Take a bit of “Insidious,” a dash of “Annabelle Comes Home” with a heaping spoonful of “Pinocchio’s Revenge” and you get what is another dull genre installment from Blumhouse Pictures. Once the beaming genre studio, Blumhouse seems to be contractually obligated to release at least two horror movies a year, no matter what, and “Imaginary” feels like more of an obligation than anything. It’s a convoluted, and often dull movie that seems to really want to be a cerebral tale about PTSD and mental illness.
But mid-way you can sense the producers intervene when the narrative suddenly veers off in to a more commercial dark pseudo-Gaiman horror fantasy involving magical beings, and a weird dimension for imaginary creatures.
Jessica, along with her husband and stepchildren Taylor and Alice, relocate from their hectic New Orleans apartment to Jessica’s childhood home in the suburbs. Typical growing pains and adjusting to a new town are compounded by dark family histories. Then Alice finds a cute teddy bear named Chauncey in the basement, which will force Jessica to confront painful memories when Alice starts behaving strangely.
“Imaginary” is never quite sure what it wants to be from the very opening. The film ventures deeps in to idea that this entire fiasco involving this spooky bear and protagonist Alice is more about mental illness than anything else. A movie about the horror of mental illness would have and could have worked as we’ve seen with films like “Smile,” but mid-way the writers just seem to cop out by adhering to the more obvious direction that’s more commercially appealing, instead. It’s just that the more Chauncey is explained, the less we know about him, and the script arouses so many questions that are never quite clarified.
Are there other monsters out there like Chauncey? Who or what invented that nether realm? Why do the rules need to be adhered to? The script dodges so many genuine opportunities at character building in favor of cheap flat attempts at jump scares. Any and all attempts at mounting jolts fail and feel absolutely silly. The only time the movie feels genuine is when Alice is taken to a therapist and engages in an inner dialogue with Chauncey. This is where the movie really seems to indicate it’s headed for more intelligent and complex ideas about perhaps menta illness being hereditary and Alice’s whole confronting of her new domestic situation.
But the movie just cops out in favor of more goofy jolts, and then dives right in to the whole dark fantasy realm that feels painfully shoe horned in to the final half. To their credit, DeWanda Wise, Taegen Burns, and Pyper Braun are the heart of the film and offer strong turns. They’re just sadly wasted in such a dull missed opportunity.