It Lives Inside (2023), Dir Bishal Dutta, Vertigo.

5*****: Matthew Alicoon.

Running Time: 99 Minutes

It Lives Inside follows Indian American teenager Samidha who is grappling with her own culture. After a falling out with her best friend Tamira, a ruthless demonic entity is released and Sam must come to terms with her heritage to defeat the entity.

What separates It Lives Inside and makes the film have the rare appeal in the horror genre is due to a number of factors. The film marvellously has underlying subtones of heritage, identity and being true to yourself through Samidha. At the same time, the narrative interweaves demonic folklore in an approach that may feel unknown and precise at points, yet the angle is constantly representative and distinctive of the culture. The conflict throughout the film spawns due to a heritage backlash and notably conflicts are a meaningful attribute towards the horror.

The slow burn nature of the film enriches character involvement, therefore when the severe carnage occurs there is genuine compassion projected onto the scenario. The violence strikes a knockout distressing punch throughout but perfectly the gore is sprinkled throughout, enabling the film to never feel like a gore fest. As a result of the pacing, there is heavy investment in Megan Suri’s performance as Samidha, as she remarkably plays both sides of the identity moral compass grippingly. The determination and grit of her character excels throughout. Additional characters have fascinating subtext including Samidha’s mother and father, as the script subtly shows the difference in how the father and mother speak to the daughter.

The lingering sound design is terrifically dynamical and corresponding leading to scene-chewing quietness at times increasing the atmospheric chill of the film. There is a sequence involving a glass jar where your heart may stop briefly. The superiority of sound at times made the film unpredictable.

The demonic entity the film focuses on is a challenging and provocative mythology and the backstory feels reigned in and structured. The succinct focus makes It Lives Inside a splendid reinvention of the demonic horror film. The entity has an individualistic purpose which pulls the threads of the film together impeccably. The bargaining tool in the final act carries ingenuity when the mythology is explained. An evocative colour scheme is used with the demon. Weirdly, I did research on the mythology after I finished It Lives Inside, as it was exciting to delve into the roots of what this horror is truly about.

The importance of the horror is that it carries narrative complexity and serves a solitary objective by continuously relating back to the ideologies of conflict. The ending caps the film off neatly, it was textbook.

Bishal Dutta has crafted a knockout horror debut that is atmospheric, bone-chilling yet fantastically thought provoking. A definite name to watch out for in the future.