Imaginario: Juguete Diabólico

Okay. Bear with me here.

If you love "horror" movies where a child all by her lonesome descends stairs into a dark and dirty cellar where creepy noises emanate from, why, oh who cares if no kid would ever do this in like, ever.

If you get creeped out by a Swifty taking a selfie and in the background of that photo, yikes! Lookout! There's some old lady neighbor photobombing, and she's got to be at least in her sixties!

Terrifying!

The acting and writing are tiresome and totally unbelievable. Not only do they not seem like a family, they don't even seem like they know each other at all.

And lastly, if sitting in on child psychology sessions is your bag, get ready to fill that bag full with this film.

This movie should be Teddy Ruxspin spinning out of control.

That's what we're all here for.

But it's not. And never is.

The entire movies plods along at a 3 until the end.

The end is just okay.

Influences of the art of M. C. Escher and much better 1990's horror flicks.

And Betty Buckley. She's always great. But here there's no eight, and she's just not enough.

Not to save this.

That makes this movie a tad more bearable at 4 stars.

There are many horror flicks with evil-infested dolls or puppets, but you keep hoping for something different. Alas, this "Imaginary" is as generic and predictable as they come: the little kid in a home with some complicated family-dynamics, the house with a creepy history, the cute doll (here a teddybear) that we at times (oh horror!!) see turn his head and that more and more gets a supernatural hold on the kid, and a climactic finale in which the evil finally shows its true terrifying shape. It's all there.

Well, even predictability doesn't have to be bad, if it's well done, with some decent special effects and a solid story. But unfortunately all this was not the case here. The story is shaky and unnecessary complicated, and direction and editing are disappointing: the whole movie is way too talkative and explanatory (especially from the moment the old neighbor lady steps in), and for a supposed horror movie it's way too low on serious scares. Teddybear Chauncey is definitely no Chucky or Annabelle, until the final showdown he doesn't cause any deaths or destruction, even the obnoxious boyfriend (in most horror movies a number one candidate for a gruesome killing) got away in one piece. There's an inventive plot-twist halfway in time, and the supernatural Escher-like labyrinth, in which the family in the end gets trapped to fight the evil, is well done, but that couldn't save the movie. A pity, since the acting was pretty good. The cast had earned a better vehicle to ride in.

Really terrible on all fronts from the acting, shoddy editing, weird production design and bad writing. I used to have so much respect for Dewanda Wise but this movie made her look really bad. Felt like she just showed up and learned her lines that morning, random emotional scenes that felt out of place and acting on par with melodramatic lifetime movies. There was zero chemistry between all the actors. Worst casting was the father who kept falling in and out of his accent from American to Australian. I did not buy him as a father at all, and the age difference did not feel authentic. Dewanda just felt like she was showing up for her check, she needs to fire her agent. The cinematography felt too much like a TV movie with special effects that looked like a 90's Disney film like "Don't Look Under the Bed." I got whiplash from the dark scenes transitioning straight to bright sunlight. The film was laughably bad, I'm shocked it made it into theaters. There was not a single good performance in this film. Teenagers in the theatre kept chatting and playing on their phones and laughing, which tells me even more that nobody was invested in this mediocre film.

I didn't buy for a second that any of the characters ever cared about one another. Teenage daughter was a clichè stereotype I've seen so many times, nothing fresh or intriguing. I did not buy for a second Dewanda cared about those kids and there was zero chemistry akin to actors talking to a pillow because nothing genuine bounced between them. Just flat and forced emotion that was never earned.

LIKES:

Decent Pace -Imaginary is a movie that keeps consistent in keeping the story moving with minimum divergence to complicate matters.

-Approximately ten minutes in, the mischief and intrigue start, doing their best to keep things engaging for the two hours.

• A faster pacing allowed the movie to feel less sluggish, which made it more enjoyable for me.

Okay Acting -The movie is a far cry from the best acting category, but that does not mean it's the worst performance group in the industry.

• I enjoyed Pyper Braun's acting merits to many levels as she captured a girl caught between traumatic sessions and finding a means to cope. Her voice work holds borderline creepy elements, and she displays terror and hurt to a believable level that helps capture that sincerity.

-Burns' acting is a step up from her Mighty Ducks days, going from pre-tween diva to moody teenager. Stumbling a bit in her transitions, she manages to pull some better acting skills in the final act that is promising for future roles once she masters it.

-Yet, DeWanda Wise is the best actress in this movie for me, displaying touching moments of connection and balanced emotion that provided a better character.

-She may have gotten a bit overdramatic at times, and there were some ill-presented lines, but they were (mostly) kept in check for this movie despite the corny writing Funny -Whether intentional or not, the movie ends up having very humorous moments that left me chuckling or laughing at loud.

-Chauncey's games and taunts are very childlike, but then receive an adult twist that spices things up and adds extra laugh power.

-Or perhaps you'll just find the looks of the monsters to be laughable as well, many of them a parody that reflects what imagination can craft when at a young age.

-If that's not enough, then there are always the toned-down lines, forced emotion, and overacted character qualities that may get a rise out of you.

Creative Starts To Creepiness: -Horror movies thrive on a lot of presentation styles to create that lasting feeling of terror.

