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It begins with your standard shot, a camera tracking through a modest but deteriorated home. In the abode’s hallways are dead, crumpled bodies. Screams can be heard emanating from an ajar door leading to the basement. We travel down creaky stairs to a body burned so badly that steam is still rising from the charcoaled skin. Its hand is outstretched to a glass jar filled with black smoke. This jar is merely a vessel, a metaphor for the difficulties faced by the Indian inhabitants of this white suburb. 

“It Lives Inside,” the feature directorial debut from Bishal Dutta , trades in cultural mythology and rote atmospheric frights to tell the story of Samidha (a captivating Megan Suri ). A smart, very popular student Samidha—she goes by Sam—is the kind of typical teenager with an overbearing mom ( Neeru Bajwa ) and a crush on the popular boy ( Gage Marsh ) at school common for these films. Her former best friend, Tamira ( Mohana Krishnan ), is well, going through it. Sleep-deprived and talking to herself, she totes the same glass jar we saw earlier. 

It’s enough to worry her teacher Joyce ( Betty Gabriel ), who approaches Sam and asks her to talk with Tamira. Sam, unfortunately, doesn’t want to be associated with the “crazy” Brown person and rebuffs Joyce’s pleas to stick together. She also ignores Tamira’s story about a specter haunting her. Sam doesn’t believe her friend until she accidentally breaks the jar. Tamira mysteriously goes missing; the creepily designed ghoul, composed of tiny teeth, comes to Sam’s dreams and begins attacking others around her. What follows is a movie that wants to be a teen movie and an allegory for the immigrant experience but never wholly coheres. 

Many will compare the mechanics of the film’s monster, a Pishach, to “ The Babadook .” Both beings demonstrate a desire to isolate their victims and work on their psyche. But the mythical being from Hindu and Buddhist mythology predates Jennifer Kent ’s film, speaking to the universality of how loneliness can warp the brain. The film translates that sense of othering, leading to assimilation, that can happen to Black and Brown people amid a white ecosystem. Sam, for instance, doesn’t want to go by her Indian name; she hangs out with micro-aggressive white kids over Tamira; she rarely speaks Hindi anymore and doesn’t bring anyone over to her home. Those decisions put her at odds with her traditionalist mother, causing your prototypical friction between parents and first-generation Americans to arise. 

One wishes Dutta pulled the weight of assimilation further, closer to what Remi Weekes did with “ His House ,” another horror flick similarly affixed to the immigrant experience. There are some hints that Dutta wants to take that route: We learn how the monster may have origins back in India and that it has passed between multiple Indian families, individuals who also feel isolated. But Dutta is too concerned with fashioning a less-than-successful suburban teen narrative. 

The primary reason Sam wants to fit in, as with any teen, but especially someone afraid of the cultural repercussions that come from being different, is for social cache. When one of her teenage friends is murdered in her presence, however, we never see the ramifications for Sam at school. She just continues to go to class. For an area suspicious of Brown people, these pearl-clutching white folks certainly aren’t searching for any answers. There’s no police presence, no outreach from the kid’s parents, no confrontation between Sam and literally anybody in this tiny community. It simply makes no sense. If you want to be a teen movie, you must keep viewers in that milieu rather than relying on the basic building blocks cobbled from other, better films.  

The visual language restricts the viewer too: While Dutta and cinematographer Matthew Lynn rely on close-ups (granting an immersive touch), they also love copying Spike Lee ’s double dolly shot. Rather than waiting for a key moment to unleash it, however, they use the move three times, each less successful in translating the interior angst felt by Sam than the last. Bad match cuts meant to instill horror fall flat, too, as does the basic sound design. The final freakout, a showdown in a basement between Sam and the monster, stretches on for far too long, losing rhythm and pace as Dutta maneuvers for an avenue to a sequel. 

Telling an Indian-American horror story, particularly one set in suburbia, should have allowed for plenty of rich opportunities. With major deficiencies like plot, themes, and tension holding Dutta’s film back, “It Lives Inside” is merely average on the outside.

Now playing in theaters. 

Robert Daniels

Robert Daniels is an Associate Editor at RogerEbert.com. Based in Chicago, he is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) and Critics Choice Association (CCA) and regularly contributes to the  New York Times ,  IndieWire , and  Screen Daily . He has covered film festivals ranging from Cannes to Sundance to Toronto. He has also written for the Criterion Collection, the  Los Angeles Times , and  Rolling Stone  about Black American pop culture and issues of representation.

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It Lives Inside (2023)

Rated PG-13 for terror, violent content, bloody images, brief strong language and teen drug use.

Megan Suri as Samidha

Neeru Bajwa as Poorna

Mohana Krishnan as Tamira

Betty Gabriel as Joyce

Vik Sahay as Inesh

Gage Marsh as Russ

• Bishal Dutta

Writer (story)

• Ashish Mehta

Cinematographer

• Matthew Lynn
• Wesley Hughes

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'It Lives Inside' Review: A Nightmarish Horror Film In All The Wrong Ways

The generic elements of this metaphorical horror rob it of its promise.

This review was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the film being covered here wouldn't exist. When it comes to the best horror movies , specificity of vision is key. Getting right up in the guts of a distinctly terrifying force, be it grounded in history, identity, or trauma, is the way to give a familiar genre story something more. In writer-director Bishal Dutta ’s feature debut It Lives Inside , this is something that feels like it is happening about halfway. The particular details of its characters and their lives are compelling while the rest of the story itself is quite lacking. In many ways, it is hard to even consider this a horror film when it often feels like more of a dramatic thriller. There are moments of terror near the beginning, but it gets far too tangled up in a generic narrative that drowns out any sense of vision. Even with some striking visual moments and excellent sound design, it is all in service of regrettably very little.

What Is 'It Lives Inside' About?

The story places us in the life of the Indian-American teen Samidha AKA Sam ( Megan Suri ) who is just trying to live her life at her primarily white school. The question of assimilation and the toll it takes is a foundational one for the film as much as the sinister forces that are sprinkled throughout. This includes familial drama as Sam will often clash with her mother Poorna ( Neeru Bajwa ) just as darker forces begin to loom large. Yes, this is another film from this year that feels quite a bit like The Babadook , but without nearly the same patience.

One scene at night merges the two of these together in appropriately unsettling fashion, but it is largely disconnected from the heart of the film itself. The driving force to it all is when Sam has a falling out with her friend Tamira ( Mohana Krishnan ) who came to her seeking help in what is clearly a state of complete fear of something. This concludes with a jar being smashed that unleashes the full force of an invisible being on everything and everyone it comes into contact with. This also means that Tamira is taken, ripped away in the film’s most effectively scary moment that nothing else is able to match up to the longer it goes on, and Sam will have to find the truth in order to possibly track her down when nobody else will.

