Daniel Isn't Real (2019) **1/2
The themes in Daniel Isn't Real (2019) have all been better explored in films like The Dark Half (1993) (I'm honestly surprised to see no one else making this comparison), Jacob's Ladder (1990) (my review here), and Fight Club (1999). That's not to say that no film should tread the same territory, but DIR doesn't offer anything new—it's a heavily metaphorical psycho-horror film with a decent look, but it left me feeling nothing by the end (and not in a nihilistic way).
Mile Robbins and Patrick Schwarzenegger give strong performances and the first half of the film was solid, but in the final third it turns into tropey horror stuff with poor effects.The way it deals with mental health doesn't feel any less irresponsible than any films that came before it (not that I personally look for "message movie" types of moralizing), but if you're gonna be "sleazy" with this type of content, then you should really own it (this movie does not). To quote Letterboxd user Warpp's review: "With the exception for a few gory images it mostly felt like a PG-13 movie targeted for a teenage audience."
Mile Robbins and Patrick Schwarzenegger give strong performances and the first half of the film was solid, but in the final third it turns into tropey horror stuff with poor effects.The way it deals with mental health doesn't feel any less irresponsible than any films that came before it (not that I personally look for "message movie" types of moralizing), but if you're gonna be "sleazy" with this type of content, then you should really own it (this movie does not). To quote Letterboxd user Warpp's review: "With the exception for a few gory images it mostly felt like a PG-13 movie targeted for a teenage audience."
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