart movie would’ve made him a layered father who truly cares for his children and must go through different levels of progression. In this film, Max is a pointless character who contributes nothing to the story. In a bizarre turn of events, he disappears early in the film to go on a trip and never returns. Wise’s character calls him once bad things start happening, and yet he still doesn’t return home. Simply put, Max is an early front runner for terrible movie father of the year.
Many people will ask, “What about the monster in this movie; is it cool?” Frankly, even with a great monster, a film doesn’t have true narrative power if the characters are not likable or compelling. With that being said, the monster in “Imaginary” is lackluster. This creature is barely seen, and when it does show itself, it lacks ferocity and movement, feeling more like a statue than a threatening force of nature.
In closing, “Imaginary” does not live up to its potential. I was hoping for it to take a page out of the “Insidious” (2010) playbook: utilize an interesting fictional world and make a movie about it with a smaller budget and maximum creativity. My advice, go see a horror film that is worth seeing. “Late Night with the Devil,” “Immaculate,” and “The First Omen” are playing in theaters right now!
My Grade: D
