Will This SAVE Blumhouse!? | Imaginary (2024) Horror Movie Review

[Music] good evening campers dreamers and babysitters when Jessica moves back into her childhood home with her family her youngest stepdaughter Alice finds a stuffed bear named chony as Alice's Behavior becomes more and more concerning Jessica intervenes only to realize that Chanty is much more than the stuffed toy bear she believed him to be yes folks this is our raw reaction review for [Music] Imaginary so blumhouse they have uh kind of been on our bad side a little bit recently Luke we did th

at whole video right after night swim just kind of talking about how uh you know the quality of their brand has been kind of Dipping recently and you know we still have a few more after imaginary here so uh the jury is still out I should say as to really truly where they lie on that Spectrum uh but imaginary was the first one after night swim to uh kind of step up to the plate and show us what it has and you know I think it should be said if you haven't uh checked out our short or uh any of our

social media if you don't follow us on there uh blumhouse did send over a nice little gift for us that Luke has right there uh yes we got a a Chanty bear uh from the film which was very sweet we we definitely had fun with that had a fun little time at the movie theater doing a little short with that why don't you show them the back there so they know it's official and we're not just uh pulling theirs and putting vests on them right yeah like that's that's what we're doing in our spare time but y

es they did uh send that over and we thank you guys over at Blum House and Lion's gate for doing that uh but I can't sit here and say that that's going to affect how we feel about the film you know we're we're we're real professional movie reviewers here we're doing our best we got to be real with you guys they got to be honest and Luke tell me how you feeling about imaginary you know for this one I would say I was going in lukewarm it wasn't something that I was necessarily um very intrigued by

uh but you know it it was kind of like seemed run-of-the-mill for me I didn't know really how they were going to expand upon any lore that they were going to establish here um and I will say you know this one wasn't a full strike maybe a little bit of a bunt um you know it was something where there was a lot of great stuff I think little Great Grains you can really explore and establish but kind of fell in the same old traps yeah and I I got to agree with you on that one man I I was uh really l

iking some of the elements in this I thought that the concept itself is is really strong and you know it's kind of weird because uh from the trailer you know it it was all right the teaser had me intrigued the description but you know that first trailer didn't really do much for me I I could say that it it didn't blow me away uh but as we got into the movie once it started off I was like okay this is actually a little bit more interesting than I was led to believe and I agree with you I think th

at overall the film is not horrible it's definitely not night swim levels of disappointing or frustrating um this movie definitely has more entertainment value I would say than that um but it does like you said kind of fall into some similar track apps uh kind of the same old same old when it comes to these kind of uh off the beaten path original uh generic horror blumhouse properties and I mean there's a few reasons for that number one I think the biggest one uh is that I would not be honestly

that uh I wouldn't disagree with many people if they didn't call this a horror movie I think you said it best when we discussed right after the film there aren't a lot of horror elements in this film really yeah it it's very scarce and and unfortunately what I think blumhouse is um guilty of doing and like at that initial teaser it didn't really have my attention it seemed you know this bear that maybe is haunted in a sense and we're going to just kind of get the supernatural element you know um

it it seemed pretty run-of-the-mill for me it wasn't anything that I felt uh overly interesting but I will say um yesterday before going into to see this there was some images that dropped if if you're not privy to those haven't seen any trailer um I'd stay away from that let yourself be surprised because it it opened up this world of potential for me and you know looking at it um coming out of the theater I will say this does feel like something like a real deep in the horror space fan had wri

tten this idea and maybe even a short story and then it got expanded upon and it became more of a general audience kind of horror and you know I I think it leaves uh a like someone who really wants to dive deep into that horror space they feel a little unsatisfied because you kind of do get this General audience horror that blumhouse is pretty notable for over the past few years so it kind of leaves you a little bit underwhelmed under unsatisfied you know you're left wanting more especially when

they do start exploring these ideas in these other Realms in a sense yeah and you know I I think that that's some of the the more disappointing elements for me here cuz it's like you know with blumhouse I I get what kind of horror I'm going into especially with the film like imaginary uh where it is going to be very jump scare heavy it's it's got this uh you know pretty much the safest bets as far as like you know I'm going in here I know what to expect but like there were some elements and the

re were some things that we talked about like you hinted towards that uh I also found out about right before going into the movie and it intrigued me it was definitely something that I'm like oh this could be really cool and uh one of those elements in particular is a practical effect and I will say it's awesome it it's a really really well done practical effect and when it's on screen it's great it looks great it moves great I love it but they don't use it much and it's it's one of those things

where again it's kind of like you have this at your disposal why are we not using it to its fullest you know potential and I get it you know less is more with some of these things but when the rest of the movie around it is is kind of floundering in some aspects especially when it comes to the horror and you have that in your back pocket it's kind of like I would have like maybe seen a first cut of this and been like yeah let's up that up let's bump that up a little bit more let's show a little

