ileas Review of Imaginary Friend

Imaginary Friend (2012 TV Movie)

Loved it, despite predictableness

[10/10 · 20 January 2019]

So, major spoilers. Seriously, i'm gonna tell you everything I remember about this movie. I haven't seen it in a while, but it's one of my favorites. Ok, so it's like the other reviewers said, Emma came from an abusive home. Her mother takes the brunt of her father's abuse, as she tries to shield him from his wrath. She came up with an imaginary friend, which I get, I had plenty of those due to emotional abuse as a child. But then she grows up, and she still sees her. Now I also get that it's hard to let go of a coping mechanism; I had a heck of a time getting rid of mine, but once you're grown, I think you gotta rely on real people to help you, you know, real friends. Anyway, her psychiatrist husband brad seems all loving, but you see him being inappropriate with another patient early on. Now here's where I call foul. I take anti-depressants, meds for anxiety. You're not supposed to pop them in your mouth like candy every time you're spooked by a little noise. If you're husband is telling you to, even if he's a doctor, something is terribly wrong, and you should run for the hills. Just saying. Now, here's where it gets confusing. One night, while hosting a party, she actually sees her imaginary friend, all grown up. Now she's really freaked out. Just what was she seeing before, since this seems to be new? Is it because she can now touch her? Oh well. It's revealed early that the person she's seeing is her husband's girlfriend, another ex-patient. Ok, so Emma was also an ex-patient. What's with this guy? He doesn't want to be with Emma anymore, partly because she's mentally disturbed, but he expects to have different results with this woman? Moving on. Now, the girlfriend, whose name I can't remember, starts to like Emma, and starts to feel guilty about messing with her fragile mind. Now we get to the twist that I didn't see coming, and I usually see them. Brad comes home after a hard day of trying to convince his workmates to lock up his wife. Emma has dinner all ready. She then explains to brad that she no longer needs to be committed, as she took charge of her hallucination, How? Oh, she simply lured her into the shower and killed her. Knowing that this girl is real, he understandably freaks out. Now, I do suspect that the two woman are messing with him now, but when her 'ghost' shows up, wearing pretty convincing white ghost makeup, now i'm sure of it. So, they have now become friends, and are driving him crazy. Brad starts chasing Emma, who runs into the bathroom and has a little pow wow with her new BFF. They seem to be enjoying themselves, despite the fact that brad is pounding on the door and screaming bloody murder. The cops are called. No one is arrested, and things cool down for a while. Brad sleeps downstairs, and in a weird little move, calls Emma, upstairs in her room, on the telephone. They actually have a little moment, and i'm thinking, Emma, don't you dare forgive this guy. Then, we're back to haunting again. The girlfriend breaks character for a moment when brad smacks her new bff across the face, shouting, 'don't touch her!' Brad doesn't seem to notice. All the while, Emma is doing a great job pretending she can't see the girl. They go out in the backyard, and brad starts talking to the 'dead' girl. Now here's where Emma starts to scare me. She tells him the only way he can be free of her is if he kills her, like she killed her hallucination. Uh-oh. Is she serious? The girl seems to think so, and she starts backing away and telling him she's really alive. Now, i'm freaking out, as i've come to like this young woman, and would rather she not be killed. They sell it further when the cops come, and start asking about a girl, has Emma ever seen her before. It's unclear if there is a dead body, but I wasn't sure. Brad has now well and truly lost it, (couldn't have happened to a nicer guy), and she asks his doctor if she can say goodbye to him. Once they're alone, her goodbye is in the form of a gloat. 'Nice try.' I actually start clapping. But what about the girl? Is she dead? Nope. She finally appears with Emma in her backyard, although mostly in siloete and facing each other, toasting their freedom from Dr. Creepy. Whew! All is well.