“Imaginary” stars DeWanda Wise, Tom Payne, Betty Buckley, Taegen Burns, Pyper Braun, Matthew Sato, and Verónica Falcón. Released on March 8, 2024, the film has a woman discovering a frightening secret behind her stepdaughter’s teddy bear. The film was directed by Jeff Wadlow, who also directed films such as “Cry Wolf”, “Never Back Down”, “Truth or Dare”, and “Fantasy Island”. While everyone is excited about this year’s series of superheroes, action stars, and animated wackiness, some of us are ecstatic about the next “big” thing in 2024: imaginary friends. You know, the invisible creatures we made up in our minds during our childhoods until we grow old and realize how childish we once were. Sadly, there are only two movies that use this imaginative concept, each targeting a different demographic. However, that doesn’t stop us from revisiting that part of our childhoods before our minds were glued to our electronics. The first of the two I’m looking at today takes a simplistic, harmless concept of imaginary friends and twists it into something that’s…well, unfriendly. Some imaginary friends can be scary based on one’s imagination, but based on this film’s concept, it's probably best to stick with the cute and cuddly ones. Was the movie terrifying enough to prove this theory, or are we better off hanging out with our real friends? Let’s find out. The story follows Jessica (Wise), a successful children’s author who recently married musician Max (Payne), who has two children, Taylor (Burns) and Alice (Braun). They also recently moved back into Jessica’s childhood home, which she left years ago. While getting acquainted with their new house, Alice discovers an old teddy bear named Chauncey in the basement and immediately bonds with it. However, as time passes, Alice’s behavior around Chauncey becomes concerning, and their games become more dangerous. This leads Jessica to find that Chauncey is actually a supernatural creature from another world that’s targeting Alice. When Alice has been taken by Chauncey, Jessica must face the unfriendly creature head-on to rescue her, forcing her to revisit her past she left behind. The film’s concept of evil imaginary friends sparked my interest in watching it. However, if there’s one major concern that’s holding that interest back, it’s Jeff Wadlow. I have nothing against the filmmaker personally because I’m not like that. However, that doesn’t stop me from questioning the execution of his previous works. So far, I enjoyed “Kick-Ass 2” the most despite being inferior to its predecessor. After that, it all went downhill from there. Wadlow’s attempts with the horror genre hadn’t been great so far, with his dark adaptation of “Fantasy Island” being the worst of the two, in my opinion. “Truth or Dare” came very close regarding its execution and the laughable smiling faces. So, I didn’t have high expectations for “Imaginary”, but at the same time, I couldn’t resist watching terrible horror movies as much as the great ones. Please, don’t ask me why, as I still don’t have the answer. It was probably good that I didn’t have them because I didn’t suffer from this film as much as I did from Wadlow’s previous horror movies. While that doesn’t mean it’s a great movie, I can at least credit “Imaginary” for making some effort in its story, entertainment values, and themes. Both “Truth or Dare” and “Fantasy Island” suffered greatly from their schlocky storytelling and mediocre characters despite their intriguing concepts. Plus, the scares for those movies were as terrifying as a box full of adorable kittens. “Imaginary” has plenty of instances that make it fall within those familiar standards as those examples, including its storytelling. Fortunately, it has enough tolerability in its narrative to make itself “bearable”. Amid its “imaginary friend” scenario, the film attempted to depict childhood trauma and how the characters, mainly Alice, used their imaginary friends to escape reality. In addition, the story depicts Jessica's attempt to assume a motherly role towards Taylor and Alice, serving as one of the plot's significant aspects. With the concept of evil imaginary friends, this would’ve been a suitable representation of the difference between imagination and reality. But, of course, this is a Blumhouse movie we’re talking about, and on most occasions, it tends to favor cheap scares over solid storytelling. Unsurprisingly, “Imaginary” is one of those cases, but it’s also an occasion where its tolerability factor occasionally compensates for its lackluster screenplay. It’s easy to pinpoint that the script consists of multiple cliches that have been done in other movies, minus the emotional depth, resulting in a predictable and bare-bones world of pure imagination. But, I can also admit that it at least tried to make its middling characters less tedious, especially Jessica, played by Wise, with her forgotten childhood, even if they are formulaic. DeWanda Wise’s career soared due to her appearance in the Netflix adaptation of “She’s Gotta Have It”. However, it was her supporting role in “Jurassic World Dominion” that made me recognize Wise, who I thought was a fine addition to an average blockbuster sequel about dinosaurs. Now, she’s front and center in a movie about imaginary friends and not the good kinds. Someone should definitely call her agent about her job choices. All I can say about Wise is that she’s one of the best parts of the film, as she delivers a solid portrayal of a stepmom forced to confront her dark past. Was it her best performance? No, but I admire her effort in carrying the film regardless. The rest of the cast also provided suitable performances, including Pyper Braun as Alice and Betty Buckley as Gloria, Jessica’s former babysitter. Jeff Wadlow isn’t exactly my pick to direct something like “Imaginary”, but again, I have nothing against the guy. He was just doing his job as a filmmaker. But that doesn’t mean the efforts in his vision are nonexistent. For starters, the film did seem to tone down the number of jump scares to focus on its story, but the true test is whether they scared me. Well, I can say this: the mixture of fun and scary was there in some sequences, especially its creepy third act, but like its screenplay, the impact lacked any imagination to make itself everlasting. I would also credit the filmmaking team for relying on practical effects instead of overwhelming it with CGI, especially for Chauncey. At least there’s some imagination from going old school. Overall, “Imaginary” lacks the strong imagination from its concept to escape from its mundane reality despite its tolerable moments. The most generous thing I can say about the film is that it’s a minor improvement over Jeff Wadlow’s previous supernatural horror movies since it’s actually watchable. DeWanda Wise was decent enough to carry the film through her performance, the practical effects were respectfully handled, and the scares were passable despite their forgettable impact. Sadly, they’re not enough to maintain its imaginatively frightening vibe throughout its runtime, mainly due to its subpar screenplay, formulaic elements, and hit-and-miss characters. People who like watching horror films would likely find something tolerable out of this film, but like what they did to their own imaginary friends, they’ll likely forget about it in a day or two. C-
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