-Imaginary takes some of the playbook tricks and manages to nudge them to an original setup that shows promise for a memorable bout of terror.

-When you have an imaginary friend, the sky is the limit for ways to open up putting our "heroes" in peril, and there were times I was impressed with the start of the scare and how creative they got.

Heartfelt Moments: -Like many movies in this genre, Imaginary's characters have to address some things in their past to recover and thrive in the future.

-Two character arcs in particular had moments that I resonated with, fantastic presentations of the trauma, combined with authentic portrayals of the hurt they can bring.

-One moment was fantastic for me, as they used the scene in many ways that helped maximize the impact of that story for me. Its design answered a few gaping questions while also helping forge a stronger bond between two characters that struck me deeply.

-Moments like these are the best part of the movie given the purpose it brings to the film alongside crafting characters to invest my time into watching.

DISLIKES

Overdramatic Plot: -The movie tries to give more to the story than other horror films though, something I appreciate very much in a very expansive genre.

-This story does have elements that work well with the drama and horror elements and help enrich the characters past the usual fodder status that is seen.

-However, the movie tends to waver to the more CW-esque drama patterns, becoming more about over-expression than an engaging plot.

-When the predictability component factors in, the plot only weakened further for me, which inflated the dramatic flair for me.

Too Silly For Its Own Good -Granting a PG-13 rating is a double-edged sword for a movie in my experience.

-For Imaginary, I think the rating dulled the film, allowing for too much silliness that got in the way of the horror elements.

-Between the comical displays of the bad guys and ludicrous secondary characters, there were too many interruptions that diluted what I came to the movie to see.

-Dialog and acting further added to the silliness and resulted in dulling the movie down to a censored version of a concept that could have gone much further.

-Factor in the overdramatic limitation, Imagination then starts to move into an area where the cuteness becomes a bit distracting and annoying. This feeling seems to be a big part of what has lowered the ratings and perhaps might be too much comedy for its good.

Too Many Plot Elements -A minor dislike of this movie, Imaginary tries to take on a lot of things in a short amount of time.

-I think it handled it, okay. Some elements accomplished the goal of diving into the psyche of the main character and connecting these broken pieces to make a fulfilling character arc.

-However, another plot felt half-baked, the little girl's story holding some details that were intriguing, but were utilized as plot devices to bridge the main story. A shame given how many elements were tied to this girl that actually could have included other characters in the picture.

-And in the case of the teenager, she felt like an accessory designed to pull in the loose ends and shakily glue them together in a menagerie that didn't quite come together for me.

-The end product is manageable but falls short of what BlumHouse has put out in the past, and not even the campiness elevates the limitations.

Lack Of Suspense/Thrills/Scares -Horror movies are all about the scares or thrills for most of the entries in the genre.

-In this movie, I felt that only about ten percent of the movie had traces of these elements for me to enjoy and contrasted the trailer's promises.

-Chauncey can be creepy at times. The way those eyes stare and the looming shadowy presence are a few examples of a horror element done right for me.

-But it never elevates much past that, often delivering lackluster jump scares or comical moments that were supposed to be scary.

-Once the turn in direction took place, the nightmare moments practically evaporated, and now starting to approach Tim Burton's styles of design. -This style does have its disturbing factor to it but Imaginary didn't take it that level and pulled punches that again were more humorous than terrifying.

-The most disappointing element was the revelation of the monster's true form. Chauncey takes several uncomfortable transformations, but upon showing his true face, I wasn't impressed with the final result, especially at him doing very little despite the powers he possessed.

The VERDICT: Imaginary is a movie that held a lot of potential for me when I watched the trailers. Sadly, only a little bit of this potential was achieved for me in this viewing. The acting is fine and creates some engaging character moments that work well with the PG-13 rating. It has a story with some unique elements and some potential creative setups for scares, while also not treading too far into disturbing levels. There is an atmosphere of comedy embedded that at times brought out a laugh or two in me. However, the movie does not finish any of these elements strongly and struggles to keep the balance between fright and fun just right. The result becomes a mundane film that could be a beginner-level horror movie that only stands out in a few spots as the creepy piece it aspired to be. I can't recommend this movie for a theater showing, instead looking to a night at home as your venue of choice. Who knows, being at home might enhance the scare factor a bit.

My scores for the film are: Horror/Mystery/Thriller: 5.5 Movie Overall: 5.0.

3 out of 5 stars.

Imaginary is a fair supernatural horror film with a concept about children's imaginary friends becoming some evil entity in a spirit world. Its a bit of poltergeist like film. The film has some cheesy dialogue and it lacks the scares and horror. Which it could have added jump scares and be a little intense to make this film worthy.

The plot follows Jessica (DeWanda Wise) as she and her new family with her step children move into her old childhood home. After a tragedy happened with her and her father at the house that left her dad speechless and traumatized. Her step daughter Alice comes across a teddy bear which she makes out to be an imaginary friend which becomes very sinister.

The cast ensemble was okay. The story was decent. The script was a bit cheesy with the dialogue. And the direction with Jeff Wadlow has been lacking with providing any scares or intensity. Yes the characters come across something evil and the way it was filmed. It failed to even put you on the edge of your seat. Interesting concept but failed to execute the scares.

Overall, it was an okay film that failed to deliver on scares and thrills.