Imaginary Friend (2012)

This had the makings of a great film, but the people behind it took far too many liberties with the hauntings. Brad is a doctor, so even without a wealthy wife he would almost certainly have been a member of the 1%. They live in a palatial home, and she isn't exactly unattractive, to put it mildly, so what can go wrong? Lots of things, from when she was a girl. Her father murdered her mother then killed himself, leaving his substantial estate in trust for his daughter with a plethora of strings attached.When she was young, Emma had an imaginary friend, as kids sometimes do, especially those without siblings. The problem is her imaginary friend is back, all grown up and stunningly attractive. While she is clearly suffering from hallucinations, her husband is covertly doing his best to encourage them hoping to get her committed so he can get his hands on her trust. As so often happens, people who are too greedy end up with nothing, wifey has Brad sussed, and soon he is the one popping pills hoping to exorcise the ghost Emma claims she has killed. And this is where it gets silly, how does one account for blood appearing and then drying up? How does a real live woman behave like a phantom, appearing and disappearing at will? Only by invoking the supernatural, which apparently we are not meant to do. At one point Brad's desperation is quite funny, but one suspects any humour the viewer derives from his plight was unintended.

I usually hate made for TV movies but this one wasn't bad. The acting was pretty good because usually I'm grimacing at the bad acting in these movies but I didn't at all. If I hadn't looked up reviews before I watched it, I wouldn't have been exactly sure what was going on until the end.The main character is diagnosed as mentally ill, as she has visions of her imaginary friend from childhood, and her husband has POA over her family's trust. He's carrying on at least one affair on the side and making withdrawals from the trust freely. Basic premise of Gaslight, which movie I love.Very entertaining!

This film is way too predictable. It starts out with a pretty decent premise, but the viewer figures things out very early on. From then, it's just a question of how the plot will get to the inevitable ending. A psychological thriller/suspense film --which is what this trying to be--needs a lot more development and imagination to work.The cast does give it a good shot, but needs more to work with. Ethan Embry and Paul Sorvino (In a small role) are particularly good. Lacey Chabert holds her own, too. Of course, she has several scenes requiring her to prance around in a bikini.Overall, this film falls slightly short of a recommendation.

Recorded this off Lifetime basically to look at Lacey Chabert (who has some EXCELLENT bikini shots) but got hooked to see where the story goes.More along the lines of "will this plot/conspiracy work" than "where is this going" because the filmmakers show you everything fairly early.....it's one of those Lifetime revenge movies done well.....Fun to see Ethan Embry as a villain, lots of other great/interesting actors hidden in this: Paul Sorvino, Marc McClure, Ted McGinley, Heather Tom, Larry Poindexter (don't do enough reviews to always remember than 10 line rule, no wonder everyones so damn wordy!)