When Imaginary Friends Go Wrong - Daniel Isn’t Real Review
One facet of childhood that has always been inherently creepy is the imaginary friend. They play and talk and do everything with this person or thing that nobody can see except for them. The movie Daniel Isn’t Real takes this to whole new levels.
As a kid Luke (Miles Robbins) had his imaginary friend Daniel (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and they did everything together, until the day that Daniel tried to kill his mother (Mary Stuart Masterson-Fried Green Tomatoes). Luke then locked Daniel away in a dollhouse.
As an adult he’s shy and awkward, and filled with anxiety. A therapist suggests unlocking that part of his mind that let him play when he was a kid, which leads to the return of Daniel. Daniel acts as a Tyler Durden, Ferris Bueller type to Luke at first, giving him the confidence needed to get a girlfriend (Sasha Lane-Hellboy) and focus on his art. But there is a dark secret that Daniel is hiding, he’s not imaginary, and he’s certainly no ones friend.
This movie really impressed me. It’s one part psychological thriller, one part fantasy story, with some really solid performances here from the cast. It was interesting to see the sons of Hollywood royalty interact together. Patrick of course being the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Miles Robbins is the son of Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon. Patrick was particularly fascinating as he’s got the swagger and charm of the Kennedy side of his family, with the acting chops of his Dad.
This is an underrated movie, haven’t heard too many people talk about it but it’s worth checking out. The climax has some cool fantasy elements that reminded me of the movie The Cell and has a sword fight, which we could always use more of in movies I think.
It’s also produced by the people who did Mandy, if you need any further stamps of weird/good movie approval. If you’re looking for something to watch tonight you can do much worse than Daniel Isn’t Real, now streaming on Shudder.
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