Imaginary: Why Blumhouse horror isn’t named after villain

In an exclusive interview with Dexerto, Imaginary director Jeff Wadlow has revealed why the new Blumhouse horror isn’t named after its central villain.

From Chucky and Dead Silence to Annabelle and M3GAN, killer kids’ toys is a popular subgenre within the horror realm, offering up a creepy spin on our childhood memories. 

Imaginary is the latest entry to this category, centering on Jessica (DeWanda Wise), whose decision to move back to her old home takes a terrifying turn when her stepdaughter Alice (Pyper Braun) develops a sinister friendship with a stuffed bear named Chauncey. 

Amid the movie’s release, Dexerto caught up with director Jeff Wadlow, who explained why Imaginary isn’t named after its main villain. 

Imaginary director explains why movie isn’t named after villain

Explaining why Imaginary isn’t named after Chauncey, Wadlow said that there’s so much more to the movie than the stuffed bear, who’s a physical manifestation of a larger entity – and, ultimately, of imagination itself. 

The topic of conversation came up when Dexerto asked if the filmmaker would be interested in making a sequel, to which he replied, “I would love to see a sequel to this movie. There’s so much more to explore – we just barely open the door to this other world, the Never Ever.

“That’s why I think our movie is kind of bigger than other horror movies in this sort of evil toy subgenre. I mean, ultimately, Chucky, Annabelle, M3GAN – it’s really just about the individual character in those pieces. Whereas Imaginary, it’s not called Chauncey. 

“There’s a reason why the film is not called Chauncey, because it’s about so much more than just him. It’s about imagination.”

Wadlow went on to say, “If you’re asking me if there’s room for a sequel, in a movie about imagination, there’s room for a thousand movies.”

Imaginary is in cinemas now – for more horror, check out our list of the 30 best horror movies of all time. You can also dive into all the new movies and all the new TV shows hitting streaming this month if you need something fresh to watch.