RELATED: New 'It Lives Inside' Trailer Unleashes a Terrifying Demonic Entity

The execution of all of this is quite clunky, with characters marking that they are about to look into a potential lead by saying lines like “something about that house just feels important, you know?” This is less the fault of the actors than it is of the writing that feels like it is almost riffing on the broad strokes of this type of horror film without adding anything to them. For every scene that takes place on a swing set that is a bit more gruesome, there are many more generic nightmares that just feel like it is all going through the motions. Having characters look into the monster to try to save themselves can be effective storytelling, but it requires a greater sense of care put into character. A generic plot can be salvaged by the people in it.

That just isn’t felt here as even those that do help Sam feel more like potential victims to up the kill count rather than fully developed characters. Making matters worse, the main characters will spell out what is all happening and what it means in a painfully blunt sense. There is an intriguing version of this story that reflects on the terror of assimilation via this demonic metaphor, but this one lacks the emotional depth to pull it off. Still, for quite a bit, you’re willing to go with it because of the more restrained approach where little is actually seen of the demon and Suri is quite good at capturing the fear taking hold. The trouble is that what we see at the end makes it yet another horror film that jettisons subtlety for empty spectacle . While the monster is a metaphor, the manifestation of it leaves much to be desired.

The Demon in 'It Lives Within' Is More Silly Than Sinister

Without going too much into detail about the particulars of it, the film surprisingly reveals a lot of what the being haunting Sam looks like in a way that undercuts what little it had going for it up until that point. It isn’t without some creepiness, but there is just a fundamental lack of restraint that undercuts such elements. If you want to fully show your monster, that can be all well and good if it’s executed with an eye for well-constructed shots. Instead, the fight Sam undertakes feels a bit too hokey for its own good. It shouldn’t feel cartoonish, considering the more heavy themes and ideas it was lightly exploring throughout, though it very much does.

There is something almost poignant once it quiets down, but it is held back by the more misguided elements that it is never able to shake free of. The thing that lives inside the film itself is less terror and more tepidness as it takes a story that had promise lurking in every corner only to never care to look at them for long enough to discover what was there.

The Big Picture

• The characters and their personal stories in It Lives Inside are potentially compelling, but the overall horror film lacks a distinct vision.
• The film struggles to balance between being a horror film and a generically dramatic thriller, losing its focus and sense of terror.
• The visual moments and sound design can be striking, but they ultimately serve a story that lacks depth and fails to deliver on its initial promise.

It Lives Inside is in theaters starting September 22.

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It Lives Inside

An Indian-American teenager struggling with her cultural identity has a falling out with her former best friend and, in the process, unwittingly releases a demonic entity that grows stronger... Read all An Indian-American teenager struggling with her cultural identity has a falling out with her former best friend and, in the process, unwittingly releases a demonic entity that grows stronger by feeding on her loneliness. An Indian-American teenager struggling with her cultural identity has a falling out with her former best friend and, in the process, unwittingly releases a demonic entity that grows stronger by feeding on her loneliness.

• Bishal Dutta
• Ashish Mehta
• Neeru Bajwa
• Mohana Krishnan
• 85 User reviews
• 113 Critic reviews
• 50 Metascore
• 1 win & 3 nominations

• The Pishach

• Young Tamira
• (as Saisha Ram Muni)
• Indian Woman

• Older White Neighbor

• (as Siddartha Minhas)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• Trivia Bishal Dutta 's feature film directorial debut.
• Goofs During the gathering at Sam's house, she asks her father whatever happened to a particular family that used to come to their parties. Later in the film, when investigating that family's house, she mentions she was already informed on how they died.

Sam : Everything I wanted outside of me is inside of me and I can't get it out.

• Connections Featured in The Project: Episode dated 22 September 2023 (2023)

User reviews 85

• akshatmahajan
• Oct 15, 2023
• How long is It Lives Inside? Powered by Alexa
• September 22, 2023 (United States)
• United States
• Sitio Oficial Latinoamérica
• Phong Ấn Quỷ Dữ
• Brightlight Pictures
• QC Entertainment
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• Sep 24, 2023

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• Runtime 1 hour 39 minutes

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It Lives Inside review – standard-issue schlock horror has its moments

This Indian American monster movie has interesting touches of cultural specificity but it’s a mostly familiar formula

T here’s a swirl of the old and the new in the hokey pre-Halloween horror It Lives Inside, a balance that could have benefited from a lot more of the latter – because when the first-time director Bishal Dutta does try to add freshness to the familiarity of formula, he manages to carve his film its own place within two overstuffed subgenres, flashes of intrigue as he veers between schlocky curse and even schlockier monster movie.

A wide-releasing horror film centered on an Indian American teenager already gives the film a certain distinction. Dutta, also acting as writer, tries to thread themes of assimilation and identity through a predictable procession of mostly ineffective jump scares and slightly more effective set pieces, the film working better when it’s trying to chill rather than shock. Never Have I Ever and Missing’s Megan Suri plays Samidha, or Sam as she prefers to be called, a girl trying to fit in at a predominantly white high school despite her mother keenly trying to keep traditions an integral part of her life. It’s led to a distance from her other Indian American friend, Tamira and, like Heathers and Fright Night before it, explores that interesting fracture of leaving one friend behind to climb higher socially.

Tamira’s increasingly strange behaviour both unsettles and annoys Sam, as she skulks around unkempt and insistent that something sinister is afoot. But when she goes missing, it’s clear that she was right about a curse that attaches itself to those with a certain heritage.

It’s a demonic spirit called a Pishach, one that appears in Hindu mythology, but one that’s ultimately a variation on something that’s appeared in a multitude of horror films before. It sticks to the dark, feeds on both flesh and fear and haunts the nightmares of those next in line. When the creature is kept to mostly sound design, as unoriginal as the noises may be, it’s a far more successful spectre. But as is frequently the case, the more we see, the less we want to and when we get the full picture, it most closely resembles the ill-advised human-alien hybrid from the end of Alien: Resurrection, snorts of derision cancelling out any screams.

Telling a story of a flesh-eating demon but working with a PG-13 rating, the film is neutered from the outset but Dutta’s sleek, menacing atmosphere and efficient use of darkness almost make up for it, his film nothing if not a convincing audition tape for bigger genre work. His script might falter at times (Sam’s poor mother’s middle name may well be exposition) but it’s in the more specific moments that some character emerges, difficult and unanswered questions surrounding immigrant guilt and cultural reinvention adding much-needed texture to the more rote horror plotting.

