Daniel Isn't Real

"The mind will do anything to avoid confronting just how alone it is in the universe."

2019 1h 41m EN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 253

HorrorMystery

Synopsis

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A troubled college freshman resurrects his imaginary friend to help him cope with a violent trauma.

“The mind will do anything to avoid confronting just how alone it is in the universe.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Miles Robbins
Luke Nightingale
Patrick Schwarzenegger
Daniel
Sasha Lane
Cassie
Mary Stuart Masterson
Claire
Hannah Marks
Sophie
Chukwudi Iwuji
Dr. Cornelius Braun
Peter McRobbie
Percy Thigpen
Chase Sui Wonders
Makayla

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Adam Egypt Mortimer
Writers: Brian DeLeeuw, Adam Egypt Mortimer
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 7 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Adam Egypt Mortimer, shot by Lyle Vincent. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Clark. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Brett W. Bachman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Miles Robbins and Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sasha Lane carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The mind will do anything to avoid confronting just how alone it is in the universe.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt8745960 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Adam Egypt Mortimer directs. Lyle Vincent behind the camera. Clark scores. Brett W. Bachman cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 7 years ago.
2Directed by Adam Egypt Mortimer, shot by Lyle Vincent. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Clark. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Brett W. Bachman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Miles Robbins and Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sasha Lane carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "The mind will do anything to avoid confronting just how alone it is in the universe.".
7IMDB entry: tt8745960 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 21 themes, including "therapist", "photographer", "artist", "trauma".

The technical file

Cinematography: Lyle Vincent
Original score: Clark
Editing: Brett W. Bachman
Production design: Kaet McAnneny
Costume design: Begonia Berges
Makeup / hair: Tywan Williams
VFX supervisor: George Loucas
Stunt coordinator: Luke Lesko
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $75,407
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Daniel Isn't Real (2019)

Awards

Sitges Film Festival Best Actor award

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Adam Egypt Mortimer

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

SWITCH.2019-12-10
★ 7/10
‘Daniel Isn’t Real’ (based off of Brian DeLeeuw’s novel ‘In This Way I Was Saved’) shares a lot of similarities with David Fincher's ‘Fight Club’, which followed a powerless office worker who happens to meet an assertive friend who helps him become more confident only for everything to get out of hand. I also kept thinking of Curtis Hanson’s underrated ‘Bad Influence’ with James Spader and Rob Lowe, Robert Mulligan’s ‘The Other’, Gregory Hoblit's 'Fallen', and Brad Anderson's 'Session 9'. ‘Daniel Isn’t Real’ is a slickly directed, spooky and surprisingly empathetic film about the monsters that dwell in the human mind. - Jake Watt Read Jake's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-daniel-isnt-real-smart-and-sinister-psychological-horror
Filipe Manuel Neto2022-12-19
★ 5/10
It's not original, it's not remarkable, but it was a pretty decent job considering the budget and people involved. This is another one of those movies that I caught, by chance, starting on TV, and that I decided to watch. So I didn't have high expectations nor did I know exactly what I was going to find. When it was over, I can say that I reasonably liked what I saw: it intelligently explores the human mind and the dark side of the personality, it unfolds well until close to the end, and it is precisely the final part that disappointed me the most. The script begins by introducing us to a young man who, as a child, had an imaginary friend who disappeared as he grew up. The pressure of university life and family problems, however, lead to the reappearance of the imaginary friend, named Daniel, and it doesn't take long to become obvious that his instincts are far more perverse and frightening than would be desirable. Okay, the movie doesn't really bring us anything new. There are a lot of much better made movies about imaginary friends and split personalities. “Fight Club” is paradigmatic, and perhaps one of the best known, and the influence of this (and other) film here is quite clear. The positive side of all this is the elegance and efficient way in which the film tells its story. The downside is the extreme predictability, and the feeling that we are seeing a cheap copy of more established works. Everything would be reasonably forgivable if the final act was better: I hated that confrontation between sympathetic ego and diabolical alter-ego with a cheap carnival mask. The two protagonists of the film are two young actors, both sons of parents we know well: Miles Robbins (son of Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon) and Patrick Schwarzenegger (exactly, Arnold's son). Therefore, the cinematographic universe is not new for them and both seem to be at the same point in their careers: children of stars who try to succeed in their parents' profession, but who are still more recognized for being their children than for the work and talent they can to do. None of them did a bad job, the two actors did a committed and very honest job. Sasha Lane hasn't been too bad, but she doesn't have much to do. Better and more interesting than her was the performance of Mary Stuart Masterson, a veteran who only appears for a few minutes, but makes an excellent contribution. Technically, it's a film that doesn't stand out or stand out, but that tries to do the best it can with the little money it has. And seen in that light, the film works well and does what it needs to. There are no surprises in the cinematography, the sets or the costumes, and there is an unfortunate job of characterization, towards the end, with that ugly and clearly fake sponge mask that Patrick Schwarzenegger had to wear.