If you ever had an imaginary friend growing up, there’s a good chance that it didn’t turn out to be some kind of supernatural force that would come back to haunt you later in life. But that’s exactly what’s happening in Blumhouse’s upcoming horror flick, Imaginary. Unlike killer doll flicks from the past, Chauncey the stuffed bear looks about as non-threatening as it gets. And Chauncey doesn’t appear to be as ambulatory as other murderous toys. Instead, Chauncey’s sense of menace comes from what he can inspire his victims to do. Sometimes, Chauncey doesn’t even have to lift a paw to make them hurt themselves.
Jurassic World Dominion‘s DeWanda Wise headlines the film as Jessica, and Chauncey was once her bear and her imaginary friend. Now married with a stepdaughter, Alice (Pyper Braun), Jessica and her new family have moved into her childhood home where Chauncey has been waiting decades for his revenge. It seems that Jessica’s refusal to engage with him has left Chauncey twisted with anger and he will not be ignored. He won’t be boiling any bunnies, but Chauncey does have his eye on Alice.
It looks like most of the chills from this story are going to come from the decidedly low-budget horror of seeing Alice carry out Chauncey’s will without always seeing him put it in motion. That could actually be very effective because when the movies focus too much on the killer dolls, they start to seem silly. The trailer also reveals that Chauncey’s “games” with Alice have graduated to self-harm, and he wants to take her back to the otherworldly realm that he came from.
Tom Payne also stars in the film alongside Betty Buckley, Taegen Burns, Matthew Sato, Veronica Falcón, and Dane DiLiegro. Jeff Wadlow directed and co-wrote the script alongside Greg Erb, Bryce McGuire, and Jason Oremland.
Imaginary will haunt theaters on Friday, March 8.
