My husband is a big fan of horror movies. I don’t hate them, for the most part, but they are not my favorite. Over the weekend, we stopped by the movie theater to see Imaginary. Weirdly, this isn’t the first movie that will be released this year about imaginary friends…

Jessica (DeWanda Wise) is a children’s book author and artist. After her father, Ben (Samuel Salary) is moved into an elderly care facility, she moves into her childhood home with her husband, Max (Tom Payne), and stepdaughters, Taylor (Taegen Burns) and Alice (Pyper Braun). Shortly after moving in, Alice begins playing with a new imaginary friend, Chauncey, in the form of a stuffed bear. When Max goes on tour with his band, leaving Jessica and the girls home alone, Chauncey starts asking Alice to do violent and painful things. Gloria (Betty Buckley), a neighbor and Jessica’s old babysitter, tells the story of Jessica’s old imaginary friend, Chauncey Bear. Can Jessica protect her family from the entity that has entered their new family?

To be honest, I’m not really sure why this movie is being marketed as a horror movie. There wasn’t anything particularly scary about it. I covered my eyes for one scene but, according to my husband, the event occurred off-screen so I didn’t need to cover my eyes. At best, this movie is a thriller. And that is being very generous. After the movie, I did say it seemed a little like a live-action Coraline but Coraline was way better.

Since this isn’t a horror movie and it’s not a thriller…it definitely isn’t a family film…I’m not sure who this movie is for. I don’t think I would say it’s a bad movie. It is a directionless movie though. If it wanted to be horror or thriller, it really needed to commit to those genres. Instead, we get a PG-13 sleeper.

Rating: C+