Imaginary: Jeff Wadlow directing imaginary friend horror film for Blumhouse

After working together on the 2018 film Truth or Dare and the 2020 horror version of Fantasy Island, director Jeff Wadlow and Blumhouse Productions are now collaborating on another horror project called Imaginary. Deadline reports that Lionsgate has acquired the worldwide rights to the film.

Wadlow has written the screenplay for Imaginary with Greg Erb, Jason Oremland, and Bryce McGuire, crafting the following story: A young woman returns to her childhood home only to discover that the imaginary friend she left behind is very real and very unhappy she left.

So it sounds sort of like a horrific take on the 1991 comedy Drop Dead Fred.

Lionsgate and Blumhouse are hoping to get Imaginary into production in the spring, so Wadlow is currently working to assemble the cast for the film. Lionsgate and Blumhouse are co-financing the project, with Lionsgate planning to present Imaginary to potential buyers at the European Film Market later this month. Deadline notes that Lionsgate and Blumhouse previously worked together on the 2012 release Sinister.

Wadlow is producing the film alongside Blumhouse founder Jason Blum.

In addition to Truth or Dare and Fantasy Island, Wadlow has also directed Cry_Wolf, Never Back Down, Kick-Ass 2, True Memoirs of an International Assassin, and The Curse of Bridge Hollow, as well as episodes of TV shows like Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television and Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Wadlow’s movies have been hit and miss for me. Some I enjoyed more than I expected to, others I liked less than I expected to. So I’ll take a “wait and see” approach to Imaginary. I do look forward to seeing what this dangerous imaginary friend is going to be like. Will the friend be a creepy child that didn’t age while the lead character grew up? Has the imaginary friend grown up as well? Is it a wacky character like Drop Dead Fred? There are a lot of options for how to approach this idea.

Does Imaginary sound interesting to you? Are you a fan of Wadlow’s previous works? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.