Review: ‘Imaginary’ (2024), starring DeWanda Wise, Tom Payne, Taegen Burns, Pyper Braun, Veronica Falcon and Betty Buckley

March 8, 2024

by Carla Hay

Pyper Braun in “Imaginary” (Photo by Parrish Lewis/Lionsgate)

“Imaginary” (2024)

Directed by Jeff Wadlow

Culture Representation: Taking place in New Orleans, the horror film “Imaginary” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few African Americans and Latin people) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A children’s book author/illustrator with a traumatic past moves back into her childhood home, where one of her underage stepdaughters finds a mysterious teddy bear, makes it her imaginary friend, and unwittingly unleashes terror in the house. 

Culture Audience: “Imaginary” will appeal primarily to people who don’t mind watching silly horror movies.

Pyper Braun and DeWanda Wise in “Imaginary” (Photo by Parrish Lewis/Lionsgate)

“Imaginary” could’ve been a campy horror classic about a menacing toy that unleashes terror. But this idiotic junk goes downhill quickly and becomes a boring mess with tacky-looking monsters. For a movie that uses the characters’ imagination as a crucial part of its plot, “Imaginary” lacks imagination for that plot, which becomes worse as the movie stumbles along to its very weak ending.

Directed by Jeff Wadlow, “Imaginary” was co-written by Wadlow, Greg Erb and Jason Oremland. The movie takes place and was filmed in New Orleans, but everything is so generic-looking about the locations in the movie, it really could’ve been filmed in many other cities, and it wouldn’t have made a difference to the story. “Imaginary” starts off as a basic horror movie, but the plot and dialogue get increasingly stupid, to the point where viewers will either laugh or get angry (or do both) at all the ridiculousness.

“Imaginary” begins by showing children’s book author/illustrator Jessica (played by Wanda DeWise) bursting through a minature door in the wall of the house. She looks terrified and says, “I’m sorry we couldn’t finish our game.” She’s soon grabbed by a large, burly man who has blood on him and whose eyes are all white from damage or because he’s possessed. He mumbles something about being afraid that Jessica is never coming back. It’s later revealed that the man chasing Jessica is her father Ben Barnes (played by Samuel Salary), who is a widower.

But surprise! This scene is nothing but a nightmare experienced by Jessica, who has been having several nightmares lately about her past. Jessica is newly married to a British-born musician named Max (played by Tom Payne), who has full custody of his two daughters from his previous marriage: 15-year-old sulky Taylor (played by Taegen Burns) and playful Alice (played by Pyper Braun), who’s about 7 or 8 years old. Taylor doesn’t like Jessica very much, while Alice is much more accepting and friendlier to stepmother Jessica.

Jessica’s father Ben is currently at an assisted living community called Azalea Acres. Jessica’s childhood home is currently vacant. And so, Jessica and Taylor decide that they will get a fresh start by moving the family from their small apartment into this house. And you know what that means in a horror movie where someone in the house is having nightmares about her past.

It doesn’t take long for Alice to find a teddy bear in the basement. She names the bear Chauncey. This toy bear becomes Alice’s constant companion and her imaginary friend. Jessica and Max often hear Alice talking to Chauncey, with the bear talking back in a voice that sounds a lot like Alice’s voice. Jessica and Max think all of this is adorable.

The family has a nosy neighbor named Gloria (played by Betty Buckley), who likes to lurk outside to see what’s going on in the house. When Jessica introduces herself to Gloria, Jessica is surprised when Gloria says that she used to be Jessica’s babysitter when Jessica lived in the house as a child. Jessica doesn’t remember Gloria at all. Jessica also doesn’t remember that she had a teddy bear that looked exactly like Chauncey.

“Imaginary” has several flashbacks to Jessica’s childhood, with Rhythm Hurd in the role of Jessica as a 5-year-old girl. The story of Jessica’s past is eventually revealed in bits and pieces. There are clues, such as the illustrations she used to draw on the house wall as a child. The phrase “never ever” is also repeated in the movie because it has a certain meaning.

Jessica has had a turbulent relationship with her father, who had a mental breakdown shortly after Jessica’s mother died when Jessica was 5 years old. Jessica has a burn scar on her arm from an incident in her childhood where her father was accused of attacking her. Ben lost custody of Jessica, and she was raised by her grandmother.

Alice also has a burn scar on her arm. It was caused by her mother Samantha Dooley (played by Alix Angelis), who is currently in a lockdown facility for mental health and addiction issues. Samantha appears in the movie for some cheap jump scares. Although Max doesn’t really talk about what happened in the marriage, its implied that the problems with Samantha are what caused their divorce. Samantha and Max got divorced long before he and Jessica got involved with each other.