bit more of that let's put that in some more scenarios absolutely and you know I think back to when we had seen the nun two and you know I'm gonna spoil something maybe here I think you know films out if you're going to see privacy there was a great practical effect of this goat man and you know it was probably the most intriguing element of that film and it was something that was only for a brief passing moment they didn't really expand upon that too much that from a practical standpoint just

from a terrifying aspect I think that was so intriguing and so well done that that should have been you know the meat and potatoes of the film and there's something in here that's practical fact that yes when you do have that at your disposal you should you know turn that volume up times that by 10 and really lean into that because it's so well done and when you're looking to be scared and terrified in a horror film you have to amp that stuff up and yes as as we go throughout this film I think t

hey kind of breadcrumb you with the typical elements that we do see in those horror aspects nothing really out of the ordinary when you kind of get into it but then as we move toward a third act we we do move toward a different setting and it opens up the realm of possibility and I'll say you know if you're not necessarily sold by a lot of the film assume soon as you cross over into this I think it'll get your mind racing you know it'll give you Goosebumps because it's like what are they going t

o do here and unfortunately for me I think they underd delivered they didn't there's so much that you could set up so many aspects so many Avenues you can uh travel down but they don't really touch on it they really double down just on this one story and again it's nothing even when you do cross over into this different setting there's not a lot of Terror there yeah and you know I agree with you I think that that's the strong idea in this that's one of the elements that's like this is good this

is really where I see this film why it got green lit and you know I agree it just they they don't spend nearly enough time there they don't really open it up enough for you it seems like they kind of stick with one to two general scares they keep going back to and even then I I don't think they use them enough it just it really comes down to just kind of the same old same old that we've seen from Blum House where it's just a lot of people getting fake out scared and yeah the buildup itself is it

's not terrible I think uh I said this to you afterwards I said maybe after if I hadn't seen night swim uh I'd be a bit harsher on the whole first and second act because it isn't anything to mindboggling I do think that the uh the cast isn't terrible here I think that they do um have some bright spots in here especially um our uh our lead Act R uh danda wise is not bad I I thought that she uh did a pretty solid job leading this film uh she had some really uh heartwarming moments she had some rea

lly uh you know believable uh moments of just um you know actual I wouldn't say Terror but more uh you know trauma I guess is kind of reliving some things and I like that and I I do think that we both kind of said the the opening of the film The First Act uh is actually pretty good it just really kind of again it gets just so generic by the end and then once you get that third act punch they don't do enough with it to really kind of cross you over into the well that was that was really really go

od it it was fine but it wasn't anything mindblowing yeah I think you know the opening here it does get you on board and I think that's kind of you know sets you up to think you know it's so well done that you know maybe you're think you're going to be in for a little bit more than you actually get in terms of horror um elements there but you know I think that opening is so strong it really kind of um gets you in that horror space which I think a lot of films uh struggle doing you know to have t

hat real strong cold open like that um you know and danda Weiss I think she was such a great kind of um lens to see this film through um she was definitely um a Shining Light uh for me I think you know when you have that main character they have to come off as uh likable and she easily did that um you know and you know the her occupation the world that we dive into we talked about stop motion and that kind of being an interesting world we don't really see enough of um and kind of a fish out of w

ater in a sense and this one not necessarily as um wild as that stop motion aspect but she's an illustrator for um and an author of of kids books and I think that's such an organic vehicle to kind of use um when we get in terms of Storytelling I think that kind of melded really well and just being able to see that aspect of things that we don't necessarily see that often so I think you know when we have that and kind of this off offbeat maybe a more modern take on a family Dynamic I thought was

fairly well done um think it came off a little more organic than something like night swim and when we're kind of diving down those deeper family elements again we we're comparing this night swim because it's the last Blum House vehicle that we did see um you know that was just so slow and broading I think in certain elements where this one um I think you could have easily shaved off some of that beginning point point just because we want to dive deeper into the horror which we didn't really get

enough of here uh but you know it doesn't stall out like we did see something in night swim so you know I I think um lens um I think the wander wise was a perfect choice I think some of the the connective tissue that we have to kind of set up to get deeper into that those elements of horror are fairly well done but at the end of the day just under delivered yeah and I I don't think the the kids are bad in this either uh Teegan Burns and uh Piper braa uh they they both do a pretty serviceable jo

b I do like the relationship uh that the three of them have together the only uh two actors in this that I really had a hard time getting on board with one is this uh character of Liam uh played by Matthew S he kind of is like the neighbor boy um he was pretty uh one note very paper thin and you know you kind of expect that but they didn't really do anything with him that you'd kind of hope they would in a horror film um and then honestly there were moments with this character of Gloria played b

y Betty Buckley where I don't think it's necessarily her that's the issue I think it's the way her character is written I couldn't get a gauge on her she was kind of a flimp it and all over the place uh with a lot of her performance and I was pretty like there were moments where I'm like okay you're kind of settling into it now I like this and then she'd kind of just go on these odd very strange tangents and I I just found her to be very grading to me after a while I just was like okay let's jus

