'Daniel Isn't Real' Trailer: An Imaginary Friend Becomes A Violent Enemy

Imaginary friends rarely get a good rap in horror movies, and Daniel Isn't Real is no exception. But the twist with Adam Egypt Mortimer's psychedelic doppelganger thriller is that the imaginary friend in question here is an edgy teen (Patrick Schwarzenegger) who starts to wreak havoc on the life of troubled student Luke (Miles Robbins), who has been given some very bad advice from his therapist. Watch the Daniel Isn't Real trailer below.

Daniel Isn't Real Trailer

The producers of Mandy are back to give us another psychedelic thriller with Daniel Isn't Real, which follows Luke (Robbins) as he reconnects with a childhood imaginary friend to open up to other people. But he finds that his once childish imaginary friend is now a psychotic teen who at first emboldens him to party and talk to girls, but soon starts to take over his life in very real, and very violent ways. Sasha Lane also stars as Luke's artist girlfriend who first notices a "dangerous shadow" constantly lurking behind him. It's all quite ominous before it turns bloody and brutal — Daniel Isn't Real isn't for the faint of heart with its trippy, reality-bending imagery and gory violence.

Directed by Adam Egypt Mortimer from a screenplay by Mortimer and Brian DeLeeuw, Daniel Isn't Real looks like a riff off of Fight Club, with the horror aspects turned way up. It's based upon the novel In This Way I Was Saved by DeLeeuw and made its world premiere at South by Southwest earlier this March where it was met with plenty of rave reviews.

Here is the Daniel Isn't Real 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.