Behind The Scenes of the Movie ‘Imaginary’

Movies
Written By Vincent L. Smith

Written by Vincent Smith & Michael Lee

*All media in this article is courtesy by Lionsgate

Photo via Lionsgate

'Imaginary', the latest horror movie from the Lionsgate and Blumhouse Productions collaboration, made a notable entrance at the box office on March 8th, 2024. In its opening weekend, the film secured third place in North America with a solid $10.0 million and expanded its eerie presence to 27 first-wave international markets, accumulating an additional $3.1 million. These figures propelled 'Imaginary' to a fifth-place finish on the worldwide weekend chart, totaling $13.1 million.



The UK/Ireland and Australia emerged as standout regions among the international markets, contributing $836,000 and £503,000 respectively. With Germany, Mexico, and Spain slated for release this coming weekend, 'Imaginary' looks to expand its global footprint further. This article will take a look behind the scenes of the film offering a plot synopsis, cast breakdown and clips from the film.

‘Imaginary’ Cast & Crew Interviews

Interviews with: DeWanda Wise, Jason Blum, Jeff Wadlow, Tom Payne, Taegen Burns, Pyper Braun, Betty Buckley | Video Courtesy Lionsgate

‘Imaginary’ Movie trailer

Photo via Lionsgate

‘Imaginary’ Film Synopsis

Imaginary is yet another horror flick from the infamous Blumhouse Studios, whose track record includes the likes of the Paranormal Activity franchise, Insidious, and the ever-campy M3GAN, the latter destined to be a cult classic in the making. DeWanda Wise, perhaps best known for Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It reboot, plays Jessica, while The Walking Dead’s Tom Payne plays Max, her hipster rocker husband.

‘Imaginary’ Film Clip: Chauncey’s Coming for you (video via Lionsgate)

The film begins with Jessica, our protagonist, who happens to be both a children’s book author and illustrator. Jessica has just recently married Max, who has two children from a previous marriage. The eldest is angsty teenage Taylor and the youngest is wide-eyed Alice, both of whom seem to resent their new stepmother. We see the blended family moving back into Jessica’s childhood home located on Elm Street, which is an obvious Easter egg to The Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Her youngest stepdaughter, Alice, finds Jessica’s old stuffed bear named Chauncy, hidden within their creepy basement.

DeWanda Wise as Jessica in ‘Imaginary’ ● Photo Credit Parrish Lewis/Lionsgate

Alice begins developing a deep relationship with Chauncey while Jessica and Max play it off as simple child innocence and a rite of passage, as she too had an imaginary friend in Chauncey. Though Alice claims Chauncey begins to speak to her and while relatively innocent at first, things grow sinister rather quickly, and slowly but surely Jessica becomes disturbed by Alice’s growing dependence on Chauncey. Eventually, they visit a therapist to ascertain Alice’s mental health, as she has begun talking in many voices and talking as Chauncey himself, which greatly frightens them both.

We begin to see a lot of exposition of Jessica’s childhood, this old house of hers is awakening memories it seems Jessica would soon rather forget. It is slowly revealed that her relationship with her father is rather difficult and it hints at a very fractured relationship between the two as she cannot stop dreaming about him and a mutated spider; this is some kind of nightmare that she just can’t shake. We know that while she loves her husband, Max, it is proving difficult to integrate into his family as his daughters, especially Taylor, have rejected her as their new mother. It is then revealed that Taylor and Alice’s mother is very much alive and has been committed to a psychiatric hospital due to her mental health struggles.

‘Imaginary’ Film Clip: Something That Hurts (video via Lionsgate)

The film makes it very clear that Jessica prioritizes her imagination; her house is littered with old illustrations she’d made as a child. We learn she uses her creativity as an escape, as she often loses herself to writing and illustrating her children’s books when life gets particularly difficult. But things change when Jessica then meets her old babysitter and next-door neighbor, Gloria and they reminisce about her childhood and her relationship with Chauncey. Gloria reveals herself to be quite the expert on all things imaginary, telling Jessica she’s even written a book on the subject. She reveals that Alice and Jessica are quite similar and some kind of psychic link exists between the two.

Pyper Braun as Alice in ‘Imaginary’ ● Photo Credit Parrish Lewis/Lionsgate

The film slowly begins to reveal itself as a quasi-blend of science fiction and horror as things with Alice and Chauncey worsen, as Chauncey has seemingly dragged Alice into some kind of hidden portal world tucked away into her old closet, leading to a raging underworld of imaginary friends called Never-Ever. These imaginary friends are thirsty for revenge; attempting to claw at your very psyche, still full of anger at their apparent abandonment. Jessica and Taylor, along with Gloria, follow Alice and Chauncey into the Never-Ever, to rescue her, but Gloria hastily closes the only door in or out to this dreamlike prison, attempting to trap the girls but she gets swiftly killed by an imaginary friend. Jessica however figures out that their imagination can open a new door and so everyone is allowed to escape.

‘Imaginary’ Film Clip: Tea Party Guest (video via Lionsgate)

But Jessica was tricked into believing she was free. Chauncey had secretly imagined a door back into Never-Ever to attack Jessica for abandoning her. It isn’t long before Taylor and Alice save Jessica by opening a door between both the real world and the Never-Ever. They needed to trust one another to save each other. The power of family is revealed as the screen fades to black.

‘Imaginary’ Cast Breakdown

Now, let’s take a look at the actors who brought the film to life onscreen.

DeWanda Wise - ‘Jessica’

Photo by Amy Sussman - © 2019 Getty Images via IMDB

Tom Payne - ‘Max’

Photo via IMDB

Taegan Burns - ‘Taylor’

Photo by Nicole Mitchem - © Nicole Mitchem Photography via IMDB

Pyper Braun - ‘Alice’

Photo via IMDB

Veronica Falcón - Dr. Soto

Photo by Jeremy Davis via IMDB

Betty Buckley - ‘Gloria’

Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris - © WireImage.com via IMDB

‘Imaginary’ In The Media

‘Imaginary’ got mixed reviews my movie goers and critics upon its release. Here are how some of top ranking media outlets covered the movie.

Conclusion

'Lionsgate and Blumhouse Productions' 'Imaginary' carved its niche in the horror movie landscape with a commendable box office debut, amassing $13.1 million worldwide. The film unfolds a complex narrative that intertwines the real with the surreal, boasting a stellar cast led by DeWanda Wise and Tom Payne, and earning a mix of reactions from media outlets. For breakdowns on the latest box office releases, be sure to check out our featured movie articles!

Vincent L. Smith https://www.vincentleesmith.com
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