Directed by Jeff Wadlow (Cry Wolf, Truth or Dare, Kick-Ass 2, Fantasy Island) , who wrote the script with Greg Erb and Jason Oremland, this is exactly the kind of horror movie that comes out these days: produced by Blumhouse, rated PG-13, so dark that I could barely figure out what was going on in some scenes and all about someone coming back to their childhood home and dealing with past trauma, a plot of nearly every new scary film I watch. But I thought, am I being unfair? Possibly. Maybe I need to actually watch this, as the idea - childhood imaginary friends are angry at being abandoned - is a great one.
Jessica (DeWanda Wise) is a successful author of children's books who has married a musician named Max (Tom Payne) and is now the stepmother to his daughters Taylor (Taegen Burns) and Alice (Pyper Braun). She hasn't gotten over her rough upbringing and frequently dreams of her mentally ill father Ben and Simon the spider, who she has made a central character in her work.
Despite these issues, they decide to moves into Jessica's childhood home. Alice finds Chauncey the teddy bear, who becomes her imaginary friend while Jessica meets someone who claims she babysat her named Gloria (Betty Buckley, who is a bright spot), who tells her stories of her upbringing that she has forgotten.
After meeting with chid therapist Dr. Alana Soto (Verónica Falcón) when Alice shows the same issues Jessica once had, they learn that no one can see the teddy bear except Alice and Jessica. Soto has several patients who have all had similar problems with being unable to see the difference between reality and fantasy.
Then, Alice disappears.
Gloria tells Taylor that Chauncey was also Jessica's childhood imaginary friend. It turns out that imaginary friends are real spirits that feed off the imagination of young people and are generally friendly but become ill tempered when they are abandoned.
Gloria, Jessica and Taylor must complete a scavenger hunt, which is a ritual that the imaginary friends use, and enter the Never Ever, the place where these metaphysical being reside. The items include "Something that scares you. Something that you would get in BIG trouble for. Something that makes you MAD. Something that HURTS." This is different from the past, as Jessica was told to bring "Something to paint. Somethin that burns. Something u eat from. Somethin that makes u happee. Some peez of you. Something that makes you mad."
That's because at one point, Jessica tried to leave reality for this place but was saved by her father, who was driven insane by what he saw. That's why he's been in an institution ever since.
The problem is that Gloria wants to stay, as Chauncey has been in contact with her. He promised her all the power of his home if she trapped the women with him, but in the middle of her explaining the magnificent power of the Never Ever, he appears and tears her apart. Jessica responds by stabbing him in the eye. Even when it seems like everyone has escaped, they remain trapped until Chauncey shows his spider form - Stephen King, call for residuals - and Alice sets him on fire. And yes, like so many movies, they burn their house down to escape.
The women try and get a hotel, but when they see a kid playing with his imaginary friend, they leave.
There are shout outs to Labyrinth, A Nightmare on Elm Street - they live on Elm Street - Alice In Wonderland and the whole thing is inspired by Poltergeist, which Wadlow cites by saying, "It perfectly strikes the balance between scares and this benign sense of wonder and excitement and emotion that you get when you have a family that you care about."
My wonder - seeing as how this is all about imagination - is if all of these movies that refer to the past and have similar plots are leading to the well of ideas that the next generation of filmmakers making being further muddied. This is fine, I guess, but when you're paying so much for a movie - whether going to see it in its short theatrical window or watching it at home for a fee - you want more than fine. Maybe I expect too much from escapist summertime movies, but I want to be inspired and wowed and come away thinking of all the ways a movie can expand.
Instead, I just watched the time and wondered when this was over.
Jessica (DeWanda Wise) is a successful author of children's books who has married a musician named Max (Tom Payne) and is now the stepmother to his daughters Taylor (Taegen Burns) and Alice (Pyper Braun). She hasn't gotten over her rough upbringing and frequently dreams of her mentally ill father Ben and Simon the spider, who she has made a central character in her work.
Despite these issues, they decide to moves into Jessica's childhood home. Alice finds Chauncey the teddy bear, who becomes her imaginary friend while Jessica meets someone who claims she babysat her named Gloria (Betty Buckley, who is a bright spot), who tells her stories of her upbringing that she has forgotten.
After meeting with chid therapist Dr. Alana Soto (Verónica Falcón) when Alice shows the same issues Jessica once had, they learn that no one can see the teddy bear except Alice and Jessica. Soto has several patients who have all had similar problems with being unable to see the difference between reality and fantasy.
Then, Alice disappears.
Gloria tells Taylor that Chauncey was also Jessica's childhood imaginary friend. It turns out that imaginary friends are real spirits that feed off the imagination of young people and are generally friendly but become ill tempered when they are abandoned.
Gloria, Jessica and Taylor must complete a scavenger hunt, which is a ritual that the imaginary friends use, and enter the Never Ever, the place where these metaphysical being reside. The items include "Something that scares you. Something that you would get in BIG trouble for. Something that makes you MAD. Something that HURTS." This is different from the past, as Jessica was told to bring "Something to paint. Somethin that burns. Something u eat from. Somethin that makes u happee. Some peez of you. Something that makes you mad."
That's because at one point, Jessica tried to leave reality for this place but was saved by her father, who was driven insane by what he saw. That's why he's been in an institution ever since.
The problem is that Gloria wants to stay, as Chauncey has been in contact with her. He promised her all the power of his home if she trapped the women with him, but in the middle of her explaining the magnificent power of the Never Ever, he appears and tears her apart. Jessica responds by stabbing him in the eye. Even when it seems like everyone has escaped, they remain trapped until Chauncey shows his spider form - Stephen King, call for residuals - and Alice sets him on fire. And yes, like so many movies, they burn their house down to escape.
The women try and get a hotel, but when they see a kid playing with his imaginary friend, they leave.
There are shout outs to Labyrinth, A Nightmare on Elm Street - they live on Elm Street - Alice In Wonderland and the whole thing is inspired by Poltergeist, which Wadlow cites by saying, "It perfectly strikes the balance between scares and this benign sense of wonder and excitement and emotion that you get when you have a family that you care about."
My wonder - seeing as how this is all about imagination - is if all of these movies that refer to the past and have similar plots are leading to the well of ideas that the next generation of filmmakers making being further muddied. This is fine, I guess, but when you're paying so much for a movie - whether going to see it in its short theatrical window or watching it at home for a fee - you want more than fine. Maybe I expect too much from escapist summertime movies, but I want to be inspired and wowed and come away thinking of all the ways a movie can expand.
Instead, I just watched the time and wondered when this was over.