Some of Dutta’s of-the-moment metaphor horror might be blunt but it’s also, in some scenes, bluntly effective as well as effectively dour, his film climaxing with an unsurprising yet unnerving endnote. In the brief moments when It Lives Inside finds itself, there’s reason to believe Dutta will unearth more next time – he might just have to dig a little deeper.

It Lives Inside is out in US cinemas on 22 September and in the UK on 20 October

• Horror films

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‘It Lives Inside’ Review: Globe-Trotting Demon Bedevils a Teen in a Creepy Supernatural Tale

Bishal Dutta’s debut feature is an effective if familiar chiller in which an evil Hindu mythological figure menaces North American emigres who’ve neglected their cultural roots in India.

By Dennis Harvey

Dennis Harvey

Film Critic

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There’s a rather simplistic, retro “don’t forget where you came from” message lurking within “It Lives Inside,” suggesting that people who leave their native culture behind might well attract — or even deserve — torment from its ancient mythological spirits. But that faintly reactionary finger-wagging is subsumed by the moment-to-moment effectiveness of writer-director Bishal Dutta ’s debut feature. Repping one of the better PG-13 horrors of late, it ekes sufficient menace from the familiar story gist of a consuming demonic presence passed from one beleaguered victim to another. 

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Big mistake. That sealed jar was evidently the only thing restraining something very, very bad, though it required constant feedings of raw meat nonetheless. Now it is loose, to the immediate grief of Tamira who vanishes moments later, and soon causing Sam distress as well. She begins experiencing frightful visions that are no more reassuring for being nightmares that can be woken from — at least for the time being. Searching for the missing Tamira, she enlists help from Russ (Gage Marsh), the cute, affable classmate she’s crushing on. But it turns out the thing now stalking our heroine’s soul does not like helpers. That bodes ill for both Russ and sympathetic teacher Joyce (Betty Gabriel).

Once desperate enough to confide in mom, Sam is informed she’s probably facing a Pishacha, a Hindu mythological “demonic entity that feeds on negative energy” — as well as human flesh. It must be lured, placated and trapped, preferably before the end of the seven-day span when poor Tamira (still alive but in dire straits) will be killed.

Billed as “From the producers of ‘Get Out,’” “It Lives Inside” bears little resemblance to that witty mix of horror fantasy and social satire. This is a straight-up, uncomplicated scarefest whose earnest, superficial treatment of racial and cultural divisions never develops much deeper resonance. Perhaps because she’s the plot’s scold, as well as deliverer of silly-sounding supernatural intel, Bajwa’s Poona seems to dominate all the most labored scenes here. But the other actors bring persuasive conviction to their parts, with Suri a strong lead. Particularly good is Gabriel, another holdover from “Get Out,” where she was exceptional in a wildly different role. She gets probably the best setpiece here, a long queasy episode in an eerily empty school at night. 

With its low kill count and minimal gore, Dutta’s film will doubtless suffer the usual criticisms from horror buffs that it’s not hardcore enough. But the director brings the right solemnity to his script, which in less able hands might have grown ridiculous. That it doesn’t is a testament to the film’s nicely accomplished atmospherics, realized in large part by Matthew Lynn’s widescreen cinematography, Tyler Harron’s production design and Wesley Hughes’ original score. 

Their efforts cast a certain spell that overcomes even the somewhat underwhelming demon itself, when finally seen whole — a distant relation to the Creature From the Black Lagoon, with Jenaya Ross in the monster suit — as well as a tepid fadeout. “It Lives Inside” does not bear much thinking about, during or afterward. But above-average craftsmanship makes the middling material feel reasonably distinctive while you’re watching. Its gloomy tension raises matters a notch or two above the slasher cliches Dutta resists, and the teen-angst conventions he doesn’t.

Reviewed online, Sept. 12, 2023. (In SXSW festival.) MPAA rating: PG-13. Running time: 99 MIN.

• Production: A Neon release of a Neon presentation of a QC Entertainment production in association with Brightlight Pictures. Producers: Raymond Mansfield, Sean McKittrick. Executive producers: Tom Quinn, Jeff Deutchman, Emily Thomas, Ryan Friscia, Edward H. Hamm Jr., Jameson Parker, Arielle Boisvert, Shawn Williamson. 
• Crew: Director: Bishal Dutta. Screenplay: Dutta, from a story by Dutta, Ashish Mehta. Camera: Matthew Lynn. Editor: Jack Price. Music: Wesley Hughes. 
• With: Megan Suri, Neeru Bajwa, Mohana Krishnan, Vik Sahay, Gage Marsh, Beatrice Kitsos, Betty Gabriel, Jenaya Ross, Beatrice Kitsos, Sangeeta Wylie. (English, Hindi dialogue.)

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‘it lives inside’ review: a horror debut about first-generation immigrants falls short of its potential.

A teenager races against time to save an old friend from ancient demonic forces in Bishal Dutta's feature debut.

By Lovia Gyarkye

Lovia Gyarkye

Arts & Culture Critic

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The encounter in the girls locker room initiates the nightmare scenario of It Lives Inside , Bishal Dutta ’s jagged feature debut about a small town besieged by an ancient spirit. 

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Tamira is a more shadowy figure; her character seems mostly to be Sam’s opposite. The young woman, dressed in drab and ill-fitting clothes, sticks out. She inspires stares, whispers and jokes. When she shuffles through the hall, it’s as if she’s haunted by an imperceptible force. 

Dutta, who co-wrote It Lives Inside with Ashish Mehta, uses Sam, Tamira and a demonic force to explore immigrant isolation. The director is not the first to use horror conventions to clarify these themes: No One Gets Out Alive focused on an undocumented Mexican immigrant in the U.S. and Nanny chronicled the experiences of a Senegalese au pair in New York. But Dutta and Mehta personalize their thesis by shaping their narrative around the tensions in Sam and Tamira’s friendship. 

Rage creeps onto Sam’s face. Suri relaxes her furrowed brows and curls her lips into a disappointed smile. “You’re such a fucking psycho,” she hisses at Tamira. And then, as if to sever any other ties between them, Sam shatters the glass. The spirit escapes and Tamira disappears. 

It Lives Inside chronicles Sam’s attempt to find her friend. She embarks on a frantic search for clues, asking her mother vague questions and pulling from her patchy memory. The film grips us with its jump scares and Wesley Hughes’ propulsive score. The stakes are high and we believe them — at first. 

