It Lives Inside: A Fun Debut With Great Scares And Some Unique Twists

I’ve been a fan of horror movies since the late 80’s and have seen countless films from the genre. Horror is a good place for screenwriters and new filmmakers to start as they usually don’t require big budgets. Some I’ve seen have been unforgettable but most others barely pass as a film.

It Lives Inside, the debut feature by director/writer Bishal Dutta , is one that may not be totally unforgettable, but has sufficient creativity, heart and originality. Enriched with Hindi folklore, It Lives Inside has plenty of scares to creep out and delight fans.

Don’t be a jerk to your old friends

Sam (Megan Suri) is an Indian American teen trying to find a sense of normalcy in her high school. Her mother Poorna (Neeru Bajwa) wishes she would be more traditional, like she is, but Sam is rebellious and out to get attention from more popular people at school.

Sam’s ex best friend Tamira (Mohana Krishnan), is still saddened by Sam’s loss, but Sam does everything to ignore and make fun of her with her new friends. They call her weird and “crazy” because of how sheepish and shy she is, but Tamira is actually gripped with fear regarding something that she must warn Sam about.

Neon

When Tamira approaches Sam in the locker room, holding a small jar, she tries to tell Sam about it, but Sam is too blinded by her youthful ego to listen. Sam tells Tamira that she no longer wants to see her and smacks the jar, shattering it on the floor.

Not only a jerk move, but Sam ends up unleashing a demonic force she never dreamt she would have to come up against.

don’t hold the darkness

As the film continues, Sam finds out she should have been listening more to Tamira and her mother. Poorna tells Sam about the Hindi folklore associated with this demon, and that it apparently likes to feed off of fear and negativity.

Sam learns that once this entity chooses you, it will not relent until everyone you love dies, before it kills you. This includes friends, partners, parents and all who try to help. As Sam’s journey continues, her support circle grows thinner and thinner until she finally has to face the beast.

Will Sam be able to stop the slaughter to her friends and family before the beast claims her too?

in all honesty…

Neon

I really enjoyed It Lives Inside.

Though of course there are some similarities to other horror films, there are many juicy tidbits here that you don’t expect, and some innovative twists on horror beats than the usual worn out tropes. Dutta seems to take great care into many of the scares, so they would be less expected and deliver satisfying jumps and screams.

The acting was shaky at times and Sam’s character is not very likeable. If the goal was for us to feel sympathy for her, I think she should’ve been a lot more respectful in general. She comes off as more of a Regina George, from Mean Girls, and we all know how it ended for her.

I loved seeing the extremely talented Betty Gabriel, known from her incredible performance in Get Out . I just wish that her character had gotten a bit more attention and depth. Instead, she gets a rather cliche part as Sam’s teacher, and hence, wasn’t stretched to her full potential.

The production design, lighting and coloring were well done. Anne Boyle did a wonderful job working with DP Matthew Lynn on the coloring schematics, and the decision to keep the creature in the dark till the very end heightened the creepiness.

Neon

The creature itself wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Though there isn’t much left to imagine in creating original looks for new creatures in horror, I still appreciated its unique nuances and the care taken in its creation.

It Lives Inside may not be the best horror film out there, but it definitely stands sturdy in the genre. I don’t usually jump or react to most of what I’ve seen before because the scares are completely predictable, silly or eye rolling. This film actually made me jump and produced a couple of shrieks out loud, which is almost unheard of for me.

Overall, it is a fun, creepy, weekend with friends film, that is a surprising and welcome addition to horror, with plenty of amusement to offer fans.