The Director Of Horror Movie Imaginary Isn't Afraid Of John Krasinski's IF

When two stories with similar premises debut around the same time, awkwardness is natural. We're about to have the latest case of this in 2024.

On one hand, "IF" (short for "Imaginary Friend"). He may not be Reed Richards in "Fantastic Four" as some had anticipated, but John Krasinski has leveraged his success directing "A Quiet Place" and its sequel. Now, with "IF," he's pivoting away from horror to a family-friendly comedy. "IF" is about a young girl named Bea (Cailey Fleming) who can see people's imaginary friends. She then discovers her middle-aged neighbor (Ryan Reynolds) has the same power. "IF" is set for release in May 2024.

Even as Krasinski flexes his directorial skills in a different genre, a horror film about imaginary friends is releasing a couple of months earlier on March 8. "Imaginary," the latest jump scare monster movie from Blumhouse, follows a mother, Jessica (DeWanda Wise), and her stepdaughter Alice (Pyper Braun). Jessica finds her childhood teddy bear Chauncey and passes it on to Alice, but they discover something far more sinister than stuffing is contained inside the bear.

So yeah, these two movies are both about adults reckoning with their childhood imaginations, even if they take that idea in different directions. "Imaginary" Jeff Wadlow ("Kick-Ass 2," "Truth or Dare") spoke with SFX magazine and seemed blasé about the competition.

To start with, Wadlow acknowledged that dueling movies are a regularly-occurring phenomenon in Hollywood, noting how in 1997, there were two action/disaster movies about volcanic eruptions ("Dante's Peak" and "Volcano," released two months apart in February and April that year — neither is considered much of a classic). Wadlow continued:

"There's an interesting Hollywood history of zeitgeisty movies hitting cinemas at the same time. [Imaginary friends] was one of those things that just hadn't been exploited in pop culture in a long time, probably not since 'Drop Dead Fred.' So it was bound to happen."

"Drop Dead Fred," if you aren't aware, is a 1991 black comedy about a girl (Phoebe Cates) and her eponymous imaginary friend (Rik Mayall). As for "IF," Wadlow wasn't braggadocious; if anything, he acknowledged that even though his film is debuting first, it's the underdog in this competition.

"It's funny, I would kill to talk to Krasinski about it right now. I'm sure we don't even show up on his radar. He's had so much success with the 'A Quiet Place' franchise. I do wonder what [the 'IF' crew] thought when they saw our trailer."

We'll know the final tally of this score soon enough. "Imaginary" releases in theaters on March 8, 2024. "IF" releases on May 17, 2024.