It should come as no surprise that there’s something very sinister about Chauncey, as people who are in the house eventually find out. One of them is a drug-using teenage neighbor named Liam (played by Matthew Sato), who has an immediate, mutual attraction to Taylor. Jessica has a rule that Taylor and Alice can’t let strangers into the house when Jessica and Max aren’t there, but Taylor breaks this rule to have Liam over for a visit when Max is away on tour and Jessica leaves the house for a few hours.

Chauncey is quite the demanding companion. Alice insists that when she is served meals, Chauncey should get a serving too, because Chauncey is always “hungry.” Alice says that Chauncey also gave her a list of things that Alice must find on a scavenger hunt. Alice carries the list with her, but she tells Jessica that what’s on the list is a secret.

Alice later tells Taylor: “Don’t tell Dad or Jess, but Chauncey will take me to a special place after I finish my list.” One of the things that Jessica knows is on the list is “something happy,” which Alice requests from Jessica, who gives her a small blue rubber ball that Jessica paints with a smiley face. Later, Jessica finds the list and sees other items that need to be found include something that burns, a bowl and a paintbrush.

Alice’s attachment to Chauncey becomes alarming enough for her to get a visit from a therapist named Dr. Soto (played by Veronica Falcón), who tells Jessica about a boy patient who had similar issues with a stuffed animal that was an imaginary friend. The boy ended up mutilating his thumb, and then he disappeared. Dr. Soto shows Jessica a video that she recorded of one of Dr. Soto’s sessions with the boy.

Jessica has a book series about an insect named Molly the Millipede, whose nemesis is Simon the Spider. There are several references to Jessica’s book series in “Imaginary,” but the movie does a very poor job of making effective horror out of it. “Imaginary” has a laughable part of the movie where Jessica tells Max that Alice’s weirdness with Chauncey has helped Jessica with her writer’s block.

“Imaginary” lead actress Wise puts in a committed performance as Jessica, while Braun brings a lot of enthusiasm to the role of Alice. Even with these admirable efforts, “Imaginary” still has mediocre-to-bad acting in too many parts of the film—especially near the end of the movie, which becomes an exposition dump where characters over-explain all the ludicrous things that are obvious. The movie becomes more convoluted when it doesn’t need to be.

Puppets were used for some of the monsters—including the monster version of Chauncey called Bear Beast—but they look like something you would see in an amateur haunted house. There are scarier-looking costumes at any given Comic-Con. “Imaginary” has a combination of computer-generated and practical visual effects. There are some creepy images in the movie, but nothing in “Imaginary” is truly terrifying.

There’s also a fake-out ending, which is slightly better than the atrociously limp real ending, which hints at the possibility of a sequel or spinoff. The teddy bear in “Imaginary,” which has a different name for every person who owns the bear, is nowhere close to being as iconic as the toy dolls Chucky and M3GAN, which are the center of their respectively successful horrors franchises. The stuffing that’s inside a real teddy bear has more substance than what disappointing dreck such as “Imaginary” has to offer.

Lionsgate released “Imaginary” in U.S. cinemas on March 8, 2024. The movie will be released on VOD on March 26, 2024. “Imaginary” will be released on digital on May 7, 2024, and on Blu-Ray and DVD on May 14, 2024.

Review: ‘Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island,’ starring Lucy Hale and Michael Peña

February 14, 2020

by Carla Hay

Lucy Hale, Austin Stowell and Michael Peña in “Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island” (Photo by Christopher Moss/Columbia Pictures)

“Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island” 

Directed by Jeff Wadlow

Culture Representation: Taking place in a fictional South Pacific locale, the horror film “Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island” (inspired by the 1977-1984 TV series) follows a racially diverse cast of middle-class characters who go to a luxurious island to fulfill their biggest fantasies.

Culture Clash: The fantasies turn into nightmares, as the island visitors end up in terrifying life-threatening situations.

Culture Audience: “Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island” will appeal mostly to horror enthusiasts or curious fans of the original TV series who already know that the movie will be filled with over-the-top entertainment.

Lucy Hale, Maggie Q, Austin Stowell, Jimmy O. Yang, Ryan Hansen and Parisa Fitz-Henley in “Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island” (Photo by Christopher Moss/Columbia Pictures)

Here’s one thing that “Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island” movie has in common with the 1977-1984 TV series “Fantasy Island” TV series that inspired the film: There’s plenty of cheesiness to go around. The premise is still the same: A group of strangers fly on a private plane to a beautiful island, where they meet their host: the enigmatic Mr. Roarke, who always wears a white suit. All of the strangers are there to fulfill their biggest fantasies. And one by one, they begin to regret that their wishes came true.

