Lifetime Review: 'Imaginary Friend'

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

With a beautiful home and a doting husband, artist Emma Turner (Lacey Chabert) appears to have it all. But despite her lavish lifestyle, Emma is trapped in the prison of her own mind, having been left with deep scars from a childhood marred by her abusive father, who ultimately committed suicide after murdering her mother. The only comfort Emma had in her youth was her imaginary friend Lily, who she confided to when her home life became too much to bear.

Just as Emma tries to break free from her reclusive shell, however, she begins having apparent visions of a now adult Lily (Amanda Schull), leaving Emma's husband Brad (Ethan Embry) convinced Emma is still unwell. But as the visions of her old imaginary friend persist and Emma finds herself questioning her sanity, it becomes clear that not all is as it appears to be—and Emma is caught in a web of deceit that threatens to destroy her unless she can fight her way out.

Among things that can taken away from Imaginary Friend, two things stand out: It delves more into the realm of atmosphere than most Lifetime-ian dramas do and is far more slow boiling than most films of the same genre. So for those looking for the drama that appeals many to Lifetime, this film might not fill that niche. But for what it does accomplish, Imaginary Friend is a different sort of Lifetime flick that can at the very least be respected for going in its own direction—even if it won't fulfill every Lifetime viewer's taste and, at moments, goes a little overboard (the moments where the action goes into slow motion were odd and didn't really match up with the rest of the movie).

In addition to developing its atmosphere through its music and cinematography that makes good use of the beautiful mansion where much of the story takes place, Imaginary Friend plays its story out for the emotional weight it carries rather than going for blown-out drama. While this again might not suit everyone who is attracted towards Lifetime movies, this change of pace suits the movie well and is carried by its strong cast. Lacey Chabert is an excellent choice for Emma, making the viewer sympathize with Emma's struggles to recover from an abusive childhood and root for her as her story arc has her pushed to a point where she won't allow herself to be manipulated anymore. For all her mental anguish, Emma never truly allows it to consume her, with Chabert playing out Emma's arc with aching emotion and sincerity.

Ethan Embry tackles his role with an equal amount of drive, making Brad a truly detestable and threatening villain that the audience will be cheering to see be brought down. Embry also takes the wise route in playing Brad as a subdued antagonist to fit with the more understated nature of Imaginary Friend's drama; making him a chillingly true-to-life example of a psychologically abusive husband, becoming truly frightening when the tables are turned on him in the film's suspenseful third act. Amanda Schull, meanwhile, has an arc which serves as a parallel to Chabert's, as Brittany ("Lily's" real name) goes from a willing conspirator in Brad's plot to get his hands on Emma's trust fund to an unlikely ally of Emma's solely due to forming a genuine friendship with the woman she was enlisted to help destroy. The bond that forms between Emma and Brittany is heartwarming to watch develop, with Chabert and Schull sharing excellent chemistry that allows this bond to flourish.

Other solid performances exist in the form of Paul Sorvino and Jacob Young as Emma's benefactor Jonathan and therapist Dr. Kent respectively, with their roles (along with Ted McGinley's minor role as Officer Cameron) serving as satisfying parallels to the manipulative and self-centered Brad, and Sam Page brings vigor to his role as Emma's abusive father, starting the movie and Emma's emotion-driven character arc off with a bang. Imaginary Friend is a deliberately paced movie, but this different approach works to the film's benefit and contains strong characters and an expertly built climax and conclusion that make it easy to say you should give it a chance, even if the toned down nature sounds like a deal breaker to you.

Score: 8 out of 10 pinky promises.