When it comes to horror movies, it takes an artistic mind to craft a film that satisfies the viewer’s need for thrill. In the case of Imaginary, however, it was clear that no mind like that was present to help make a good film.
The film introduces characters Jessica, played by DeWanda Wise, and her stepdaughter, Alice, played by Pyper Braun, both of whom had imaginary friends when they were younger. A now grown-up Jessica and her new family move back into her old house, where Alice finds a teddy bear whom she adopts as her friend.
Alice becomes overly attached to this teddy bear, prompting Jessica to get help from a therapist. This leads to the discovery that only Jessica and Alice can see the bear, and to everyone else, the bear is imaginary. As Alice only gets worse, falling victim to the bear’s efforts to trap her in the “Never-Ever” realm, Jessica and her other stepdaughter, Taylor, played by Taegen Burns, work to save Alice from being lost in an alternate plane.
Director Jeff Wadlow did a decent job at filming the movie, making it seem more professional than it was. The camera work was normal and did not distract from the overall movie.
One downside of the visuals, however, was the special effects. While there was most likely not a huge budget for the film, it’s still important to recognize the shortcomings of the CGI. For example, the scene in the bear within the Never-Ever realm didn’t seem scary at all. It was hard to get past how wonky the monster looked.
The plot was very confusing, not in a trippy Tenet way, but in an unorganized way. There are various plot flaws, including the lack of Jessica’s knowledge of the door in her basement, the irrelevance Liam, played by Matthew Sato, had in the film, and the lack of cohesion between scenes.
With a rating of PG-13, the horror aspect of the film had no chance of being as scary as films like Black Phone, It, or The Exorcist. With that being said, the movie seemed more like a failed joke than a horror movie.
One scene that stood out was the death of Gloria, played by Betty Buckley. Her death was so spontaneous and forced it was almost laughable. The only commendable addition to the movie is the dark figure, who would be behind someone without their notice in one frame, and then gone the next.
Another major negative of the movie was the acting. The movie had a chance of being a good stand-alone film, however, the acting completely butchered that chance. Buckley overacted in her suspicious and weird role as Gloria and somehow made herself seem out of place in the movie. If the writers intended for the audience to be surprised by her betrayal, she clearly did not understand how to play her role.
Other one-off scenes included Jessica in the opening scene, “running” from the giant monster. Somehow Wise portrays her character as someone who wants to be eaten rather than someone scared for their life. Another utterly stupid scene was when Liam dropped a glass bottle and Burns reacted with the worst delivery of her lines. The overall acting made the movie seem akin to a homemade short film posted to YouTube.
Imaginary was not expected to be anything special, and it wasn’t. With poor acting and disappointing horror scenes, it was no surprise that it has made its staple as a basic horror movie.
