It Lives Inside

It Lives Inside

Sam is desperate to fit in at school, rejecting her Indian culture and family to be like everyone else. When a mythological demonic spirit latches onto her former best friend, she must come to terms with her heritage in order to defeat it.

  • Released: 2023-03-11
  • Runtime: 99 minutes
  • Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery
  • Stars: Megan Suri, Neeru Bajwa, Vik Sahay, Betty Gabriel, Mohana Krishnan, Gage Marsh, Beatrice Kitsos, Saisha Muni, Sangeeta Wylie
  • Director: Bishal Dutta
 Comments
  • thesar-2 - 9 April 2024
    It Follows Slimer's Hunger Pains
    Don't be fooled like me; for every When Evil Lurks and Talk to Me, there's a It Lives Inside. I guess we can't appreciate the greats without knowing the opposite.

    Actually, to be fair, this movie isn't the worst I've seen...it's just plain okay. It's wildly unoriginal and brings so incredibly little to the table, you'll need to leave your brain at the door for multiple reasons. And still, if you like these kinds of supernatural stalker movies, you might feel at home here.

    High School Sam inadvertently releases a demon who chases/taunts her and she'll have to use clues and others to figure out how to stop this before it's too late. Sound familiar? Like really familiar?

    The acting's okay, the filming is acceptable and creature effects, while very pumpkinheadish, is just fine. I mean, there's inferior horror films out there, but why settle for mediocre or less?

    Not recommended. If you're interested in a great Demon-Coming-After-You 2023 release, just see the masterful Talk to Me. Or elevated in When Evil Lurks. (I'd suggest that one above all horror from 2023 and even in recent years.)

    Sucks, too. I really wanted to see this, just based on the poster and 2022-2023's track record for incredible horror releases. I was fooled...so now you don't have to be.

    ***

    Final Thoughts: I will give one great positive: I LOVED the end credits song. Didn't really fit the rest of the movie, but at least it ended with a great distraction from what I just witnessed. (Mallrats' "Teeth.")
  • johannes2000-1 - 11 January 2024
    Unsurprising but solid old-fashioned horror
    I had a good time with this old-fashioned horror flick. There are no surprises, and lots of clichés, but it's all done with great care and It's nice to see for a change a horror from an American-Indian angle, it also gives the movie a tiny extra edge when we see how there's a struggle for main character Sam to fit in at school and among her friends. There's a nice building-up of the tension; especially the first part where Tamira walks around with the jar in which the demon is contained is extremely creepy and provides some very effective jump scares; but there are a lot more in the rest of the movie, like with Sam's short-lived love-interest or with her caring teacher.

    The demon is especially menacing when it's still hidden in the shadows; as so often the ultimate full exposure of the monster takes some of the suspense and scariness away, and I wasn't too thrilled by the way this one was crafted. The pace of the movie was a bit unbalanced: fast adrenaline-fueled sequences alternate with talkative, at times almost standstill scenes. But the acting of all major parts was fine, with a special mention of Megan Siri who did an excellent job.