Just two months after Night Swim, Blumhouse is back with yet another horror offering. The powerhouse production company just cannot be stopped. With Imaginary now playing in theaters, add “evil teddy bear” and “evil imaginary friend” to the list of subjects Jason Blum has covered across his terrifying projects over the years.

Given these childhood-centered ideas throughout Imaginary, it’s no surprise that several of the film’s leading characters are children and young adults. DeWanda Wise leads the charge as the new stepmom to a pair of girls, who are played by Taegen Burns and Pyper Braun. We recently caught up with the pair in Los Angeles to learn more about what it takes to get in the zone for shooting a scary movie and some of their other hit projects.

How to Make the Scares ‘More Authentic’
Imaginary Release Date March 8, 2024 Studio Blumhouse Productions, Lions Gate Films, Tower of Babble Entertainment

Both Burns and Braun could very well become Hollywood’s future “scream queens” after doing a Blumhouse movie like Imaginary (or become a double act; it’s hard to beat ‘Burns and Braun’). We were curious if they each had a particular process in preparing to shoot the scary sequences throughout their new film. “For me, it was trying to just really imagine, especially when dealing with those monsters, like, ‘OK, if I was walking down the street and I saw these huge beasts and these huge monsters, how terrified I would be?'” Burns told MovieWeb. Braun added:

For me, I think it was putting my actual real fears, genuine fears from my real life into this and putting those fears into these monsters and making my fears these monsters.

We also had to ask if each of the young actresses were perhaps scary-movie buffs before tackling Imaginary for the big screen. “I first got introduced to the horror film genre with Get Out,” said Burns. “And then I just recently watched Totally Killer and Five Nights at Freddy’s.”

Young Pyper had an interesting tidbit on this, in terms of the scary movie viewing experience. “I’ve never watched a horror movie in my entire life,” she told us. “I think [Imaginary] would be a very good one if you wanted to start in and get into horror movies.” Braun continued:

I always loved Halloween and scary things my entire life, and a horror movie was one of my big dreams that I really had… One year for Halloween, I was Chuckie’s bride.

Related: Exclusive: Blumhouse Exec Ryan Turek on Bringing the Terror with Night Swim

There are at least a handful of visually dazzling sequences in Imaginary, so we had to ask if Burns and Braun had a favorite, in looking back on the end result. “You could kind of see a little bit of it in the trailer, but there’s a scene where we have this carousel and all the lights circling me. That scene was so much fun to film,” said Taegen Burns. “And it’s very intense. I can’t say too much, but I’m very excited for the rest of that sequence, for everyone to see that.”

A Michael Jackson Biopic and Working with Mel Gibson

Looking at Taegen Burns’ career thus far, she has already co-starred in a wide variety of projects beyond the horror realm. With the highly anticipated Michael Jackson biopic coming up, it’s interesting to note that Burns once played Paris Jackson in the 2017 TV movie Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland. “It was such a great experience,” she told us. “The people on that were amazing. And I mean, that was the first time I was really in LA and California. And it was a great experience overall. And yeah, I loved it.”

Related: Every Horror Movie Releasing in March 2024

Meanwhile, Pyper Braun starred in a film that was released last year titled Desperation Road, starring Mel Gibson. “Mel was very funny. He is a very funny guy,” said Braun when thinking about her experience on the project. “He was very kind and sweet to me. And he loves to joke around on set… Willa Fitzgerald played my mother on Desperation Road, and off-camera and off-set we formed this really close bond. And actually, a couple of times we had a movie night. And I really think it showed through on screen how comfortable we were with each other.”

Since Imaginary has a more family-friendly MPAA rating (PG-13), there’s a chance some from the younger generations will see it in theaters — and might just recognize Pyper’s vocals. She voices multiple characters on Disney Junior’s hit animated series Superkitties. “We just got renewed for season three, very exciting. And season two should be coming out soon,” Pyper told us, noting that voice work is a much different acting experience. “I’ve never met all my castmates. I’ve met a few of them, but I haven’t met all of them… We’re so far apart from each other… We also follow each other online and on Instagram.”

On a scarier note, from Lionsgate, Imaginary is now playing in theaters. You can watch the trailer below: