Different cultures often have different religions, different superstitions, as well as different demons. Discover what is hiding in It Lives Inside which made its Quebec premiere at Fantasia Festival.
Samidha (Megan Suri) is an Indian-American teenager who has trouble fitting in at school, in addition to feeling oppressed by her ultra-traditional mother (Neeru Bajwa). Just as she begins to create connections with new friends as well as develop romance with a boy at school, an old friend, Tamira (Mohana Krishnan), with whom she has distanced herself, begins to approach her in alarming fashion. Her hair covers most of her face, her eyes are sunken in, and she constantly carries around a dark jar. She warns Samidha of a devastating evil that lives inside the glass jar and asks for her help, but when Samidha overreacts and breaks the container, she unknowingly releases a malicious entity that is set on terrorizing her and her loved ones.
Co-writer and director, Bishal Dutta, presents his first feature film project in It Lives Inside, releasing Indian culture into the world of horror. He does a great job at piecing together a script involving a cultural, demonic entity that flows smoothly. His intriguing camera shots and tension build-ups demonstrate great potential for his future in the feature film industry after directing numerous short films.
Megan Suri brings forth a strong performance as the film’s lead actress, carrying the film on her shoulders. She portrays an introvert attempting to reach out to the world around her and possessing a strong courage within. Her reactions are those of a genuine teenager and viewers rapidly get attached to her.
She is well surrounded with a solid cast including her traditionally passionate, yet caring mother in Neeru Bajwa, her down-to-Earth and understanding father, played by seasoned actor Vik Sahay (2013’s werewolf film, Wer), as well as the always-excellent Betty Gabriel (Get Out, Unfriended: Dark Web, and The Purge: Election Year) who portrays Samidha’s compassionate and caring teacher.
The issue with It Lives Inside is that it is riddled with clichés throughout its storyline and its style of jumpscares. Despite stemming from Indian roots, the entity, its container (which obviously doesn’t contain for too long) as well as its cultural representation will remind many viewers of 2012’s The Possession, starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and its Jewish folklore-related demon, the Dybbuk.
The jumpscares are typical, yet, at times, effective for a teenage audience, cranking the volume way up to add to a visual surprise, despite the audio not having any contextual connection to the scene. One scene involving a children’s backyard swing is visually interesting and original, yet is the only standout horror scene of the film. Most of It Lives Inside is déjà vu horror that will please teenagers in general and make die-hard horror fans stare on with their arms crossed.
Bishal Dutta’s feature film directorial debut takes him off to a decent start, releasing a teenage-focused, entity-riddled horror film like most have seen many times before and leaves a bunch of “scare” potential on the table. Nonetheless, it is always interesting to be introduced to the demonic folklore of different cultures. It Lives Inside receives the score of 3 eyes out of 5 and is set to have a theatrical release on September 22nd of this year.
