Instead of presenting a doll this time, the horror film Imaginary introduces Chauncey, a teddy bear that adds another name to the list of childhood figures turned into horror elements. Jason Blum produced the film, while Jeff Wadlow directed it, shaping the story around the darker corners of a child’s mind.
Wadlow shared with TODAY.com that the idea was rich enough to create something chilling. Wadlow explained that a film titled Imaginary must toy with how people view what’s real and what isn’t. Children’s book writer Jessica (played by DeWanda Wise) moves into her former childhood home with her family.
What if your imaginary friend never really left? (Photo: Imaginary/Blumhouse Productions, Lionsgate, and Tower of Babble Entertainment)Soon after, she becomes deeply concerned about the safety of her younger stepdaughter, Alice, who is 10 years old. Alice, acted by Pyper Braun, finds a teddy bear in the basement and starts a troubling friendship with it.
Together, they go on a scavenger hunt in the house, which grows more disturbing with time. Jessica then works with her older stepdaughter, Taylor (Taegan Burns), to protect Alice from the harm that Chauncey seems ready to cause.
The boundary between what’s imagined and what’s real gets harder to see. From that point, the difference between reality and imagination becomes less clear. That is where both the disturbing and engaging moments kick-off.
According to Burns in her interview with TODAY.com, everyone can relate to having had a strong imagination as a child. She found it interesting to see that same concept shown in a creepy and frightening way. This horror film leans on twists linked to imagination.
With the topic centered on imaginary experiences, it is not surprising that some surprises appear as the story moves forward. Let’s go through the final moments of Imaginary that might leave viewers stunned.
Who is Chauncey and what exactly is he after?
Several plot turns come up during the latter part of the movie — starting with the shocking truth about Chauncey’s nature. Jessica decides Alice needs to speak with a therapist, especially after Alice attempts to harm herself while under Chauncey’s influence.
Jessica later reviews the recorded therapy session, only to discover something unsettling. The teddy bear Alice was seen carrying into the session cannot be seen on the video at all. This discovery shakes Jessica, and it alerts the viewers as well.
Up until that point, the bear had been visible on screen, but now it becomes clear that only Jessica and Alice have been seeing Chauncey — nobody else can. Jessica’s next realization comes when she connects Chauncey to her childhood. While growing up in the same house, she too had an imaginary friend named Chauncey.
This discovery confirms that Alice’s invisible friend is the same one Jessica once had. The teddy bear, ragged and strange, has returned with only one aim — to take back the imagination that once sustained him.
Gloria’s true intentions and her fate
Jessica reconnects with her old neighbor Gloria (Betty Buckley), who also used to babysit her, though Jessica doesn’t remember her at first. Gloria brings up Jessica’s past and reminds her of the imaginary friend she once had.
As the story progresses, Gloria explains that after witnessing Jessica vanish into Chauncey’s space long ago, she dedicated her life to studying imaginary friends and even wrote books about them.
She initially agrees to help Jessica and Taylor bring Alice out of the Never Ever, but her real motive is different — she wants to experience that endless imaginary world herself. She ends up closing the only way out and dies shortly afterward. Death in the Never Ever means there is no chance of returning.
How Jessica, Taylor, and Alice escape the Never Ever
After Alice is found, Jessica and her stepdaughters attempt to leave the Never Ever. The process is far from straightforward. Burns admitted that this part of the film was one she was looking forward to. According to her, the scene surprised her completely with how it was handled.
A teddy bear brings trouble instead of comfort (Photo: Imaginary/Blumhouse Productions, Lionsgate, and Tower of Babble Entertainment)The trio meets various forms of Chauncey, including a huge, terrifying version of the bear, and passes through bizarre halls and misleading doors. Eventually, Alice and Taylor manage to make their way out, but Jessica faces trouble escaping. She later appears to succeed and rejoins her stepdaughters.
What comes next seems peaceful — Jessica is shown visiting her father in the hospital and reading her new book to him with the rest of her family close by. Everything looks ideal, perhaps too ideal. Then, it becomes clear that Jessica has not escaped from the Never Ever.
That dreamlike ending was just something she imagined while still stuck inside Chauncey’s world. Braun shared that she found this twist quite thrilling. She liked that just when viewers think the movie is ending, there’s another major section still coming.
Jessica’s father and the truth about his past
Jessica’s dad, Ben (played by Samuel Salary), has a history that is slowly shared as the story goes forward. Early on, it is revealed that he stays in a nursing home and barely remembers his daughter. Later, we get to know that when Jessica was still a child, her father pulled her away from Chauncey’s grasp.
He looked directly into the bear’s eyes and absorbed the weight of all imagination — which was far too much for one person. He endangered himself to protect Jessica, and through this memory, she can recover the lost parts of her past.
What does the final boy represent?
Jessica and her stepdaughters leave their house after escaping the imaginary world. They are ready to leave Chauncey behind and start over. Then, in the final scene, a young boy is heard telling an adult that his imaginary friend is real.
Viewers then see a battered teddy bear again, hinting that Chauncey is not gone and will go after someone else, even though Alice is no longer within his reach. Possibility of a follow-up to “Imaginary”.
The closing moments of Imaginary make room for another chapter. The force behind imaginary friends has not gone away. It is uncertain whether Chauncey will be back in a sequel, but the ending hints that his story isn’t finished yet.