Somewhere along Sam’s journey, though, the spell breaks. Dutta’s film slackens as it takes increasingly conventional routes and deserts the bolder promises of its premise. Immigrant dislocation, the notion of being stuck between worlds, and the idea of America as a land of opportunity are explored in what feels like a cursory manner. Vague dialogue full of broad sentiments makes the characters feel more like symbols than people. Further details about Sam and Tamira’s friendship or scenes between Sam and her mother (who figures more prominently the closer her daughter gets to solving the mystery) would have lent crucial scenes more texture. 

The potency of It Lives Inside — and why it might be worth checking out even if it isn’t wholly satisfying — lies in how it introduces Sam and Tamira’s relationship and links it to Hindu lore. That connection is refreshingly bold, and from it emerge far more interesting questions about the violent isolation of assimilation.

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‘It Lives Inside’: Horror as metaphor for the immigrant experience

The auspicious feature debut of writer-director Bishal Dutta uses a familiar trope — the demonic entity — to explore themes of disconnection and assimilation

“It Lives Inside” opens with an unnerving sequence. Hot red lights and dark hallways lead to an immolated body lying on a basement floor. There are no clues as to what we are seeing or how it will fit in with the rest of the film. Screams mix with a building score until the tension is finally broken with a title card.

Written and directed by Bishal Dutta, “It Lives Inside” is carried by innovative horror imagery, a well-constructed script and great central performances that hold the emotional heart of the story. It’s not a perfect film, but it will keep you on the edge of your seat from those opening shots until the closing credits.

Samidha (Megan Suri) is a high-schooler living in Los Angeles. She struggles with the usual problems of an American teenager: trying to pass her driving test, courting the cute boy in her English class, fitting in with the popular girls. Samidha (or Sam, as her non-Indian friends call her) is also the child of immigrants. Throughout the film, Samidha deals with the divergent cultural influence of her friend group and her parents. Tamira (Mohana Krishnan) is a classmate of hers who begins acting strangely and carrying around an ominous-looking Mason jar. It’s up to Samidha to figure out what’s going on with Tamira and whether something sinister may be lurking inside her.

These two young actresses are the film’s secret weapons, especially Suri, who is asked to do a lot here yet never fails to impress. She’s great both as a romantic lead and as someone who must endure what turns out to be a supernatural attack. The film hinges on her ability to provide context for the stories of a number of supporting characters, and Suri does just that. In one pivotal early scene, she has to turn on a dime, emotionally speaking. Watching her move from empathy to disgust in a split second is genuinely exciting, hinting at the complex emotional arc her character will ultimately go through.

Krishnan has an easier task but is equally well equipped. Their scenes together are gripping, and when they’re both on-screen, it’s difficult to look away.

The supporting cast delivers small but impactful performances, particularly Vik Sahay and Neeru Bajwa, who as Samidha’s father and mother provide emotional warmth and weight. Bajwa energizes the final act of the film, increasing the stakes in terms of both story and character. Despite the pair’s limited screen time, they are complete characters with an interior life that far surpasses what is expected from the horror genre.

Dutta’s screenplay expertly blends the lived reality of Indian immigrants with the classic structure of a summer horror flick. The character of Samidha is simultaneously specific and universal. Anyone who has struggled to find friends and maintain connections through their teen years will be able to relate to her story. The tree-lined streets and high school hallways evoke classics of the high school movie genre, while the dynamics of an Indian immigrant family in suburban Los Angeles are wholly original. Dutta’s story doesn’t just combine elements but elevates them, using a familiar trope — the demonic entity — as a metaphor for cultural disconnection and assimilation. Elevated horror is a thorny term, but it’s undeniable that Dutta has gone beyond stereotype to create something interesting on a metatextual level.

He’s just as inventive in the director’s chair, creating a sense of intimacy, where appropriate, through both performance and camerawork, and using what appears to have been a modest budget to conjure memorable imagery and effective scares.

“It Lives Inside'' is not without flaws: The middle third of the film is poorly paced; horror gimmicks that initially shock are, at times, overused; and the visuals can sometimes feel two-dimensional and bland. But none of that ultimately matters. The scares work when they need to, and the most important sequences are well shot and dynamic.

Most surprising? This is Dutta’s first feature. Like other recent horror debuts — “ Skinamarink ,” “ Talk to Me ,” “ Barbarian ” and “ Bodies Bodies Bodies ” — “Inside” heralds a unique voice in the genre. It’s an exciting time for horror, and “It Lives Inside” is a great addition to an unfolding new canon. Whatever Dutta or the directors of those other films do next, this reviewer will be first in line.

PG-13. At the Angelika Film Center Mosaic. Contains terror, violence, bloody images, brief strong language and teen drug use. 99 minutes.

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It lives inside, common sense media reviewers.

Uneven horror movie takes thoughtful approach to culture.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Focuses on the immigrant experience, people of col

Sam acts fairly selfishly through the first two-th

Director/co-writer Bishal Dutta is of Indian desce

Teen killed by invisible monster: body thrashed ar

Teens kiss.

Sporadic use of "s--t," "bitch," "psycho," "hell,"

Teens briefly smoke pot. Teen party, with teens dr

Parents need to know that It Lives Inside is a horror movie centered on an Indian American teen (Megan Suri) who's struggling with her identity and must also contend with a murderous demon. Violence can be bloody and intense and includes characters being killed by the demon: strangled, slashed with claws…

Positive Messages

Focuses on the immigrant experience, people of color, and the conflict between wanting to "fit in" -- often sacrificing aspects of tradition and culture to do so -- and remaining true to one's culture and possibly feeling like an outsider. Movie eventually demonstrates that there may be a middle ground between these two positions, accepting that your culture is a way of being true to yourself.

Positive Role Models

Sam acts fairly selfishly through the first two-thirds of the movie -- she's at odds with her more traditional mother and seems willing to forget or ignore her heritage in favor of acceptance -- until she finally sets her own needs aside to try to rescue her friend. She learns that accepting who she really is and where she came from can literally and figuratively defeat her "demon." Her mother relates to her in a bossy, confrontational way, but her teacher, Joyce, seems to be caring and kind, concerned about Sam's well-being and willing to help out.

Diverse Representations

Director/co-writer Bishal Dutta is of Indian descent. Main character Sam (Megan Suri) -- the daughter of parents who immigrated from India to the United States -- is more Americanized than her parents and struggles with her cultural identity. She has another Indian American friend (Mohana Krishnan) who's more of an outsider; their relationship is strained by their opposing views of identity. The characters behave in realistic ways. A teacher who tries to help Sam (Betty Gabriel) is a strong Black female character. Sam tries to build relationships with White students, who are portrayed as kind but clueless. Sam lightens the skin tone on her selfie before posting it online. A White character mistakenly calls Sam's language "Hindu" rather than "Hindi."

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Teen killed by invisible monster: body thrashed around, strangled by chains of a swing set, bite marks, blood spray on lawn. Woman slammed against glass window, trickle of blood on wall. Dead body, burned and bloodied. Characters are stabbed and lifted and thrown to floor. Bloody claw marks. Young woman swatted around by demon; she whacks it back with a metal bar. Minor bloody wounds. Skittering, creeping, contorting creature with long, stringy hair. Blood dripping from backpack. Small, dead, bloody thing fed to demon. Teen limbs burning, covered in burns/boils. Teen girl grabbed by ankle, dragged down stairs. Teen snatched away, off camera, by something; growling, screaming, spattering sounds. Brief jump scare. Nightmares. Scary/gory drawings. Threat.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sporadic use of "s--t," "bitch," "psycho," "hell," "Jesus" (as an exclamation). A couple uses of "f--k."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Teens briefly smoke pot. Teen party, with teens drinking from nondescript glass bottles (possibly beer?).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that It Lives Inside is a horror movie centered on an Indian American teen (Megan Suri) who's struggling with her identity and must also contend with a murderous demon. Violence can be bloody and intense and includes characters being killed by the demon: strangled, slashed with claws/teeth, tossed around, thrown against walls or windows, etc. There's also stabbing, dead bodies, threats, jump scares, burned limbs, and a contorting, skittering thing with long, stringy hair. Infrequent language includes uses of "f---ing," "s--t," "bitch," "psycho," and "hell" and exclamatory use of "Jesus." Two teens kiss briefly and then smoke pot. At a party, teens can be seen drinking from nondescript bottles. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (1)
• Kids say (1)

Based on 1 parent review

What's the Story?

In IT LIVES INSIDE, Indian American high school student Samidha, or "Sam" (Megan Suri), struggles with her identity. She abandons her childhood friend Tamira (Mohana Krishnan) -- who has been acting strange lately, looking jittery and exhausted and carrying around a glass jar -- and befriends the clueless Kittie (Beatrice Kitsos) and pines after school hunk Russ (Gage Marsh). Tamira approaches Sam, asking for help. She claims that something evil and powerful is in the jar and is getting stronger, but Sam smashes it. Soon Tamira has disappeared, Sam starts seeing strange and terrifying things, and people around her begin dying. With help from her teacher, Joyce ( Betty Gabriel ), and eventually her strict mother, Poorna (Neeru Bajwa), Sam must identify the evil force and find a way to stop it.

Is It Any Good?

It follows a pretty familiar formula, but this horror movie makes an admirable attempt to incorporate Indian culture and identity into its fabric. The feature writing and directing debut of Indian-born Bishal Dutta, It Lives Inside is incisive when it comes to dealing with the immigrant experience. Samidha wants to separate herself from her Indian heritage. She shortens her name to "Sam," befriends a White girl, seeks a White boyfriend, and only speaks English at home, while her more traditional mother speaks Hindi. And Sam's choice to leave her former BFF Tamira behind because she doesn't fit Sam's new "look" is heartbreaking. Dutta also incorporates language and tradition into his story -- for example, by showing Poorna preparing a feast as an offering to the demon. Ultimately, defeating the demon is equivalent to Sam reclaiming her culture.

That said, the main thrust of It Lives Inside is less than inspired. It's a typical horror story about a demon latching on to a new victim and characters searching for the demon's origins, then finding a way to stop the demon, followed by a "the end ... or is it?" ending. The movie feels like it's going through a lot of the horror genre motions: It has not one but two "nightmare" sequences and several other clich és. It can't even keep track of when it's raining. (The rain starts and stops on a dime throughout.) Dutta might have been better off embracing the personal even more closely, rather than trying to fit into a premade genre mold.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about It Lives Inside 's violence . How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?

Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of horror movies ? Why do people sometimes like to be scared?

How is Indian culture portrayed here? What does Sam do to try to fit in? What is she giving up?

What's the difference between Sam and her mother? What is their relationship like? Is there a middle ground between their beliefs?

If Sam eventually stops the demon by learning to embrace her culture, then what do you think the demon represents, thematically?

Movie Details

• In theaters : September 22, 2023
• On DVD or streaming : November 7, 2023
• Cast : Megan Suri , Neeru Bajwa , Mohana Krishnan
• Director : Bishal Dutta
• Inclusion Information : Indian/South Asian directors, Female actors, Indian/South Asian actors, Indian/South Asian writers
• Studio : Neon
• Genre : Horror
• Topics : Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
• Run time : 99 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : terror, violent content, bloody images, brief strong language and teen drug use
• Last updated : April 26, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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It lives inside review: megan suri is great in interesting but lackluster horror.

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• It Lives Inside weaves the immigrant experience and Hindu mythology into its horror narrative, but falls short in delivering real scares.
• The mother-daughter relationship in the film provides tension and depth, exploring the impact of the immigrant experience on different generations.
• Strong performances by Megan Suri and Mohana Krishnan elevate the film, but the story lacks depth and fails to fully explore its interesting themes.

Written and directed by Bishal Dutta, It Lives Inside is more than a horror story — it weaves the immigrant experience into its tapestry while employing Hindu mythology to drive its central narrative. The horror itself is little more than slightly unsettling, but never outright scary or chilling. Rather, it’s the metaphor and character journey that truly carry this film. Dutta does a decent job exploring the lead character’s experience as an outsider, how her classmates “other” her, and the relationships that are damaged in a bid to assimilate. But the film’s disparate elements and overarching themes don’t entirely come together by the end, leaving the story’s emotional throughline weakened as a result.

Samidha (Megan Suri) is trying her best to fit in at her high school. She’s got a contentious relationship with her mother Poorna (Neeru Bajwa), who wants Samidha to not be ashamed of her Indian heritage, and distances herself from childhood friend, Tamira (Mohana Krishnan) at school. Everything changes when Tamira begins coming late to class, holding a glass jar tightly while talking to herself. When Tamira comes to Samidha for help, an evil entity attaches itself to her, patiently tormenting her. Samidha must figure out what is feeding on her before it’s too late.

It Lives Inside has a lot of potential, but it needed to be fine-tuned to make it more of a worthwhile watch. Dutta has a lot to say about the immigrant experience, generational tension between mothers and daughters, and culture, but it barely scratches the surface and rarely delves into anything beyond introducing these themes. The film’s horror aspects aren’t particularly scary, nor do they properly build tension as the story unfolds. By the time Samidha faces the creature, the lack of intensity and momentum derails a battle that should have been more unsettling. To that end, the film fails in using its horror to elevate a story whose depth is only peaking through, waiting to be explored.

