Z

An imaginary friend is not that unusual. Just go to mass. Every Sunday, millions of faithful drink the blood and eat the flesh of their imaginary friend. Nothing wrong with that. Then why does Beth worry so much when she sees how her six-year old son Joshua is having the time of his life with his invisible friend? Because every night he puts an extra plate on the table for him? Because he makes him a sandwich in the middle of the night with a butcher knife? Because he has a giant drawing of his friend Z in his room? Because this Z looks like a Babadook on steroids? She’d better be more understanding with Joshua, even though his friends and their parents start to avoid him like the plague. Brandon Christensen’s second feature, after STILL/BORN, clearly shows its influences, from THE SHINING and DONNIE DARKO to THE OMEN. But he serves all this drenched in a sauce of discomfort and suggestion, which is way more effective than a bombardment of jump scares. And you’ll get the surprising finale as a huge bonus.