- Release year: 2024
- Director: Jeff Wadlow.
- Producers: Jason Blum and Jeff Wadlow.
- Screenplay by: Jeff Wadlow, Greg Erb and Jason Oremland.
- Cinematographer: James McMillan.
- Music by: Omer Ben-Zvi, Alexandre Cote, Kevin Lax, Bear McCreary and Sparks & Shadows.
Synopsis: a stepmother struggles to bond with her stepdaughters, the youngest of which begins behaving strangely after they move houses.
Shotgun Commentary: Coraline (2009) meets Mamá (2013) in a hair-raising film about the phenomenon of imaginary friends.
Review
Imaginary follows the story of Jessica (DeWanda Wise), a woman who moves to her childhood home with her husband and stepdaughters. She tries to get along with them, but they don’t make it easy. The oldest one, Taylor (Taegen Burns), is a self-absorbed teenager. The second, Alice (Pyper Braun), is a kid who goes with whatever her older sister says.
Nevertheless, the real problem begins when the last one makes an imaginary friend whose requests get more and more dangerous.
Inspiration and references
The story could be seen as a twisted version of Alice in Wonderland. One in which the rabbit is actually trying to entrap Alice forever and Wonderland is named Never Ever. Or maybe as a metaphor for a toxic friendship in which one part uses the other for their own purposes without any regard of how their actions might affect them.
However, the most obvious comparison would be with Coraline (2009), button eyes, spider-people and plot twists included. If you have watched Coraline recently or remember it well, the beginning and the second half of Imaginary will be VERY familiar. Regardless, don’t make the mistake of thinking it won’t be terrifying just because you have seen it before. It is still just as chilling, only not as shocking.
A plot like this brings up very interesting ideas, especially around the concept of reality. Sadly, what could have been a horrifying exploration of reality in the level of Oculus (2013), is left as a minor resource to spice up the slower bits of footage.
The evergreen: “creepy child” resource
When the beginning and the second half were addressed, you might have wondered, “what about the content in between?”. This section of the film follows a long tradition of films like The Shining (1980), Poltergeist (1988), or Mamá (2013). Movies where creepy kids have imaginary friends that turn out to be not so imaginary.
In this case, Alice has Chauncey, an imaginary friend that she channels through a teddy bear. The storyline is much like all the others before it. Chauncey begins as a playful and innocent being through which Alice processes her feelings. Yet soon it gets more and more sinister, reaching its worst after a suffocating plot twist that gives way to the climax of the movie.
The BIG no-no in horror
The cinematography is great, and the special effects are top-notch. Regrettably, there is a big but in the technical aspect of the film. This is a mistake that a LOT of movies make: the darkness.
Yes, the lack of light is incredibly helpful when it comes to creating a horror atmosphere. There is nothing more terrifying than the unknown, and the darkness is perfect for that. It feeds the audience’s imagination with their worst nightmares, and you don’t even have to do much as a director.
Still, there is a limit. That limit is right when you can’t see anything, but you are supposed to be seeing something. In the cinema, where you can’t even see your own hand, the level of darkness is good enough to see anything. But Imaginary won’t only be played in cinemas. It also needs to be visible in a house with ambient lighting, or even at the cinema in autism-friendly sessions.
Editing a film with only complete darkness in mind for the audience is a very narrow-minded. Even for a horror feature, you need to take some minor ambient light into consideration. By not doing so, you limit the full experience to those few who can achieve a very specific viewing situation.
Talent all around
Jessica is a very likeable woman, she tries her best to lead a good life and make her stepdaughters happy, even when they are mean to her for no reason. Her infinite patience is an example of what mothers should be like, and her “martyrdom” in this regard makes the audience empathise with her quite quickly.
All the characters are quite stereotypical, but not to the point of annoyance. They play their part, and they are portrayed by talented actors, from the annoying teenager who doesn’t have a clue, to the mysterious old lady who seems to know too much.
Pyper Braun delivers a good performance, managing very narrowly to stay away from the obnoxious child role that is so common in Hollywood. This separation from that type of personality makes Alice endearing enough to make you want to save her instead of just feeding her to whatever evil is stalking the poor family.
No men to be seen
The decision to keep husband Max (Tom Payne) away from the action is quite interesting. Usually, the adult male figure of the family in horror movies is absent until the mess escalates to humongous proportions, and then he swoops in to save everyone, including the very scared wife who fights bravely but basically manages to fix nothing.
Funnily enough, in this story, Max leaves before the trouble begins escalating and the thought of calling him for help doesn’t even cross the mind of the girls. Granted, he looks a lot weaker than Jessica and another mind is not needed to solve the issue, but he’s still Alice’s dad, that’s got to count for something…right?
All in all, Imaginary is not the most original script-wise, but it sets a precedent for family women fixing their own problems without running for help to their closest male relation, an inspiring concept that will hopefully be seen more often in horror from now on.
Advice to take from this movie:
- Don’t let your kids have imaginary friends, just…don’t, they get creepy AF.
- If your child just tried to self-harm, maybe pay a little attention to them, at least for say…five minutes?
- If your kid starts talking about an imaginary being that tells them to do things, move houses, burn all your stuff, and get a child psychologist. And maybe, just maybe, not in that order.
What’s your take? Have you watched Imaginary? Did it give you very strong Coraline vibes too? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀
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