Meet Pyper Braun, young star of Blumhouse's upcoming film IMAGINARY

Blumhouse has a new horror movie releasing in theaters in March, and if you enjoyed M3GAN, you should definitely check it out. The film is called IMAGINARY, and it features a very scary stuffed bear named Chauncey. It also features Pyper Braun, a talented child actor who voices the character of Bitsy on Disney+ series Super Kitties.

IMAGINARY is the story of a blended family moving into the childhood home of Stepmom Jessica (DeWanda Wise), and little Alice finds Chauncey in the basement. Though he looks cute and cuddly enough, Chauncey turns out to be dangerous.

Alice is played by 10-year-old Pyper Braun, and we had the opportunity to chat with her recently about her role in IMAGINARY.

1428 Elm: I just watched the trailer for IMAGINARY the other day, and I’m excited to talk to you about it. Tell us a little bit about IMAGINARY. What is it about, and what character do you play?

Pyper: IMAGINARY is about a woman going back to her childhood home and I play Alice, the youngest stepdaughter. I go down to this creepy basement and I find a bear, Chauncey, and I become very close friends with this bear, and he takes me on a scavenger hunt. It’s very creepy, you just have to watch the movie to find out.

1428 Elm: Yeah, the preview looks really good! Obviously, IMAGINARY is a horror movie, and I started watching horror movies when I was probably about your age. Do you like to watch horror movies?

Pyper: No. I mean, I’d love to be in another one, but I haven’t watched a horror movie.

1428 Elm: Well, you’ll probably watch this one when it releases, right?

Pyper: I’ve actually seen it already!

1428 Elm: Well, aren’t you lucky! So, tell us what it was like working with Chauncey, that creepy stuffed bear in IMAGINARY.

Pyper: We love Chauncey! Chauncey is very quiet (laughs). His fur is like teddy bear fur, it has this kind of like matted feeling to it. And what’s really creepy about the bear is his facial expression changes. But to change the facial expressions, you have to pop the bear’s face off. He’s very cute in person, and he’s definitely the easiest cast member to work with!

There’s actually three different Chaunceys. So, one of them is kind of like a regular stuffed bear version. And then there is a poseable one, kind of like a mannequin, and then there is a puppet one. I actually have…I named it Fauncey, and it is the mock-up version of Chauncey, which our director Jeff gave me.

1428 Elm: Well, that’s nice! So, you have that with you at your house now?

Pyper: I do, it’s currently under my bed.

1428 Elm: Yeah, I don’t know if I would want to sleep with that on my bed with me after watching that trailer! Now, you’ve been in some other movies as well, right?

Pyper: Yes.

1428 Elm: Which of the movies you’ve worked on has been your favorite? And why?

Pyper: I’ve actually only worked on two movies, but I loved them both so much. Desperation Road and IMAGINARY were very different, but I was definitely more prepared for IMAGINARY. Desperation Road was filmed really fast. We had to have those emotions quick, and run with it. IMAGINARY was filmed over a full month; I had time to settle into Alice and get to know my character.

1428 Elm: That’s always good to be able to prepare. Now, I’m guessing you are going to continue working in movies, you really enjoy that from what I hear.

Pyper: Oh, yes! Now it’s just, “Which movie to do next”!

1428 Elm: Well, I’m sure you’re going to work on a lot of them. Now, I hear that earlier on, you did some competitive dancing, and you won a national title. Tell us about that.

Pyper: That was exciting, and when I was five, I actually won this ginormous teddy bear that I still have. (laughs) It was probably bigger than me, or the size of me now, but he was amazing.

1428 Elm: Well, maybe he and Chauncey – YOUR Chauncey – will get to be friends now.

Pyper: Maybe!

1428 Elm: Tell me what you enjoyed most about working on IMAGINARY.

Pyper: Oh, I got to learn so much! Well, definitely the most fun part about working on IMAGINARY was the creatures. Because I had never worked with a creature, and I have always loved creepy things, and I just thought it was so cool to get to meet the creatures! And the costumes are so uniquely designed. I don’t know exactly what it was made of, but it was like a wet suit almost for one of the creatures, and it was so cool.

1428 Elm: Well, that’s good; so, you got to be in the movie, but you also got to see how they do some of the special effects and things like that.

Pyper: Yeah, and there’s one of the monsters that I spent a lot of time with, and we took a lot of photos.

1428 Elm: Is there anything else you want to talk to our readers about with IMAGINARY?

Pyper: I don’t think there is anything else.

1428 Elm: OK, great, it’s been really nice talking to you, and I cannot wait to see IMAGINARY. And I know you are going to continue to do a lot of really good things.

Pyper: Thank you!

*Parts of this interview have been edited for clarity.