Blumhouse, the studio behind some of the most memorable films of the last ten years(Get Out, Split, The Visit) and a host of more or less successful horror films(Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Sinister, American Nightmare) unveils its latest production, the horror film Imaginary directed by Jeff Wadlow(Kick-Ass 2, Truth or Dare, Nightmare Island), in cinemas from March 6, 2024.
The story is that of Jessica(Dewanda Wise), a writer-illustrator and stepmother of two young girls, who moves back into her childhood home with her new partner(Tom Payne). Within these four walls, the youngest daughter, Alice(Pyper Braun), develops a strange attachment to a teddy bear named Chauncey that she found in the basement. Alice's behavior becomes increasingly disturbing.
Although Jeff Wadlow's screenplay may initially seem lazy, failing to avoid the pitfalls of the genre and the re-sugared ingredients of a recipe that has known its hours of glory (the return to a childhood home, the complicated arrival of a stepmother in a family circle, the presence of a little girl with eyes at least as innocent as Heather O'Rourke's in Poltergeist), the director still manages to inject some good ideas.
Particularly in thehumanization of the teddy bear, which comes to life in a subtle way, through tiny changes in the reflections in his eyes - whose shape also varies very slightly, depending on his emotions - and discreet grins at the corners of his stitched lips.
With an almost all-female cast - including the young , mischievous and convincing Pyper Braun - the film is a fairly classic exploration of family relationships and childhood terrors personified in a paranormal paracosm with the depopulated, repetitive aesthetic so dear to Internet backrooms.
A place free from the rules of space and time - universes often explored in Blumhouse horror productions - into which a Freddy Krueger on the prowl could easily emerge from one of the countless doors.
Pleasantly devoid of the jump scares so typical of the studio, but not of more or less expected twists, Imaginary won't make Blumhouseholics tremble with fear (the film is only forbidden to under 12s) but will certainly thrill wary souls and teenagers who, once back at home after the screening, will have to face the penetrating gaze of their teddy bear that, only a few years ago, they used to hug.
What films will you be seeing in March 2026?
All March 2026 cinema releases in Paris and the Île-de-France region, with schedules and special offers near you. [Read more]
Blood, thrills, possession or slashers: find out which horror films are showing in cinemas right now and which are coming soon. [Read more]
films to be seen today in Paris and the Île-de-France region. [Read more]
Dates and Opening Time
Starts March 6, 2024
What films will you be seeing in March 2026?
Horror films currently showing in cinemas and coming soon
Which film to see today? Our screening ideas
