Synopsis
Troubled college freshman Luke (Robbins) suffers a violent family trauma and resurrects his childhood imaginary friend Daniel (Schwarzenegger) to help him cope. Charismatic and full of manic energy, Daniel helps Luke to achieve his dreams, before pushing him to the very edge of sanity and into a desperate struggle for control of his mind -- and his soul.
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Cast
- Miles RobbinsLuke Nightingale
- Patrick SchwarzeneggerDaniel
- Sasha LaneCassie
- Hannah MarksSophie
- Mary Stuart MastersonClaire
- Chase Sui WondersMakayla
- Katie ChangBarista
- Chukwudi IwujiDr. Cornelius Braun
- Jamar GreeneCampus Security Guard
- Cara RonzettiJoelle
Recommendations
- 90
Film Threat
It’s thoroughly engrossing, entertaining, and a lot of fun from beginning to end. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
Although it eventually settles into familiar genre tropes, for much of its running time Daniel Isn't Real proves a genuinely provocative shocker. - 75
Consequence
Daniel Isn’t Real is exploitation that eschews the trashier elements of the genre. As a director, Mortimer frames a great shot and pulls gangbusters performances out of Robbins and Schwarzenegger. It’s minded, but also massively entertaining genre cinema. - 75
The A.V. Club
A slick and thrilling take on the intersection of mental illness and creative inspiration that also doubles as a commentary on toxic masculinity. - 70
The New York Times
What starts as a mediocre psychological thriller finishes as a surprisingly toothsome and creative horror film, complete with creature features and journeys into the abyss. - 60
Los Angeles Times
In supporting roles of varying importance, Masterson, Sasha Lane and Hannah Marks do enough to suggest the film would have been better off giving them more. But Daniel Isn’t Real remains a two-man show, and Robbins and Schwarzenegger are an odd couple worth believing in. - 60
The Guardian
It’s full of plot holes but compulsively watchable for the first hour, before the whole thing falls to pieces as Mortimer chucks in a load of well-worn horror-movie tropes. - 50
The A.V. Club
Mortimer builds Daniel Isn’t Real to a conclusion that, in concept, should be both tragic and terrifying. Here, it just feels perfunctory.