The mother-daughter relationship at the film’s center is — like the rest of the film — not too deep, but it is one of the more intriguing elements. Samidha and Poorna’s relationship contextualizes the story, providing the film with much of the tension the creature does not. Their dynamic also grounds the film, creating much-needed conflict and intensity. It’s relatable in many ways, and it’s in Samidha and Poorna’s relationship where the film dares to delve into the ways the immigrant experience affects different generations. It also provides the emotional throughline for the film, with Samidha and Poorna’s push-pull dynamic ramping up the stakes for the former, especially as she finds herself becoming more isolated.

Suri is excellent. Her performance really drives home the tumultuousness of Samidha’s feelings. The actress easily conveys the annoyance Samidha has with Poorna, the mask she puts on at school, and the terror from being haunted by the creature she can’t shake. Suri displays her character’s varying emotions, and it greatly elevates It Lives Inside because, despite its horror premise, it’s a coming-of-age story of sorts, with Samidha coming to terms with her own cultural background and where she fits in. Krishnan is also excellent as Tamira. Though she gets less to do overall, the actress drives home the terror Tamira experiences throughout.

It Lives Inside isn’t all bad. In there somewhere is a great horror waiting to break out, and Dutta showcases his skills throughout. It’s just that the story implies depth where it’s lacking, and its interesting, sometimes even well-executed, themes don’t get the chance to breathe. The end is satisfying in that it concludes the story Dutta sets out to tell, but it doesn’t amount to much. The emotion is definitely there, and there are glimpses suggesting a chilling horror, but the film’s strengths — in its metaphor and mythology, and how it relates back to the characters — are ultimately overshadowed by the film’s timidness.

It Lives Inside is now playing in theaters. The film is 99 minutes long and rated PG-13 for terror, violent content, bloody images, brief strong language and teen drug use.

Our Rating:

• 2.5 star movies
• It Lives Inside (2023)

It Lives Inside Review: A Memorably Creepy Thrill

Director Bishal Dutta mostly avoids typical tropes and delivers a spine-chiller steeped in Hindu mythology.

It Lives Inside , the Midnight Audience Award winner from SXSW, expands to wide release September 22, hoping to stake a claim among the flurry of horror films released in fall. Director Bishal Dutta’s freshman outing delves deep into Hindu mythology in a thriller that finds an Indian American teen girl fending off an evil force while also having to reconnect to her cultural roots in India in the process.

That’s enough to send anybody to therapy. Whether protagonist Samidha / Sam (Megan Suri of Missing and Poker Face ) survives is sure fun if not bone-chilling to watch. It Lives Inside stands out, mostly because it features diverse characters and a culture that general audiences don’t often experience. To that end, It Lives Inside is worth seeing for it's refreshingly unique pace and tone, and the way it serves up an evil force that’s downright creepy. Does it suffer from standard horror tropes? Sure. Some. But there’s plenty of fun to have here. Dive in.

New Kind of Horror

It Lives Inside comes from the producers of Get Out, Sean McKittrick and Raymond Mansfield. There’s a nice trifecta at work here, too, in Bishal Dutta ( Triads ), writer Ashish Mehta (of the TV series Hush Hush ), and Megan Suri. (Dutta is also the cowriter.) But it’s Suri, in fact, who delivers a commanding performance, making It Lives Inside downright captivating at times.

The straightforward story wastes no time getting things rolling. Twenty minutes into the picture, Dutta has the audiences on a unique horror ride filled with suspense and intrigue. Desperate to fit into school, Sam has rejected her Indian culture and family, opting to be like everyone else instead. Oh, Sam! You can sniff out that major life lesson Dutta employs here from the get-go, and you may even roll your eyes a bit knowing that Sam will have to come around. Indeed, she must. And it won't be easy.

After confronting a former friend one day, the incident unleashes a mythological demonic spirit that had latched onto Sam’s former bestie, Tamira (Mohana Krishnan), but now wants to cozy up to her. What is this evil presence? Where did it come from? What’s the game plan? As it mysteriously dips into Sam’s psyche, it’s possessive as all get out.

Related: These 10 Indian Folklore Horror Movies Are a Must-Watch

There are some great shocks when this entity attempts to thwart anybody attempting to protect Sam from it, especially Joyce (Betty Gabriel from Get Out and The Purge: Election Year ), Sam’s teacher, who finds herself battling the strange being. Others filter into the mix, too, and there’s a bit of horror trope B character disposal going on there. There’s also the bizarre disappearance of Sam’s former bestie, whom Sam believes to still be alive. But where? Cue: chilling terror.

Horror Attached To Mysticism

Overall, the filmmakers do an exceptional job giving the audience the heebie-jeebies. It Lives Inside is wonderfully creepy fun. By the time Sam and her mother (Neeru Bajwa) understand what is occurring, and that it's linked to Indian mythology, Sam’s mother warns to, “never sleep with a bad feeling in your hearts, because there’s a dark thing that feeds on those feelings.”

No kidding. Sam’s occasional “sightings” of the mysterious thing is bone-chilling as it begins its slow tortuous intentions, first attacking Sam’s sanity, then isolating her from those who love her. “It doesn’t kill you right away,” Sam’s mother professes. “It terrorizes you slowly. When it’s ready, it takes your soul.”

Related: 14 Best South Indian Horror Movies to Watch Next

What is intriguing here, and something that makes I t Lives Inside stand out among other horror films generating big scares, is how well the filmmakers delve into Hindu mysticism. The only way out alive for Sam is to somehow embrace the culture she left behind. Crash course in one’s heritage, let’s say, but it’s effective and gives Sam something to reconnect with within herself and a mission to stay alive. If not for herself, then her family, and Tamira, whom she believes still can be saved.

Bishal Dutta and his special effects team keep things relatively streamlined and sparse in terms of showing the entity tormenting Sam. But when they do, it’s WTF creepy. Swift cuts, shifts in lighting, generous use of blood-red coloring and imagery, and other special effects are delivered with precision, and doled out without being too jarring. The writing itself is solid. The audience understands what’s at stake and even when the writers take Sam into familiar horror film territory in its last 15 minutes, it’s not something that detracts from the overall experience.

The director has said one of his main goals here was to create a memorable horror film that touched on family and heritage, and Dutta succeeds on that front without having the film be too preachy. In an era where nine out of 10 horror films rely far too heavily on familiar horror film clichés, it’s understandable that It Lives Inside would hit some of those some notes, but the film is mostly a lively original. Despite some minor creative hiccups, it's one of the more inventive horrors we’ll find this year. What spine-tingling frightful fun it is.

