Blumhouse and Lionsgate have unveiled the trailer for the upcoming horror film “Imaginary,” set for a March 8 release.
Directed by Jeff Wadlow, “Imaginary” stars DeWanda Wise as Jessica, a woman returning to live in her childhood home with her family. Once moved in, her stepdaughter Alice becomes infatuated with Chauncey, a stuffed bear found in the basement. As Jessica grows concerned about the sinister connection between Alice and Chauncey, she realizes Chauncey might be more than just a bear.
Keri Moore, Lionsgate’s co-president of theatrical marketing, told Variety of the film’s premise: “Something you see across cultures is that children have a unique access to the spirit world. What if their imaginary friends are something from the spirit world? What if these imaginary friends were real, and what if when you left one of them, that made them upset?”
The film’s teaser trailer, which played exclusively in theaters before Blumhouse’s fall box office hit “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” first enticed audiences by asking them to close their eyes, immersing them with audio in a frightening first-person perspective.
Tom Payne (“The Walking Dead”), Betty Buckley (“Split”), Taegen Burns (“The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers”), Pyper Braun (“Desperation Road”), Matthew Sato (“High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”) and Veronica Falcón (“Jungle Cruise”) round out the cast.
Wadlow has previously directed other horror films including “Fantasy Island” (2020) and “Truth or Dare” (2018). He also helmed “Kick-Ass 2,” the follow up to Matthew Vaughn’s 2010 action-comedy.
Wadlow serve as a producer on “Imaginary” alongside Jason Blum for Blumhouse. Wadlow co-wrote the script with Greg Erb and Jason Oremland. In addition to starring, Wise also serves as executive producer alongside Ryan Turek.
Watch the trailer below.