Jessica (DeWanda Wise) returns to her childhood home with her new husband, where she hopes to forge a new family with her two step daughters. The youngest, Alice (Pyper Braun), finds an old teddy bear, Chauncey, and forms a bond with him. However, Alice’s behaviour starts to become concerning, and the games she and Chauncey play turn increasingly sinister.
The first two acts of Imaginary play out surprisingly well. Jeff Wadlow, Greg Erb, and Jason Oremland’s script takes time to flesh out the characters and there are a few creepy moments provided by director Wadlow. There is then a terrific twist which explained something that was puzzling me regarding how people referred to Chauncey. But that was definitely the highpoint.
After that, the film becomes a bit of a mess, with the common failing in modern horror films where all sorts of horrors are thrown at the screen unconnected to the previously established plot, just because the makers think they are scary. Additionally one character is introduced solely in order to provide lots of exposition.
Having said that, the last few minutes worked well, mixing some humour with a deft sequel set up. Also, the cast are all fine, with Taegen Burns managing to impress most in what is seemingly a clichéd role of the rebellious older step daughter.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10