It Lives Inside opens in theaters September 22.

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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘It Lives Inside’ on Hulu, A Culture-Rich Horror Movie Starring Megan Suri

Where to stream:.

• It Lives Inside (2023)

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Never Have I Ever actor Megan Suri stars in Bishal Dutta ’s 2023 supernatural flick movie It Lives Inside , now streaming on Hulu . The movie follows high schooler Samidha – who goes by Sam – as she struggles to accept her East Indian heritage, which causes her to push away her family and closest friend. But when a dark entity begins haunting those around her, Sam must turn to her culture to tame the beast.

IT LIVES INSIDE : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist:  Sam (Suri) is dealing with many common teenage problems. The high schooler wants to be popular and get the attention of her crush. She also frequently butts heads with her mother Poorna (Neeru Bajwa) over her East Indian heritage, which causes tensions with her father Inesh (Vik Sahay), who is rather laid back but wants the best for his family.

At school, Sam is questioned by her teacher Joyce ( Betty Gabriel ) about her former best friend Tamira’s (Mohana Krishnan) strange behavior. The other girl has been carrying around a glass jar and behaving skittishly.

Sam dismisses her teacher and goes about her day, but Tamira’s behavior increasingly irritates Sam as they are often associated with each other. Making matters worse, a white peer attempts to relate the troubled girl’s behavior to their Indian culture.

Sam has a conversation with Tamira and asks her, “What’s wrong with you?” Tamira claims there’s a monster inside of the glass jar that she’s been carrying around. “It’s all the stories, the ones we heard growing up. It’s all true, they’re all true,” she pleads. Sam calls Tamira a “fucking psycho” and slams the glass jar out of her hands.

The jar breaks leaving behind a black dust. Tamira quickly walks away and leaves a leather notebook in her wake. Sam rushes after her to return the notebook and Tamira begins to stare ominously at a door that has opened on its own. She looks into the distance in fear and begins to scream. Sam leaves to get help, against Tamira’s wishes. 

Tamira suddenly goes missing with Sam being the last one to interact with her. A short period of time passes, and Sam is consumed by the mystery surrounding her friend’s disappearance. During this time, tensions with her parents grow as she ditches a special prayer ceremony for Tamira, and other traditions. Sam looks through the notebook that Tamira left behind, and she begins to experience weird dreams and phenomena. This leads her and her crush Russ (Gage Marsh) to investigate a local house where another Indian high schooler tragically died. 

As the movie plays on, several people close to Sam are attacked and she begins to desperately search for answers. The young girl finds that Tamira was right and the answer lies in the rich mythology of their religion as she is being haunted by a demonic being called Pishach.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?:  It Lives Inside will remind you of movies within the folk horror genre, like His House and Midsommar , as well as flicks with intense kill sequences like the Final Destination series.

Performance Worth Watching:  Betty Gabriel gives an excellent performance as Joyce, the attentive and sharp teacher who expresses concern for Tamira early on. The character checks up on Sam as she quietly struggles through her friend’s absence, and helps her research the text in the notebook that Tamira left behind. Gabriel is a grounding figure throughout the movie, which makes her eventual attack extra emotional.

Memorable Dialogue:  When the truth behind Tamira’s disappearance comes out, Sam’s mother warns her, “If you face a Pishach alone, you won’t come out alive. Your soul will burn from within until there’s nothing left.” Well, that’s a frightening image.

Sex and Skin:  Not really! These teens are too occupied being haunted to get up to anything particularly naughty. Although, Sam and Russ share a sweet kiss before their unfortunate demise. Oh, young love!

Our Take:  It Lives Inside is a stunning horror movie that’s rich in Hindu mythology and loving relationships. Newcomer director Dutta doesn’t dial back the scares, offering several attack sequences and a terrifying creature. The movie invests in its lore without dumbing things down for its audience and creates a foundation that’s strong enough to carry it through many more installments.

In addition to its top-tier writing and execution, Suri proves herself to be a well-rounded actress after her breakthrough role in the teen comedy Never Have I Ever , which she starred in for three seasons. As Sam, Suri is insecure and moody, but also a fearless badass as she puts herself in harm’s way to find her missing friend.

Most impressive is the movie’s willingness to put its characters through the wringer, resulting in Russ’s memorable swing set scene and possession of Inesh. Despite occasionally toying the line of being preachy and cheesy, It Lives Inside is best remembered for its unique premise, intense body horror, and dash of teenage drama.

Our Call: It Lives Inside isn’t for those who want to kick back and laugh at senseless violence. The movie balances a soulful, culture-rich plot with major scares. STREAM IT, for sure!

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Movie Review: It Lives Inside (2023)

• Vincent Gaine
• Movie Reviews
• --> September 24, 2023

The great thing about genre is that it offers fans straightforward and familiar material, but it also allows filmmakers the space to come up with new interpretations within established formulae. This is especially true of horror, and the challenge for the filmmaker is to offer scares within the blend of familiarity and innovation. Bishal Dutta’s It Lives Inside is similar to many examples of what could be called the “curse film,” from “Ringu” and “The Grudge” to “ Drag Me to Hell ,” “ It Follows ” and 2022’s “Smile.” There is an initial victim, a protagonist who becomes the latest target, a ticking clock, various strange occurrences that cause the protagonist to question their sanity, an investigation, revelations and confrontations. Optional extras include creepy houses, origin stories of the curse, grisly deaths and jump scares.

It Lives Inside includes many of these tropes and fans of the curse movies noted above will find much to enjoy. Furthermore, Dutta, who co-wrote the script with Ashish Mehta, innovates with the central character’s background. While curse films do come from Japan and Korea, there is a long tradition of white women encountering these horrors, from Naomi Watts to Alison Lohman to Sosie Bacon, sisters of the Final Girl protagonists of many a slasher, from Laurie Strode to Laurie Strode’s granddaughter. It Lives Inside focuses upon Samidha (Megan Suri, “Missing”), the daughter of Indian immigrants to the US, Poorna (Neeru Bajwa, “Criminal”) and Inesh (Vik Sahay, “ Captain Marvel ”). An Indian protagonist is something different, not simply because of skin color but because Indian folklore is less familiar to western audiences, and the immigrant experience allows for other tensions.

