Daniel Isn't Real

Daniel Isn't Real is a 2019 American psychological horror film directed by Adam Egypt Mortimer, from a screenplay by Mortimer and Brian DeLeeuw, based upon the novel In This Way I Was Saved by DeLeeuw. It stars Miles Robbins, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sasha Lane, Mary Stuart Masterson, Hannah Marks, Chukwudi Iwuji and Peter McRobbie.

Daniel Isn't Real
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAdam Egypt Mortimer
Produced by
Screenplay by
  • Adam Egypt Mortimer
  • Brian DeLeeuw
Based onIn This Way I was Saved
by Brian DeLeeuw
Starring
Music byChris Clark
CinematographyLyle Vincent
Edited byBrett W. Bachman
Production
company
Distributed bySamuel Goldwyn Films
Release date
  • March 9, 2019 (2019-03-09) (SXSW)
  • December 6, 2019 (2019-12-06) (United States)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Daniel Isn't Real had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 9, 2019. It was released on December 6, 2019, by Samuel Goldwyn Films in select theaters and digitally.

Plot

As a child, shy and troubled Luke witnesses the aftermath of a mass shooting at a neighborhood coffee shop. He meets another boy among the onlookers at the scene: cool and confident Daniel, who invites him to play and quickly becomes his friend. Although adults such as Luke's mother, Claire (Mary Stuart Masterson), cannot see Daniel, he appears physically real to Luke. The boys become close playmates, and their connection helps Luke cope with his parents' divorce.

Their friendship comes to an abrupt end when Daniel convinces Luke that blending an entire bottle of Claire's psychiatric medication into a smoothie will give her superpowers. Instead, it results in a near-fatal poisoning. Claire convinces Luke to send Daniel away by symbolically locking him in her mother's old dollhouse.

Years later, the college-aged Luke (Miles Robbins) is paralyzed by anxiety over his future, his social life and his responsibility to his mother, who struggles with paranoid delusions and a hatred of her own reflection. He confides to his therapist, Dr. Cornelius Braun (Chukwudi Iwuji), that he is afraid he will eventually become just like her. One night, while sleeping over at his childhood home, Luke unlocks the dollhouse.

Daniel (Patrick Schwarzenegger) reappears as an adult. His influence initially appears benign as he helps Luke thwart Claire's suicide attempt, succeed in school, and begin a romance with an artist named Cassie (Sasha Lane). However, he quickly starts exhibiting aggressive behavior, becoming enraged when Luke doesn't obey him. When Luke won't have sex with a psychology student named Sophie (Hannah Marks) on a date, Daniel forcibly takes over his body, has rough sex with Sophie and attacks Luke's roommate. Luke is banned from campus as a result and begins to question his own sanity, believing he may have schizophrenia. He attempts to banish Daniel back to the dollhouse but is unsuccessful.

Luke becomes increasingly unstable, convinced that Daniel is taking over his body while he sleeps. He visits the father of John Thigpen, the shooter whose crime began the film, and learns John also had an invisible friend named Daniel. Luke begins to realize Daniel is a supernatural entity, not an imaginary friend.

Dr. Braun makes a late-night house call in an attempt to separate Luke and Daniel, but only succeeds in allowing Daniel to take over Luke's body and banish Luke's consciousness to the dollhouse. Daniel then kills Braun. He decides his next target will be Cassie.

Daniel reveals his true nature to Cassie, describing himself as "a traveler," before chasing her to the rooftop of her apartment building. Cassie begs Luke to come back to reality; hearing her from inside the dollhouse, he summons the will to escape.

In a final confrontation with Luke, Daniel claims he has helped people for centuries, but none of them has deserved his help. Luke calls him a parasite.

Luke realizes he and Daniel can never truly be separated. After ensuring Cassie has escaped to safety, he kills himself by jumping from the roof. Cassie lies down beside his body.

Daniel, surrounded by an otherworldly darkness, reverts to his true monstrous form, implying he will now seek out a new host.

Cast

Production

In July 2018, it was announced Miles Robbins, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sasha Lane, and Hannah Marks joined the cast of the film, with Adam Egypt Mortimer directing from a screenplay he co-wrote with Brian DeLeeuw, based upon a novel by DeLeeuw. Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah, Josh C. Waller and Lisa Whalen will produce the film, while Timur Bekbosunov, Johnny Chang, Emma Lee, Peter Wong and Stacy Jorgensen will serve as executive producers, under their SpectreVision and ACE Pictures banners, respectively.[1]

Filming

Principal photography began in July 2018, in New York City.[2]

Release

It had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 9, 2019.[3][4] Shortly after, Samuel Goldwyn Films acquired distribution rights to the film.[5] It was released on December 6, 2019.[6]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Daniel Isn't Real holds an approval rating of 82% based on 73 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.21/10. The critical consensus reads "Daniel Isn't Real, but the smart, stylish fun waiting for genre lovers in this well-acted suspense thriller is completely genuine."[7] On Metacritic, the film holds an averaged score of 62 out of 100 based on 8 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8]

For Variety, Dennis Harvey called the film " first-rate in all departments" and a "stylishly crafted psychological horror thriller".[9] Katie Rife of The A.V. Club wrote that the film is "a slick and thrilling take on the intersection of mental illness and creative inspiration that also doubles as a commentary on toxic masculinity" and awarded the film a B.[10] The Hollywood Reporter's Frank Scheck said "The film is most effective when keeping the viewer off-balance as to whether the title character is merely a figment of Luke's possible mental illness or an actual malevolent force of the demonic variety who seeks more and more control of Luke's behavior".[11]

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gollark: What are you
gollark: "He has karma → he must be good"
gollark: He was added 20 hours ago.
gollark: Oh, I ignored the "and 12 more" thing, silly me.

References
  1. Vlessing, Etan (July 24, 2018). "Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sasha Lane Join Thriller 'Daniel Isn't Real'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  2. Franklin, Ericka (July 12, 2018). "Sasha Lane on gay awareness, reading minds and living her best life". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  3. Nolfi, Joey (February 7, 2019). "Pet Sematary remake to world premiere at 2019 SXSW Film Festival". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  4. "Daniel Isn't Real". South by Southwest. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  5. Hipes, Patrick (June 27, 2019). "Daniel Isn't Real': Patrick Schwarzenegger Thriller Scores Samuel Goldwyn-Shudder Deal". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  6. "Daniel Isn't Real". Samuel Goldwyn Films. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  7. "Daniel Isn't Real (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  8. "Daniel Isn't Real reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  9. Harvey, Dennis (March 14, 2019). "SXSW Film Review: Daniel Isn't Real". Variety. Penske Media. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  10. Rife, Katie (June 7, 2019). "Spirits Were High for the Overlook Film Festival's Druggy, Devil-Worshipping Return to New Orleans". The AV Club. G/O Media. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  11. Scheck, Frank (December 4, 2019). "'Daniel Isn't Real': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
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