Imaginary (2024) [Blu-Ray]

Director: Jeff Wadlow

Cast: DeWanda Wise, Tom Payne, Taegen Burns

Release Date: May 14, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 5/10
Disc Rating: 7/10

Synopsis:

When Jessica moves back into her childhood home with her family, her youngest stepdaughter, Alice, finds a stuffed bear named Chauncey. As Alice’s behavior becomes more and more concerning, Jessica intervenes only to realize that Chauncey is much more than the stuffed toy bear she believed him to be.

‘Imaginary’ accompanies Jessica as she and her family move into her childhood home after years away. Initially when her stepdaughter Alice starts acting out and having issues, they assume it’s merely part of the adjustment to their new life, along with her imaginary friend Chauncey who becomes prominent after an old stuffed bear is discovered on the property. But as things become increasingly more concerning and the events soon lead to fewer logical explanations, Jessica begins to believe that Chauncey may in fact be more than imagined by the girl, and could just be the source of the trouble.

Directed by Jeff Wadlow (Truth or Dare, Fantasy Island 2020) from a screenplay written by Jeff Wadlow & Greg Erb (Senseless) & Jason Oremland (TV’s Reindeer in Here), Wadlow does a solid job at the helm of ‘Imaginary’ guiding along the tale with a fitting sense of dread and wonder throughout. The film’s cast includes DeWanda Wise (Jurassic World Dominion), Tom Payne (TV’s The Walking Dead), Taegen Burns (TV’s The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers), Pyper Braun (TV’s Raven’s Home), Betty Buckley (TV’s Preacher), Matthew Sato (TV’s Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.) and Veronica Falcón (The Forever Purge) who each provide capable or at least fitting performances altogether in their respective roles.

‘Imaginary’ is a somewhat mixed bag of a horror film that manages to do a lot of things admirably while struggling to find enough ways to fully utilize the clever ideas within and instead often lets them play out in a largely predictable manner, yet with a few surprises and smart turns throughout. As a horror film ‘Imaginary’ plays things surprisingly safe and also quite tame in the violence department, never really allowing itself to reach a level where things start to get bonkers; instead relying on a few smart moves and ideas that don’t always work as well as they seem intended to, while others do in fact breathe some life into the tale and keep the viewer engaged. Unfortunately it never quite reaches a point that feels notably satisfying or overly memorable when everything is said and done.

Director Jeff Wadlow has never been one to deliver overly remarkable films in the Blumhouse catalog and his previous collaborations include the lackluster ‘Fantasy Island’ reboot, along with ‘Truth or Dare’ and compared to some of his previous outings, ‘Imaginary’ is actually better than the majority thanks to such elements as the exploration of the Never Ever world and at least one or two fairly clever turns or twists that are likely to elicit a grin from viewers. ‘Imaginary’ is by no means a horrible film, but it also never really manages to excel beyond the level of average, yet that certainly doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its strengths either.

Overall, ‘Imaginary’ has an intriguing premise for a horror film that’s packed with potential and while it has its share of rewarding moments and clever concepts throughout, it dwindles perhaps too much of its promise in favor of lazy jump scares and a story of a family that’s plagued by concerning events yet never really builds to a level of chaos and madness that most fans were likely expecting or at least hoping for. There are some unarguably smart ideas utilized within and certain elements of the movie are done quite well, but sadly it never manages to become something special and instead settles into a largely average endeavor that’s fortunately still decent and fun enough for the most part to make it worth giving a chance. If you’re already looking forward to this one or happen to be a fan of the cast, then it couldn’t hurt to give a whirl, but if you haven’t already seen it I would definitely encourage renting the film as opposed to making a blind purchase to be safe.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Imaginary’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation with the film’s original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks very nice as a whole and it provides a sharp, clean and nicely detailed presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any unexpected issues or faults to be uncovered along the way. Detail is solid throughout and character faces and clothing look impressive, while the various areas of the house where much of the tale plays out both gloomy and brighter look quite good, with the specifics of worn walls and other better maintained areas appearing clear and sharp throughout. Overall, this is a very nice High Definition video presentation that never struggles or becomes problematic and fans as well as newcomers to the film should be pleased with what it has to offer.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is quite the treat at times and it delivers a clean, crisp and often surprisingly aggressive audio presentation throughout. It utilizes all seven available channels in order to send generic music and nature effects throughout the various speakers, while certain moments along the way such as the Never Ever sequence fully embrace and take advantage of the surround channels in order to send whispers and various creepy noises unpredictably jumping from one speaker to another and doing a nice job of enhancing the tension and unease of these moments, while always making certain that all dialogue and other audio effects remain clean and fully audible. Overall this is a solid and quite enjoyable Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that makes a splendid complement to the film and repeatedly benefits the viewing experience.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Imaginary’ features a couple of enjoyable extras. Included on the release is an ‘Audio Commentary with Producer/ Co-writer/ Director Jeff Wadlow and Executive Producer/ Actress DeWanda Wise’, in addition to the multi-part Behind the Scenes Featurette ‘Imaginary: Exploring the Never Ever’ (running approximately 19 minutes in length altogether) which features interviews/comments with the cast and crew, along with Behind the Scenes footage and more.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 5/10
Disc Rating: 7/10

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‘Imaginary’ is Now Available to Own on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from Blumhouse & Lionsgate

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You can purchase your copy of ‘Imaginary’ on Blu-ray at Amazon HERE!

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