Imaginary (Mini-Review)

Imaginary is a horror movie focused on an evil imaginary friend. Jessica, her husband, and her two step-children move into her childhood home. As she struggles to be a good mother to her two daughters, her mysterious past reemerges. Alice, the younger daughter, begins playing with her new imaginary friend and seems to be doing better than before. But as time goes on her imaginary friend seems more real and less friendly. Imaginary was released in 2024. It was directed by Jeff Wadlow. It stars DeWanda Wise, Tom Payne, Taegen Burns, and Pyper Braun.

There is audio of Chauncey's song near the end of the credits.

Evil imaginary friends is a subgenre in my mind. That's how common these types of movies are. A kid has an imaginary friend and then it turns out not only that the imaginary friend is real, but they're evil. These stories are different than possession movies or when it turns out the kid is talking to an evil entity. Daniel Isn't Real (2019) is the standard by which I judge others in this subgenre. Compared to that masterpiece, Imaginary is average but an enjoyable time.

What was the point of Max in this movie? He's the reason Jessica moves into her childhood home earlier than planned, but does nothing else of great importance. He could've left the movie after that point and nothing of importance would have changed. In fact, he leaves right before the big climax. He is one of the most useless characters I've seen. Kind but useless.

This movie could have been terrifying if the visuals were done better. When Chauncey revels his true form, it is goofy. I am a lover of old science fiction movies and those horror movies with little to no budget. So I know making Chauncey truly terrifying could have been done. As is, Chauncey just looks goofy and yet everyone is reacting like an Eldritch horror is before them. The fact he is so powerful and manipulates children makes him scary. Yet...that doesn't take away from the fact that once you truly see him you'll chuckle a little.

The opening sequence is scary and prepares viewers for the horror in the rest of the movie. The sequence ends by subverting the 'it was all a dream trope', though you'll easily be able to guess it was a flashback. This inspires viewers to start to question things and pay close attention to what is happening with Alice. Because what she is doing must be exactly, or similar, to what happened with Jessica all those years ago.

I would recommend Imaginary to those looking for a fun horror movie.