Film

Daniel Isn't Real

Name: Daniel Isn't Real
Genre: Horror, Mystery
Released: 2019
Cast: Miles Robbins, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sasha Lane, Mary Stuart Masterson, Hannah Marks

Psychological horror

A visually baroque psychological horror that drowns you in one man's fractured mind. Daniel Isn't Real follows a college student unwillingly reconnecting with his childhood imaginary friend—who may be something far worse. It's surreal, unsettling, and uninterested in easy answers about trauma, madness, or culpability. For viewers who want horror that operates on dream logic.

TMDb rating

3.1

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We Need to Talk About Kevin2011

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Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Daniel Isn't Real

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Under the Skin2014

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Requiem for a Dream2000

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The Babadook2014

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Hereditary2018

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Take Shelter2011

Michael Shannon as a man plagued by apocalyptic visions, building a bunker. Ambiguous whether he's prophetic or paranoid. Masterful slow-burn about paranoia that feels prescient.

But Very slow. The entire film lives in one man's rising dread. Offers no conventional resolution or catharsis.

Bug2007

William Friedkin's chamber piece about two people descending into shared paranoid delusion. Claustrophobic, weird, and genuinely unsettling. Underrated.

But Sets four actors in a motel room for ninety minutes. If intimate character studies frustrate you, this will too. Becomes increasingly hard to parse.

The Skin I Live In2011

Spanish thriller about obsession, identity, and the body. Visually gorgeous and morally twisted. Excellent twist that lands harder on repeat viewing.

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Paprika2006

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The Lighthouse2019

Both films use formal extremity—distorted visuals, non-linear editing, overwhelming sound design—to simulate psychological disintegration. Both trap you inside a protagonist's failing mind without compassion or explanation.

Robert Eggers' black-and-white two-hander between Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson on an isolated lighthouse. Hallucinatory, homoerotic, linguistically baroque. Visually and sonically overwhelming in the best way.

But Dense period dialogue is hard to parse. Weird, paranoid energy throughout. Deliberately frustrating. Some see it as all style, no substance.