“Z just wants to play!”
Will you play with Z when he comes in cinemas 8 October?
(Re)awakening an imaginary friend
Z tells the story of a mother, Beth Parsons (Keegan Connor Tracy, Final Destination 2, Final Destination 5, Supernatural, Bates Motel), her husband, Kevin (Sean Rogerson, Grave Encounters and its sequel), and their son, Josh (Jett Klyne, The Boy).
Josh is a loner of an elementary school student. He does not pay attention in class. He eats lunch by himself. And he does not appear to have any friends. So, it makes sense when he asks his parents to set a place at dinner for his new imaginary friend Z.
With the assurance of their family psychologist, Josh’s behavior is seemingly normal.
However, as Josh’s passive demeanor is rapidly consumed by aggression and suspicion, Beth and Kevin soon realize that Z might not represent the typical defense mechanism of a lonely boy… or even the typical child-spawned imaginary friend.
The whole is far lesser than the sum of its parts
Directed by Brandon Christensen (Still/Born) and co-written by Christensen and Colin Minihan (director of Grave Encounters), the cinematic pedigree of the cast and crew of Z set a strong foundation for what could have been a real contribution to the horror genre.