Megan + Teddy = Imaginary! What are the new horror movie reports from the director of Truth or Dare?

Ten years after Kick-Ass 2, director Jeff Wadlow – who also worked on the horror films Truth or Dare and Nightmare Island – returns with Imaginary, a new production from the Blumhouse studio.

In this feature film that combines an imaginary friend and an Alice in Wonderland story, Jessica returns to her childhood home with her family. Her younger stepdaughter Alice develops a strange attachment to a teddy bear named Chauncey that she found in the basement of the house. Everything starts out as innocent games, but Alice’s behavior becomes more and more disturbing. Jessica then realizes that Chauncey is much more than just a toy…

Where have you seen the actors before?

The film is hosted by Devanda Wise, and if her face rings a bell, that’s okay, because she played pilot Kayla Watts in Jurassic World: The Next World. The American actress is also the headliner of the Netflix series Nola Darling does as she pleases. Here she plays Jessica, the stepmother of young Alice and Taylor. Returning to his childhood home, he finds himself with a part of his past that he had completely forgotten.

Fans of The Walking Dead will recognize British comedian Tom Payne, aka Jesus in Seasons 7 through 9 of the zombie series. The latter plays Max here, Jessica’s musician husband and father to the little girls.

Actress Betty Buckley, already seen in the TV series Eight is Enough, Oz or New York Special Unit, in which she portrays Lorraine Maxwell, and the M. Night Shyamalan film Split lends her features to Gloria, Jessica’s former nanny. It is he who will help the young woman to remember the past.

The girls are played by Piper Brown (10 years old) and Teigen Burns, whose resemblance to Emma Stone is sometimes uncanny. The 16-year-old girl has already appeared in the TV series The Stuff of Heroes as Laura and Little Champions.

When M3GAN meets TED

In ImaginaryYoung Alice finds comfort in an old bear found in the basement of her new home, but very quickly he isolates the little girl and asks her to do dangerous things.

Like M3GAN, already produced by Blumhouse, the film sees a lonely little girl befriend a particular toy: here a teddy bear named Chauncey. Director Jeff Wadlow explains in a press release: “I like making movies that play with the audience’s perception of what’s real and what’s not, so a horror film that explores the terrifying possibilities of imaginary friends was perfect for me. The perfect sandbox to play in.”

So Imaginary comes at the right time after Jason Blum’s latest production: M3GAN and the adaptation of the video game Five Nights at Freddy’s, in which a pizzeria guard must survive among animatronics of bears, ducks and rabbits.

Founded in 2000, the studio, which has already produced more than 120 feature films, seems to be taking toys and turning them to sinister ends.

When Alice in Wonderland meets a poltergeist

But the feature film is also about Lewis Carroll’s tale, “Alice in Wonderland“Young Alice is actually drawn into her ‘friend’s’ world, where her imagination comes alive. She follows the white rabbit, the little girl follows the brown bear…

Another reference the director claims: Poltergeist. In an interview with the magazine SFXJeff Wadlow states that Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist (1982) was a major influence on his imagination and his film’s teaser poster.

“The first Poltergeist was a major reference for us. It perfectly balances moments of pure fear with the wonder and emotion you feel when you have a family to care for.

We tried to create a modern version

We tried to do a modern version of that with our film, in which the terror comes from this unknown presence that has compromised the safety of the family. We also tried to build on the “Spielberg” aspects of it. What if what you always imagined was real? What are the consequences of this? We try to explore this with a modern sensibility.“

Prohibited for children under 12 years of age. Imaginary You can see it in theaters this Wednesday, March 6.