t get this character off screen please yeah you know um I'll second that I think of um uh was a Gloria um for me was a bit of an oddball and I think you know as you get more of the connective tissue and lay the groundwork of the story you kind of start understanding maybe certain elements and things like that but one of the biggest issues I did have with her characters and some of just the writing in general here which I think you know is um pretty much a sin when you when you're watching a film

is that this does commit a lot of the time is a lot of telling rather than showing oh absolutely that's her whole character yeah there is so much heavy Exposition even when there's so many elements moving around they kind of stop and decide to handhold and explain overe explain to the audience exactly what's going on when we're fully capable of making those connections I think um and it's for me a little bit jarring because you know writing things like that you think well I I would have handled

that rather differently you know but it it's a continuous thing throughout this so definitely a strike on my end um as well but you know not the worst Blum House which they've set a low bar um lately so you know it's not saying that much but you know not the worst that we've seen yeah and you know I gotta say uh I agree with you 100% on that last point about the writing there because there was a specific moment I can't get too deep into it because it's very spoiler heavy where we see something

happen and then it's totally makes 100% sense it was telegraphed beautifully I get it I understand what's going on and then uh they literally have that character explain everything piece by piece by piece it's like dude like why like we get it I I it's kind of like they explain it twice in the span of a couple minutes and it was frustrating um and I think the last real positive element that I can give this movie uh is I I thought that the the Chanty bear uh was actually a little bit more enterta

ining than I thought it was going to be uh you know you look at it it seems like an element that you know it could be cute it could be very useless um but they do some fun things with it uh I like how it's a bit more animated than I was expecting it to be uh and I I think there is a Twist in there that I unfortunately went to the bathroom during I I must admit but you explained it to me and I actually think that's pretty cool so you can probably divulge on that a little bit more but yeah that's

that's probably my last big positive on this yeah there is a fun twist in here as we get deeper into the story which you know in hindsight when you look back in it you're like I've seen that you know several times in in different uh different films but I think uh it was pretty well done here in a man as you're getting into it because it does kind of catch you off guard a little bit um so you know I I think to take that a story that is kind of run-ofthe-mill and add in a couple of curveballs to y

ou I think you know definitely needs that shot in the arm even though we are light on terror here um so you know I think you know I the story isn't all there but they definitely did try to give us something uh different you know and you know looking at that Chanty uh the Chanty bear um you know I think you get I was hoping for Child's Play Too in my my elements but I think I got the original Child's Play where it's more of a stoic character and we do see him kind of move around a little bit bit

and kind of uh wondering but you know that idea of is this really happening or not is kind of already gone you know so you don't really get that tension I think but you know am I necessarily going to run out to the theater again and see this no uh is it if it's streaming will I turn it on maybe as a passive watch um I think at the end of the day I'm gonna fall in worth a watch here yeah I'm actually GNA agree with you on that I think that this is just on the cusp of being between a worth a watch

and a proceed with caution for for me uh it's very midlevel I I don't really think that it does anything too crazy I think that the elements it presents uh although interesting and could have been really great I don't think they're expounded upon nearly enough uh there there are some really great things that you could see in the production that I feel like got wasted um but at the end of the day it's not again the most offensive Plum House thing I've seen in a while um I think that the elements

when they do show them they work um and I just think that overall I could see some people enjoying this more than us I I I just don't think this is our kind of horror film uh but at the end of the so I mean really at the end of the day I kind of am jostling between those two ratings but looking back on it I did enjoy my time more than I did night swi so I am going to say this is worth a watch and you know uh sorry to cut you off real quick and I think you know just um looking at this film even

though even if it leaves you unsatisfied I think as a creative you'll go into this thinking oh man that's an interesting idea I think that's definitely worth uh checking this film out yeah and it's like you know that's the thing about it too not to keep divulging into this but like I feel like that element of it is either going to frustrate you or you're going to think it is pretty cool and I think that we're kind of on both sides of that because like yeah it definitely frustrates us that it's n

ot expounded upon as much as it should have been because it is cool but I I think at the same time it's like hey I got to give him points for at least having some originality here like there there is some elements there that are really fun and really cool and I would like to see maybe in a different kind of film maybe a darker movie would have been a lot cooler but I think if you are interested in this if you're excited for it go ahead and check it out as always let us know what you guys thought

down below and yeah I mean this was again just uh a not another strike on the Blum House uh calendar but I I gotta say it's it's not the the resounding return to form that we've we're looking for so not a home run nope we are going to have to wait and see uh we'll see what the next one is that comes out but yeah other than that we got a lot of great stuff up on the channel guys if you are not hitting out to the theater definitely do yourself a favor and check out Frogman that's going to be hitt

ing the OD on a Friday as well and uh yeah there's a lot of other great stuff we did interview the director for Frogman uh Anthony cousins we sat sat down with him for about 50 minutes and uh yeah it's a it's a good long talk it's a lot of fun talking about Cryptids uh film making and just all kinds of horror stuff so definitely check those out and yeah I guess that's about going to wrap it up here so until next time I Dylan n and I'm Luke janesco and remember stay scared spatter kick every day

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