Imaginary is the second new Blumhouse film this year after Night Swim. When a woman returns to her childhood home, she discovers the not-so-imaginary friend she left behind is angry she deserted him.

Directed by Jeff Wadlow, the core concept is fantastic. It didn’t go where I thought it would go because of innovative curve balls that play with the idea of Imaginary friends. The creative camera work includes fun angles, tilts, and other movements to give certain scenes a surreal feel.

I like Chauncey’s facial expressions. The character design of the stuffed bear combines a fine balance between cute and creepy. Monster Chauncey looks great too but there’s a serious lack of the main villain. I expected more screen time. The Chauncy song is creepy though.

Written by Jeff Wadlow, Greg Erb, and Jason Oremland, it starts slow but speeds up halfway through. The formulaic plot isn’t without faults, becoming illogical when the writers break the rules they set up early on. It touches on topics at a surface level when it could have explored ideas further.

It has creepy moments but it’s not scary in general primarily because it’s full of fake-out jump scares. It suffers from showing, not telling, too, because characters give long explanations instead of using flashbacks for backstories. Characters also literally explain things that just happened. This is lazy writing that’s disrespectful to the audience. Unfortunately, like many Blumhouse films, the best parts are in the previews, showing specific scenes in their entirety, however, to the writer’s credit, the third act goes in interesting, unexpected directions not alluded to whatsoever.

The cast only has two likable characters. Pyper Braun as Alice is phenomenal. DeWanda Wise as Jessica is good too. The rest of the cast has no chemistry. This includes Tom Payne as Max, Betty Buckley as Gloria, Taegen Burns as Taylor, and Verónica Falcón as Dr. Alana Soto. They only have one or two clichéd character traits instead of having personalities. Some people make inexplicable decisions that are out of left field going against their characters entirely. It feels so bizarre. Also, the unrealistic dialogue is unintentionally funny simply because people don’t talk that way. Dane DiLiegro as Chauncey Bear gives an eerie voice-acting performance. A character like this needs a comforting innocent voice that can go dark when necessary and he delivers splendidly.

Overall, Chauncey the Bear has the potential to be a combination of Chucky and Freddy Krueger because of the initial concept. The film deserves credit for not being what I expected, starting strong but ultimately suffering from a lack of creativity. It feels like watered-down versions of Sinister (2012), Child’s Play (1988), and Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) but I’m glad it doesn’t take the easy way out by becoming another possession film like Annabelle (2014).

Sinister worked because it set up an intriguing mystery dropping nuanced clues along the way so the surprising conclusion connected all the dots. The original Child’s Play puts an innocent toy front and center of the mystery until the big reveal. Freddy had fun playing with reality. This flick feels derivative of those because it doesn’t do either. It teases many things rather than focusing on a select few ideas. It’s trying to be too much all at once. It has good ideas but it feels like the writers couldn’t decide which ones to use. I did enjoy it for the most part so I do recommend it but with that title, I thought it would be more…I don’t know…imaginative. And remember, Chancey the bear has arrived, Teddy or not!

Grade: 6/ 10