review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Daniel Isn't Real holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average of . The critical consensus reads "Daniel Isn't Real, but the smart, stylish fun waiting for genre lovers in this well-acted suspense thriller is completely genuine." On Metacritic, the film holds an averaged score of 61 out of 100 based on 11 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". For Variety, Dennis Harvey called the film "first-rate in all departments" and a "stylishly crafted psychological horror thriller". Katie Rife of The A.V. Club wrote that the film is "a slick and thrilling take on the intersection of mental illness and creative inspiration that also doubles as a commentary on toxic masculinity" and awarded the film a B. The Hollywood Reporter's Frank Scheck said "The film is most effective when keeping the viewer off-balance as to whether the title character is merely a figment of Luke's possible mental illness or an actual malevolent force of the demonic variety who seeks more and more control of Luke's behavior". Sequels In December 2020, while speaking to Bloody Disgusting, Mortimer confirmed a "Vortex Trilogy" consisting of Daniel Isn't Real, Archenemy, and a planned third film, saying "mark my words we are going to make a third movie in the Vortex Trilogy that will have Daniel return and force Max, in some form, to deal with it. A crisis on infinite vortices pulling together as many of the characters from both stories as we can fit for a true cosmic horror/cosmic action crossover hybrid!" References External links 2019 horror thriller films American horror thriller films Films based on American novels American independent films Films shot in New York City Samuel Goldwyn Films films 2010s English-language films Films directed by Adam Egypt Mortimer 2010s American films 2019 independent films