As a troubled child, Luke created an imaginary friend- Daniel- to befriend and protect him from the emotional trauma of his battling parents. He was forced to lock Daniel away in a dollhouse when their antics took a more troubling turn. But now Luke (Miles Robbins) is a stressed-out college student and his mother (Mary Stuart Masterson) is mentally unraveling at home.
He sees a psychiatrist (Chukwudi Iwuji) who unwisely encourages Luke to let “Daniel” out again to help him cope. And Daniel (Patrick Schwarzenegger) returns with a vengeance, manipulating Luke into a relationship with a punk artist (Sasha Lane), and even into taking up photography. But as Luke becomes more self-assured and content, Daniel becomes jealously agitated and dangerous.
What’s fascinating in Adam Egypt Mortimer’s darkly disturbing psychological thriller is the intriguing prospect that Luke’s “fantasy friend” might be in actuality more demonic and frighteningly real than just the manifestation of a schizophrenic mind. As Luke scarily spirals and Daniel begins taking over, the discordant sound design and off-kilter visuals all help create a deeply unsettling portrait of madness.
Schwarzenegger is extraordinarily good- his Daniel is sardonically sexy and playful at first and eventually malevolent as hell.