Daniel Isn’t Real follows Luke, a troubled college freshman in New York. As a child, Luke saw a deadly shooting and met Daniel, an imaginary friend who helped him survive the shock. Luke later locks Daniel away, but he brings him back when college life, his mother’s illness, and his own fear become too much. Daniel first makes Luke more confident and social, then grows cruel and takes control, turning the film into a bloody, strange, and tense horror story.
The clearest woke element is the film’s repeated attack on harmful ideas about manhood. Daniel acts like the perfect confident male friend, but his charm, sexual confidence, and need to control others lead Luke toward cruelty and violence. Luke’s softer and more caring side is shown as the force that can resist him, while empathy is treated as a brave choice. This message matters to the plot and shapes Luke’s fight with Daniel, but the movie presents it through supernatural horror and personal trauma instead of speeches about politics.
Community feedback
Was our 37% Woke rating accurate?
Loading review details…
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Daniel Isn't Real.
Woke representation / casting
Not present. The main roles include two white male leads, a female love interest, and a black therapist in a modern New York story. The film does not present these casting choices as a diversity statement.
0%
Woke political dialogue
Not present. The film does not use speeches or repeated lines about identity, DEI, or activist politics. The phrase “toxic masculinity” is not spoken in the movie.
0%
Identity-driven story themes
Daniel represents a harsh and controlling idea of manhood. He makes Luke feel confident, sexual, and powerful, then pushes him toward cruelty and violence. Luke’s empathy and emotional openness become the main way to resist Daniel. This idea drives the central struggle, but the film presents it through personal trauma and supernatural horror.
45%
Western institutional / cultural critique
The film questions the usual image of the confident, dominant man. Daniel gains power through charm, sexual boldness, and control over Luke. The story treats male dominance and emotional pressure as dangerous. It does not attack a government, church, school system, or other Western institution.
38%
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. The film changes the novel’s viewpoint and timeline for screen storytelling. No race, gender, sexuality, or leadership change to an established character is reported.
0%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Not present. The separate X pass found no anti-woke posts, boycotts, or review-bombing. Other audience and news discussion focused on the horror story rather than claims about DEI or identity politics.
0%
Creator track record context
Adam Egypt Mortimer has a mild record of liberal politics, empathy-focused ideas, and diverse casting support in other work. Brian DeLeeuw’s public work is mainly horror and suspense about guilt, fear, and damaged people. Elijah Wood has voiced liberal views, but the wider producing team is mostly genre or business focused. The group does not show a strong repeated identity-politics focus.
27%
Production
Movie · 2016
A stranger arrives in a little village and soon after a mysterious sickness starts spreading. A policeman is drawn into the incident and is forced to solve the mystery in order to…
Movie · 2021
A lone drifter suffering from partial memory loss accepts a job to look after a psychologically troubled woman in an abandoned house on an isolated island.
Movie · 2022
After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can't explain.
Movie · 2020
A fur trapper leaves his wife and daughter behind to kill a rogue wolf in the remote wilderness, but they soon become increasingly worried when their peaceful existence is…
Movie · 2018
A filmmaker discovers a box of video tapes depicting two students' disturbing film project featuring a local horror legend, The Peeping Tom.
Movie · 2021
Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities with a mysterious…
Movie · 2021
A shaman's family learn that their goddess is supposedly controlling one of them. However, their lives take a frightening turn when they realise the goddess has nothing to do with…
Movie · 2023
A group of cold case investigators stay at the Carmichael Manor, site of the grisly and unsolved murders of the Carmichael family back in the eighties.
