Monday, October 18, 2021

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 18: Daniel Isn't Real (2019)

Daniel Isn't Real is the second film in this countdown to include an imaginary childhood friend who turns out to be a malevolent monster (the first one was Malignant). I'd say of the two, Malignant is definitely more "fun," just because it ends up being pretty nuts. Daniel Isn't Real takes a little more serious route, as its hero Luke (Miles Robbins) has to figure out if Daniel is in fact, not real, and merely a result of his inherited mental illness.

Daniel is played by Patrick Schwarzenegger (three guesses whose son he is!) and he's pretty good as the nightmare friend, an alpha male fashion victim who would either be best friends with Patrick Bateman, or murder him the moment they met. I also appreciated seeing Mary Stuart Masterson pop up as Luke's schizophrenic mother.

But ultimately this isn't a film that really stuck with me, and despite only watching it about a week ago, I still had to read a synopsis to remind myself exactly what happens in it. There are some good visuals, and performances, but as far as imaginary friend horror goes, I'll take Malignant.

Daniel Isn't Real is available to stream on several platforms including Amazon Prime and Shudder.

No comments: