When Jessica moves back into her childhood home with her family, her youngest stepdaughter, Alice, finds a stuffed bear named Chauncey. As Alice’s behavior becomes more and more concerning, Jessica intervenes only to realize that Chauncey is much more than the stuffed toy bear she believed him to be.

For in-depth thoughts on Imaginary, please see my colleague Gaius Bolling’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

Imaginary arrives on Blu-Ray with a 1080p presentation in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio that delivers a rock-solid HD presentation of the film. Even with the prevalence of shadows within this narrative, you are provided with welcome clarity throughout which allows texture to break through in the backgrounds and clothing. Black levels are mostly favorable when it comes to depth while displaying just a bit of digital noise in the darkest moments. Color saturation is conservative thanks to the cooler color grade cast over the entire film, but this disc represents that choice well. Skin tones are natural, and exposed skin adapts to all of the effects thrown at it as the story goes along. A 4K UHD Blu-Ray could have helped this one, but this Blu-Ray holds up well.

Audio Quality

The Dolby Atmos track is utilized perfectly to tell this story. This narrative features the sounds of knocking, creaking, and more surprising details emanating from numerous directions. The movie uses environmental sounds to establish an unsettling mood, and the track retains strong detail even when situations come unraveled. The addition of the height channel ratchets up the atmosphere even further as you become fully immersed in the nightmare. Dialogue comes through crisp and clear as it balances well with the competing elements. The sound design on display here is pronounced within its creative ambitions. The low end springs to life in key moments which leaves an impression. This track is very effective and will be appreciated by fans. There are English, English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles provided.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Producer-Cowriter-Director Jeff Wadlow and Executive Producer-Actress DeWanda Wise provide a decent commentary track in which they reflect on the production, last-minute changes, the special effects, working with the young performers, and more.

Imaginary – Exploring The Never Ever: A four-part documentary totaling 19 minutes is provided that explores Never Ever, the costumes, the creature effects, and more that went into this movie.

- Meet Your New Imaginary Friends (5:09)

- Frills and Thrills (4:55)

- Crafting the Beasts of Imaginary (4:53)

- Bringing Nightmare To Life (4:13)

Final Thoughts

Imaginary is a rather limp outing from Blumhouse that never really elevates the execution of its story. The twisted childhood fantasy subgenre is saturated with films that tackle this subject matter from different angles, but this is one of the more forgettable mainstream options. The attempt to throw some James Wan-esque creativity into the creation of an alternate world in the third act is admirable, but things never progress to the sublimely twisted. There are some decent moments and the performances are largely the best part of the experience, but this is lower-tier Blumhouse. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray with a terrific A/V presentation and a decent selection of supplemental features.

Imaginary is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Lionsgate Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.