For some, horror is a departure. For the rest of us, fear is an around-the-clock event. That’s why it’s exciting to see a movie like Adam Egypt Mortimer‘s “Daniel Isn’t Real” secure a December release date. Not only isn’t it good to see this buzzy title finally secure a release date, but there’s also always room in our hearts for a little holiday counter-programming. Who doesn’t want to watch a movie about a violent imaginary friend when you’re smack dab in the middle of disastrous holiday travel with your family?
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‘Daniel,’ the second feature from Mortimer (“Some Kind of Hate“), tells the story of Luke (Miles Robbins), a young man struggling to find himself during his freshman year of college. As a last-ditch effort to find his footing, Luke decides to reconnect with Daniel (Patrick Schwarzenegger), the imaginary friend who helped him navigate his difficult childhood. And Daniel does help Luke tap into his more outgoing and confident side, but this comes at a cost – Daniel may not be real, but that doesn’t stop him from wanting to take hold of the steering wheel.
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“Daniel Isn’t Real” made its world premiere at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival on March 9. Since then, the movie has played a variety of genre and horror festivals, popping up in programs at Fantasia, FrightFest, Stiges, and more. This has allowed many different genre writers to catch the film, and the early results have been extremely positive. Birth.Movies.Death critic Marisa Mirabal described the movie as tackling a “mentally and emotionally difficult subject matter with a monstrous amount of talent,” while Bloody Disgusting writer Trace Thurman called it an “exceptional second feature” from writer-director Mortimer. If you’re a fan of weird, stylish, and psychological horror, I believe this is the moment where you start getting hyped.
After months of waiting, ‘Daniel’ will finally hit theaters and VOD on December 6.