Imaginary (2024)

The written companion

Draft companion · Awaiting editorial review

Imaginary: A Good Performance Cannot Rescue Matt's Evening

Matt does not enter Imaginary with towering expectations. He mentions a headache before the screening and hopes it will not influence his response. Afterward, his criticism is directed at the movie itself: he finds the horror basic, the developments predictable, and the experience insufficiently involving.

There is one clear bright spot. DeWanda Wise gives a performance he thinks helps keep the film from becoming even less satisfying. That appreciation does not overcome his problems with the material around her.

His brief reaction places Imaginary alongside other recent horror releases that have disappointed him. He is looking for something beyond a familiar collection of scares, and he does not find enough here to recommend it broadly. Viewers already fond of this particular style of mainstream PG-13 horror may respond differently, but Matt leaves unconvinced.

Did Wise's performance give you a stronger connection to Imaginary than Matt found? When a horror premise feels familiar, what can still make it frightening for you?

Watch Matt's Imaginary reaction ↗

Based on auto-generated captions from a brief solo review. No numerical score is stated in the source.