Imaginary

In "Imaginary," when Jessica (DeWanda Wise) 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. (Gary Reber)

Special features include commentary with Producer-Cowriter-Director Jeff Wadlow and Executive Producer-Actress DeWanda Wise; four featurettes under the heading "Imaginary: Exploring The Never Ever" (HD 18:53): "Meet Your New Imaginary Friends" (HD 05:09), "Frills And Thrills" (HD 04:55), "Crafting The Beasts Of Imaginary" (HD 05:53) and "Bringing Nightmares To Life" (HD 04:13); and a digital copy.

The 2.39:1 1080p AVC picture, reviewed on a VIZIO Quantum X P85QX-JI UHD/HDR display, was photographed digitally using an Arri Alexa camera system and sourced from a 2K Digital Intermediate. Up to the second half the scenes are nicely lit, including some outdoor shots, which offer a fine color palette. The second half of the Never Ever scenes exhibit a gloomy appearance with gray skies and generally diffused dim lighting in interior settings. The color palette in these conditions appear slightly desaturated with no colors that pop. Flesh tones appear natural under the dim lighting. Contrast is clamp down due to the lighting design. Thus, black levels do not extend as deep as true black. Shadow delineation is generally decent but poor in many instances. White levels are also clamped down. In the outdoor scenes everything appears bright with excellent clarity and color resolution. Resolution is generally soft in the dim light. Generally the production design and photography cast shadowy images that enhance the horrific story telling as the story builds to it climax. (Gary Reber)

The credited Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel soundtrack is actually limited to an ear-level 7.1 presentation comprised of prominent, and at times, spooky dialogue and a haunting orchestral score. The music spans a wide and deep soundstage that extends aggressively to the four surrounds to envelop the soundfield. Atmospherics sound realistic. Sound effects deliver intense transient responses supported with deep, powerful bass –– responses that extend to sub-25 Hz is and serve as a prominent sound element. Dialogue sounds generally well integrated spatially. This is well-crafted scary holosonic® soundtrack, but it should have never been credited as a Dolby Atmos presentation because there is no height layer, and is limited to a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 ear-level presentation. (Gary Reber)