The TV series had so much over-the-top ridiculousness (including Mr. Roarke fighting the devil) that people who’ve seen the show might already sense that the movie isn’t going to have any aspirations of being an arthouse film. However, the movie, which was filmed in Fiji, is a pretty good advertisement for the South Pacific country’s gorgeous landscape. The brand name for Blumhouse (the production company whose specialty is horror, with franchises such as “The Purge” and “Insidious”) might be an added attraction, but the quality of Blumhouse films is hit or miss.

Case in point: Blumhouse was the production company behind writer/director Jordan Peele’s 2017 Oscar-winning horror blockbuster “Get Out.” But Blumhouse also did 2017’s “Truth or Dare,” one of Blumhouse’s worst horror movies, directed by Jeff Wadlow, starring Lucy Hale, and written by Wadlow, Chris Roach and Jillian Jacobs. And guess what? All four of them have reteamed for “Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island,” which is only slightly better than “Truth or Dare,” because at least “Fantasy Island” made some attempt to be a horror film that’s a little more intricate than a cliché slasher flick. Too bad that attempt results in a convoluted mess.

Who are the strangers who’ve gathered on this island and what are their fantasies? They are contest winners who, when they first arrive, cynically speculate about what kinds of elaborate stunts will be pulled to make their fantasies look realistic. Sarcastic beauty Melanie Cole (played by Hale) wants revenge on former schoolmate Sloane Maddison (played by Portia Doubleday), who bullied Melanie in their childhood. Nerdy stepbrothers JD Weaver (played by Ryan Hansen) and Brax Weaver (played by Jimmy O. Yang) want to live out their wildest party fantasies.

Patrick Sullivan (played by Austin Stowell) is a good-guy cop who has a military “Call of Duty” type of fantasy that involves someone from his past. Insecure and sad Gwen Olsen (played by Maggie Q) wants to go back in time to change a decision she made years ago in her personal life. They are greeted by Mr. Roarke (played by Michael Peña), who tells them that once they’ve started living their fantasies, they can’t go back and change their minds.

The “Fantasy Island” TV series famously had an energetic character named Tattoo (played by Hervé Villechaize) as Mr. Roarke’s assistant. In this movie, Mr. Roarke’s assistant is a woman named Julia (played by Parisa Fitz-Henley), who’s as calm as Tattoo was hyper. This movie’s Mr. Roarke is much more serious and aloof than the TV version of Mr. Roarke (played by Ricardo Montalbán), although one thing is still the same: He greets his staff by saying, “Smiles, everyone. Smiles.”

Speaking of the Fantasy Island staffers in the movie, they are some of the biggest clues that all is not so wonderful on Fantasy Island. Julia gets mysterious nose bleeds and has a vacant stare. (And later in the movie, some of the employees bleed black bile from their eyes.) One of the staffers is so creepy-looking that he looks like he walked straight from an audition for playing Riff Raff in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

Because the movie has numerous twists and turns, there’s only so much that can be described without giving away spoiler information. Melanie is taken to a high-tech room where she thinks she’s seeing a hologram of her former nemesis Sloane, who’s tied up and gagged and sitting in a torture-chamber chair. Melanie has fun pushing certain buttons on the control panel that cause Sloane to go through various forms of torture. But then Melanie figures out that the Sloane she’s seeing isn’t a hologram but the real person.

JD and Brax are taken to a massive pool party that looks like a commercial for a Hedonism II Resort, where they’re surrounded by gorgeous people (women for JD; men for Brax, who is openly gay) and whatever they want to get intoxicated. JD and Brax provide most of the comic relief in the film, although some of their poorly written jokes fall flatter than Mr. Roarke’s emotionless voice.

Meanwhile, Patrick isn’t having as much fun as the Weaver brothers. He’s been taken into the jungle by soldiers who start off by treating him like a prisoner, and he has to earn their respect to be part of the squad. As for Gwen, she wakes up to find herself reconnecting with someone she thought she would never see again.

The movie switches back and forth between all four fantasies until some of the fantasies start to overlap with one another. Some characters come and go without much explanation. Some characters might be real or they might be part of a fantasy. And the last 20 minutes of the film are absolutely bonkers with all the plot twists that try to tie in what happened earlier in the story.

“Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island” is like a giant tangled, rotting ball of yarn that keeps gathering dustballs of bad ideas on top of more bad ideas. You can try to untangle it to sort it all out, but it’s not worth it, and it’s best to avoid it altogether.

Columbia Pictures released “Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island” in U.S. cinemas on February 14, 2020.

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