“If I go, you go.”

2019’s Daniel Isn’t Real is the perfect example of a movie with all the right pieces in all the wrong boxes. It’s like opening up a puzzle only to find that you have parts to three separate pictures all mingled in, and no total image. Granted, all three of those puzzles are going to be spectacular… but none of them quite go together to make a full set within this box.

We follow Luke, a boy with a troubled upbringing that spurns him to create his new best friend, Daniel. Daniel is a boy like him, but also not like him. Where Luke is timid, Daniel is bold, and the two make a great pair of kids experiencing the world. That is… until Daniel has some ideas that are a little more… dangerous. Events unfold and Luke learns to live without Daniel until something catalyzes his return during Luke’s late teen years. Then, we learn the true nature of Daniel and his deeds…

This is almost a meaningful and well-told story of mental illness; showcasing both what it means to experience it for one’s self as well as how it’s viewed by the world at large, like 2020’s Words on Bathroom Walls. It’s almost a great practical effects driven thriller, like 2020’s Possessor. Simultaneously, it’s almost a fun, campy horror, like 2021’s Malignant. The problem with Daniel Isn’t Real is that it never stops at any one of those places. It half-bakes these three concepts and ends up somewhere strange [but not strange enough], heavy [but not enough to be meaningful], and really great to look at [but pulling just enough punches to be frustrating]. So, instead of something intense and memorable, we end up with something kind of confusing in tone and almost impossible to confidently recommend to anyone.

I enjoyed my time with Daniel Isn’t Real, don’t get me wrong. I certainly wasn’t bored, I never checked how much time was left, and there were only a couple of minor moments that made me stop and say, “Ok, hold on now” as they broke their own rules. I think the film is capital-F “Fine” as it is. However, where Daniel really falls short for me is the test of, “If I take away any one of the things that made it watchable, is it still good?”

If you change the great visual tones and cinematography, the journey becomes very dull. Without the exciting and weird soundtrack, things fall flat. If the actor who played Daniel wasn’t so charming and unsettling, you’d forget the title referenced him. Without each piece of the film fitting perfectly where it does, Daniel Isn’t Real goes from something vaguely memorable, to any other low-tier horror.

I love a lot of the concepts and even a lot of the execution in this film, but it simply isn’t more than the sum of its parts… because those parts aren’t developed past said concepts. I mentioned these above but, if you want something more developed with some truly incredible practical effects, Possessor [2020] will serve you far better. If you want something that follows a vaguely similar story but with a non-horror approach that actually touches you in the heart, Words on Bathroom Walls [2020]. If campy, fun horror is more your thing, 2021’s Malignant is going to scratch that itch mighty fine. This film, however, doesn’t do any of those things, and instead falls into a weird middling place that doesn’t make it a good fit for any of those audiences.

From production value to cinematography to performances, Daniel Isn’t Real truly shines. Unfortunately, once viewed as a whole, you realize that the entire contraption is just a rusty gear with some chrome still clinging on.

“You aren’t strong enough.”