Brittney Leigh

If I had to describe Imaginary to a friend, I'd say it's like a mix between Smile (2022) and The Boogeyman (2023)—a blend of psychological tension and supernatural undertones. I’d been looking forward to this one ever since I saw the first trailer, and I finally got to check it out. While it was marketed as a horror film, it leans more into psychological thriller territory. The opening scene pulls you in right away, setting a strong tone, but the pacing slows for a bit before picking up again when a young girl named Alice (played by Pyper Braun) discovers a strange toy in her stepmother Jessica’s (DeWanda Wise) childhood home. From there, the film gradually unravels into something darker and more unsettling. The performances were solid overall. Pyper Braun delivers an emotionally intense performance as Alice, and Teagan Burns, who plays her older sister(Taylor), adds a grounded presence that helps balance out the more surreal elements. Teagan plays the protective sister until she meets her neighbor Liam, played by Matthew Sato. DeWanda Wise holds the center as Jessica, portraying a woman haunted by more than just her past. While no one performance truly blew me away, the cast worked well together and helped carry the film’s eerie atmosphere. What really stood out was the way the film explored childhood imagination, memory, and trauma, blurring the lines between what's real and what's not. Without giving too much away, let’s just say that not everything is as imaginary as it seems.