First time writer and director Bishal Dutta offers us a slice of spookiness set in the Indian diaspora—a bit early for Halloween, but we’ll take it. We’ll try to avoid any spicy puns as we delve into the world of It Lives Inside.
How to watch It Lives Inside in New Zealand
It Lives Inside is in New Zealand cinemas now.
It Lives Inside
What is It Lives Inside about?
Never Have I Ever and Missing’s Megan Suri plays Samidha, aka Sam, an Indian-American teen who just wants to fit in at high school—which, to her, means downplaying her cultural heritage. But while she may be done with India, India isn’t done with her—or more specifically, her friend Tamira (Mohana Krishnan), who is possessed by a malevolent, flesh-eating demon known as a Pishach. Cue plenty of supernatural doin’s as Sam must reckon with her own legacy just as she comes to terms with a magical evil that’s crawled straight out of Hindu mythology.
The cast of It Lives Inside
In addition to Megan Suri as Sam and Mohana Krishnan as Tamira, we also get Neeru Bajwa, Gage Marsh, Beatrice Kitsos, Get Out‘s Betty Gabriel, and Chuck‘s Vik Sahay in supporting roles.
It Lives Inside trailer
What are the critics saying about It Lives Inside?
So far reviews have been middling but erring towards positive, with the Rotten Tomatoes consensus calling the film “Effective horror with a strong core of social commentary” and noting that “It Lives Inside is an eerily compelling calling card for filmmaker Bishal Dutta in his feature-length debut.” While the plot may be a tad predictable and the whole thing fairly bloodless (it’s clearly aiming for a teen multiplex crowd), we don’t got many horror movies drawing on Indian culture, and Dutta has earned praise for channelling his own experiences as a young Indian immigrant into this effective little chiller. You’ll like it if you like this sort of thing, I guess.
