Imaginary movie's ending explained: Has Chauncey found a new victim?

The 2024 film Imaginary, directed and produced by Jeff Wadlow, is a mixture of supernatural horror and psychological thriller. The film addresses issues such as childhood trauma, repressed memory, and parental love.

The synopsis of the film, as per IMDb, reads:

“A woman returns to her childhood home to discover that the imaginary friend she left behind is very real and unhappy that she abandoned him.”

The film's title refers to the imaginary friends that children often conjure up using their creativity. As Gloria divulges in the movie, the children and their respective friends part ways naturally when they grow up. However, in the case of an abrupt separation, the spirits of the conjured-up friends might turn vindictive.

The film shows Jessica saving her two stepdaughters, Alice and Taylor, from the harmful influence of Chauncey the bear, an imaginary friend. However, the film's ending strongly suggests that Chauncey is an immortal spirit who will continue to haunt other children.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Imaginary. Reader's discretion is advised.

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Imaginary ending shows that the Chauncey cycle might never end

The film depicts an elaborate lore concerning the world of imaginary friends. Gloria, Jessica’s babysitter, reveals that Chauncey, the teddy bear, Alice’s imaginary friend, was Jessica’s friend when she was younger.

As a result, only Jessica and Alice can see the bear. When Alice goes missing, Taylor and Jessica take Gloria’s help to enter Never Ever, the mysterious realm seemingly inhabited by the children's imaginary friends. Further, this enigmatic space is controlled by the power of imagination.

Jessica and Taylor find Alice after a prolonged search. However, Chauncey the bear is not ready to let Jessica exit Never Ever, since it is still angry with her for abandoning the house abruptly when she was young.

The film contains several flashback sequences that reveal that, like Alice, Jessica was also pulled into Never Ever by Chauncey when she was young. Her father, Ben, pulled her out of it. He lost his sanity in the process since Chauncey's monstrous form was too harrowing a sight for him to bear.

In the present, as Chauncey takes the form of Simon the Spider and starts attacking Jessica, Taylor barges into Never Ever, and Alice sets Simon on fire. The whole house is burned down, and Chauncey/Simon is presumed dead.

However, as Jessica, Alice, and Taylor check into a hotel for the night, they encounter a boy carrying a teddy bear that resembles Chauncey. The boy repeats the phrases Jessica and Alice used to utter when they were under the bear's spell.

Thus, the film's ending shows Chauncey's spirit is immortal and seeks new victims. Jessica, Alice, and Taylor shift to another hotel.

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What is Never Ever?

Gloria is an expert on imaginary friends, and much of the key exposition concerning Never Ever comes from her. She says, "Never Ever is where children’s conjured-up friends come. It is a realm of imagination and memories."

Further, sometimes, the spirit of a particular child's friend might become too fond of the child and try to lure it into Never Ever. This happened in the cases of Alice and Jessica.

Gloria is so fascinated with the realm that she shuts the only getaway so they can be trapped there forever. However, she meets a horrible end when Chauncey tears her apart.

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What happened to Ben?

Ben is Jessica’s father, who is institutionalized because of his failing mental health. Several flashbacks reveal that when Jessica was young, Chauncey pulled her into Never Ever. Ben wrenched her out of the place.

However, he lost his sanity in the process since looking into Chauncey’s eyes was too horrific an experience for him. Since Jessica and Ben left the house immediately after this incident, the sudden separation angered Chauncey. The film's second half reveals that Chauncey has been using Alice as bait to get Jessica into Never Ever again.

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Imaginary is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.