Movie · 2024 · Horror, Mystery · 1h 44m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 0.2/10 (20.1K ratings)
Meet Chauncey. He's not imaginary. And he's not your friend.
Overview
When Jessica moves back into her childhood home with her family, her youngest stepdaughter Alice develops an eerie attachment to a stuffed bear named Chauncey she finds in the basement. Alice starts playing games with Chauncey that begin playful and become increasingly sinister. As Alice’s behavior becomes more and more concerning, Jessica intervenes only to realize Chauncey is much more than the stuffed toy bear she believed him to be.
Ratings
Curator score: 0.2/10
IMDb: 4.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 25%
Metacritic: 34
TMDB: 5.9/10
Director
Jeff Wadlow
Production
Blumhouse Productions, Tower of Babble, Lionsgate
Cast
DeWanda Wise, Taegen Burns, Pyper Braun, Betty Buckley, Tom Payne, Veronica Falcón, Samuel Salary, Matthew Sato, Alix Angelis, Wanetah Walmsley, Rhythm Hurd, Shawn Sanz, Noah Martinez, Lilly Sunshine, Cecilia Leal, Eduardo Campirano III, Dane DiLiegro, Suzette Lange, Aubree Majors, Brooklyn Majors
Where to watch
Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus
Curator Review
Verdict
A toy-bear possession premise with a family-horror setup, but the execution is widely seen as flat, unintentionally funny, and undercooked. It may still work as a low-stakes watch for viewers who enjoy campy Blumhouse-style creature features, but it is not a strong recommendation.
Best for
Viewers who like so-bad-it's-funny horror
Fans of cursed-object and possessed-toy stories
People in the mood for a disposable studio horror watch
Skip if
You want genuinely scary horror
You dislike thin plotting and heavy exposition
You prefer polished supernatural thrillers or strong creature design
Overview
Imaginary takes a familiar childhood-fear idea and stretches it into a family-horror mystery about an eerie stuffed bear and the little girl who bonds with it. The setup promises a creepy blend of domestic unease and supernatural menace, but the film never quite finds the tone or momentum to make that premise land.
Worth noting
What emerges instead is a movie that feels more mechanical than haunted, with scares that are more goofy than unsettling and a mythology that arrives in clunky pieces. The cast does what it can, but the script keeps undercutting tension with awkward dialogue and a general sense of strain.
Bottom line
If you enjoy horror that accidentally becomes comedy, there is some value in the absurdity. For most viewers, though, this is an easy pass in a crowded field of better haunted-object and family-curse movies.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Joe A (1.5★) · 2318 likes
It’s called Imaginary because you have to use your imagination to pretend it’s good. Clever joke Blumhouse, but let’s make a good movie instead.
Jackson (1.5★) · 2235 likes
imagine me dragging my nuts across your face
sidekick (3★) · 1536 likes
Sorry, but pissing in someone else's house with the door wide open is insane
Patrick Dougall (2★) · 1255 likes
I think they name drop “Bing Bong” more in this film than actual Inside Out (2015).