The history of Samidha’s family is expressed efficiently without being heavy-handed. Poorna largely speaks Hindi and expects Samidha to attend traditional events, while her daughter speaks English with no Indian accent, and prefers to go by the name Sam, hang out with (American) friends and spend time with boys, especially Russ (Gage Marsh, “Riceboy Sleeps”). This context also highlights a tension between tradition and modernity, as different generations do not understand each other. The familiar trope of the teenager distanced from her parents is therefore refreshed by this cultural background, and as Sam grows increasingly frantic over something strange happening, her inability to discuss the matter with her parents is a logical extension of that. Sam’s relationships with her school peers also draws attention to the universal experience of feeling different and out of place, but with the added weight of being from an immigrant family and designated as “Other.” This might sound like too specific an experience for general audiences to engage with, but as described by the great film critic Roger Ebert, cinema is a machine for generating empathy. It Lives Inside highlights the feeling of being looked upon as “Other,” in such a way that any audience can get a flavor for this feeling, much like another very different film of 2023, “Joy Ride.”

In case this sounds like a social drama along the lines of “Blinded By The Light,” “Moonlight” or “ The Florida Project ,” it is important to note that It Lives Inside is also bloody scary. Sam’s former best friend Tamira (Mohana Krishnan) approaches her one day at school with a strange story that Sam dismisses, only to disappear in mysterious circumstances. Sam then starts feeling a presence and spotting an ephemeral figure. This malevolent shadow that appears in closets and mirrors has the right level of uncanniness, humanoid and yet identifiably wrong. Dutta paces the film carefully, drawing the viewer into Sam’s experience as she steadily becomes more fraught and frightened. Uncertainty over possible madness gives way to set pieces with vicious attacks, featuring precise gore which is all the more compelling. Seeing a person literally ripped in two can be more comical than creepy, but the sight of small wounds appearing in a forearm with no visual cause allows the viewer to focus on this injury and wince accordingly, as well as being placed in the character’s frightening position of not knowing what is happening. These sequences ratchet up the suspense and culminate in visceral jump scares, that may lead to gasps and even screams.

As is sometimes the case with these things, once ambiguity gives way to certainty the film becomes less scary, as the explanation into what is happening is a little pat and provides a solution that you can probably see coming. Some possibly overdone flashback editing in the climactic scene signposts the direction. The coda, while effective, has been done better elsewhere. That said, throughout the film the stakes remain high and the central conceit of having to balance the demands of family and tradition with being a contemporary teenager are played out effectively, as the route taken by Sam is interesting as well as arresting. Overall, It Lives Inside offers an effective take on an established formula, encapsulating various social and familial tensions along with some serious terror.

Tagged: demon , Indian , murder , teenager , tradition

Dr. Vincent M. Gaine is a film and television researcher. His first book, Existentialism and Social Engagement in the Films of Michael Mann was published by Palgrave MacMillan in 2011. His work on film and media has been published in Cinema Journal and The Journal of Technology , Theology and Religion , as well as edited collections including The 21st Century Superhero and The Directory of World Cinema .

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Movie Review – It Lives Inside (2023)

October 9, 2023 by Robert Kojder

It Lives Inside , 2023.

Directed by Bishal Dutta. Starring Megan Suri, Neeru Bajwa, Mohana Krishnan, Vik Sahay, Gage Marsh, Beatrice Kitsos, Siddhartha Minhas, Sangeeta Wylie, and Betty Gabriel.

An Indian-American teenager struggling with her cultural identity has a falling out with her former best friend and, in the process, unwittingly releases a demonic entity that grows stronger by feeding on her loneliness.

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, It Lives Inside wouldn’t exist.

Co-writer/director Bishal Dutta and screenwriter Ashish Mehta certainly deserve credit for trying to take conventional horror storytelling and twisting it into the fabric of Indian heritage and culture with It Lives Inside . At some point, though, the familiarity needs to feel refreshing through that unique angle, which it never does here.

This film feels like a rough draft of one with the potential to be great but without the confidence to lean into its cultural hook. Instead, it is filled with as many lazy jump scares and weightless false danger nightmare sequences as modern mainstream American horror films. Even worse is a PG-13 rating, meaning that even the clever concepts for kills (such as strangulation by swingset chains) are held back.

The lack of blood and guts is disappointing but nowhere near crippling. It Lives Inside introduces two estranged Indian-American high school girls who were once childhood friends. Samidha (Megan Suri) has lost touch with her Indian culture and Hindu upbringing, choosing to speak English over Hindi around her disapproving mother (Neeru Bajwa), disinterested in helping prepare for one of their regular pujas (a worship gathering), and fibs to, mostly white, students and a teacher (Betty Gabriel) about once being closely connected to Tamira (Mohana Krishnan), the other Indian girl at school who has transitioned into an awkward, nervous wreck following a suicide tragedy involving another Indian family within the area.

By her admission, Sam (which she prefers to be called, fitting in with her Westernization) broke away from Tamira not only because she got unbearably weird but also due to an itch to become more popular. Sacrificing one’s heritage and culture to assimilate with white peers for clout is a horrible choice to make (although there is one boy genuinely interested in her and her background), but It Lives Inside also points out that once one member of a community makes a mistake or gets odd, the entire group becomes fodder for ridicule by association, hence furthering Sam’s decision to distance from her former best friend. Bafflingly, the filmmakers wind up doing nothing with these poignant observations, where the real horror comes from and is far more terrifying than a generic reptilian-looking demon.

In an event coming across like a metaphor for the full severing of this friendship, Tamira desperately pleads with Sam to believe her that there is a demon locked away in a glass jar she carries everywhere with her and that she is running out of ways to contain it, leading to the latter snapping, shoving her away, with the jar falling to the ground and shattering. The demon is free, eventually snatching and locking up Tamira. And so begins the tedious supernatural stalking where very few characters feel in danger. Admittedly, there is the occasional creepy visual such as the demon’s yellow eyes lighting up the darkness in a closet or a sudden spooky reflection, but the proceedings quickly become a clichéd grind with no interest in further exploring these characters or their culture.

That’s also a shame since the performances are believable, especially Megan Suri, a teenager torn on how to handle who she wants to be in this world, refusing to approach her mother for help despite the hauntings being grounded in their religion. Naturally, whether the characters are well-intentioned or not, it’s obvious that her mother is the only one she can turn to if she is going to locate and save Tamira and defeat the demon. It’s also frustrating that, for a demonic entity from another religion, its motives and tactics (such as tenderizing a human soul through terror and negativity) are as familiar as they come.

It’s great that Bishal Dutta was able to get It Lives Inside made and distributed by a noteworthy studio in Neon (there are intriguing things to learn here, and Hinduism is a solid starting point for a horror movie), but taking everything infuriating about modern day horror and transferring it to a different culture and religion doesn’t mean something is refreshing; it’s still bad. More needs to be done than telling the same generic story within a different cultural background.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check  here  for new reviews, follow my  Twitter  or  Letterboxd , or email me at [email protected]

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It Lives Inside Reviews

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