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The idea for this story was really cool - I love the unique demon type and the Hindi lore used within it. It's really unique to see a different pantheon of unknown cultural demonology incorporated into a modern retelling. I particularly enjoyed the idea of the demon swallower element added in for great effect, but it felt like it was a little prematurely laced together in some ways. It gave some foreshadow but then left a lot unsaid. Possibly due to the fact that may make a sequel, but there were a number of questions I had about the plot that weren't quite summarized. Still, a unique story and I'd recommend it to those who are enthused by demonic tales from cultures not typically depicted in mainstream theater films.

The opening scenes were fiendish, giving a tantalizing glimpse of what the movie potentially had in store, which immediately excited me since I didn't know anything at all about the movie. Surprisingly, it didn't take long to dive into the gruesomeness, and the jump scares had a desired effect in the packed theater. The cultural background of the movie made it unique, Indian mythology was a departure from the usual Hollywood horror stuff.

I think the film's great at creating a gripping atmosphere, but it falls slightly short of delivering on it. At its core, it felt like a breath of fresh air, but once it finds its groove, it started following a more formulaic plot, losing some of its originality. Some plot points felt glossed over.

Connection between characters wasn't very strong, I didn't really care for them as much. More focus on Tamira's character at the start would've helped. The ending, while still fine, felt unsatisfactory to me. When i thought of my favorite part of the movie, it was undoubtedly the gripping opening scenes that didn't shy away from the gore. I had hoped for a more intense, slasher-like turn that never materialized. The climax didn't quite meet my expectations. It's a worthwhile first viewing, but I doubt its replay value.

The film doesn't suffer from major flaws but rather minor imperfections. Overall, I enjoyed it, but I believe it had untapped potential. Maybe that's because it's a directorial debut, but for a first effort, it's still quite commendable.

In my humble opinion, PG-13 rated horror movies should be made illegal. "It Lives Inside" attempted to infuse horror with a cultural identity prism, but unfortunately, its weak and flawed narrative overshadowed this unique angle. The film was a tapestry of clichés, from the predictable jump scares to the tired plot twists that left little room for genuine surprise. While the inclusion of cultural elements was promising, it couldn't salvage the movie from its formulaic approach.

"It Lives Inside" missed the mark by relying heavily on overused horror tropes, detracting from any potential impact it could have had. The attempt to intertwine cultural identity with horror was an interesting concept, but the lackluster execution and reliance on clichés ultimately hindered its potential. In a genre that thrives on innovation and fear, this movie fell short, failing to leave a lasting impression.

I saw It Lives Inside early as part of Regal's Mystery Movie Monday. I already had it on my watchlist so I was happy with the choice. The outcome though, not so much.

It takes a long while to get going, for the story to progress, and to see anything scary. Even when it does get going, it's fairly underwhelming aside from one scene in the middle. After that scene, I felt mildly positive about the movie. But I found the third act and conclusion to be a huge letdown. And the movie overall feels ordinary within the horror genre.

Part of the reason the horror elements feel weak is the PG-13 rating. This movie should have absolutely been rated R. If they weren't restricted, some of these scenes could have been shocking. They sometimes do a decent job of pushing the limits or creatively showing what they can. But it's not enough and feels like it's holding back.

There are some good elements here. And I can see some people liking this. But it just didn't do it for me. It reminded me of a significantly restrained and much worse version of Smile. Watch that instead.

(1 viewing, early screening Mystery Movie Monday 9/4/2023)

A solid tone that is unique through cultural representation yet it's full of recycled & unoriginal tropes. The screenplay is safe without anything bold or daring. The score & high school setting fits in a fun way.

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. A solid tone that is unique through cultural representation yet it's full of recycled & unoriginal tropes. The screenplay is safe without anything bold or daring. The score & high school setting fits in a fun way.

. .

. A solid tone that is unique through cultural representation yet it's full of recycled & unoriginal tropes. The screenplay is safe without anything bold or daring. The score & high school setting fits in a fun way.

Right from the opening with its macabre long take, "It Lives Inside" establishes a sense of dread that persists throughout this descent into hell. Competent but derivative, the final result takes us into familiar formulas and a predictable rhythm that prevent us from fully immersing ourselves in the madness.

The direction allows for terrifying imagery and creative camera movements, which are, however, trapped within a poorly woven script. The demonic presence is there, the great strength of this film lies in the grim atmosphere soaked in red and black. Indian customs and Hindu mythology add personality and richness to the film, which is greatly appreciated even if the potential is not fully realized.

There's something to be said about the work on the practical special effects, considering the production budget. Despite a certain lack of originality, the supernatural manifestations follow one another, delivering an allegory about depression and an interesting message about cultural acceptance. A feeling of déjà vu? "It Lives Inside" borrows current themes that appear in several modern horror films and stumbles slightly in execution. Eventually, we fall into a zone of predictability and a trap of clichés that prevents the final work from reaching its full potential.

Also worth noting is the presence of the young lead actress, Megan Suri, who should catch Hollywood's attention after her performance. All in all, it's an intriguing mix of satanic incantations, cultural immersion, and teen horror that should find its audience upon its theatrical (or streaming) release.

I watched It Lives Inside (2023) in theaters last night. The story revolves around Samidha, a young woman who has grown distant from her best friend. Her former friend begins exhibiting strange behavior, appearing unusual and carrying a mysterious jar. It's evident that her life is unraveling. When Samidha confronts her about this, it leads to a confrontation that unleashes something that will profoundly affect their lives forever.

Directed by Bishal Dutta in his directorial debut, this film stars Neeru Bajwa (Jatt & Juliet), Megan Suri (Missing), Mohana Krishnan (I Am Frankie), Betty Gabriel (Get Out), and Vik Sahay (Chuck).

It Lives Inside presents a frustrating viewing experience. The premise and initial setup of the storyline are excellent, offering a unique plot with a creature like no other in horror. Megan Suri and Mohana Krishnan deliver remarkable performances, and Dutta utilizes exceptional cinematography and camera angles to build tension. However, the effectiveness of the horror elements are inconsistent. While the attack scenes and intensity are well-executed, the invisible elements often fell short and left me wanting more. The film's conclusion, along with how they handle the creature, feels somewhat corny and unsatisfying.

In summary, It Lives Inside possesses distinctive elements that make it worth a watch, but the horror scenes may not hit like you hope. I would rate it 4.5/10 but still recommend seeing it once for its unique aspects.

I see many reviews claiming the film is formulaic but as someone with south asian roots, I think that's what I appreciated about it. It has all the elements that people have come to love and want from a horror film BUT with a fresh fear and face of the Americans in it. Was it the most terrifying film? No. But it's a solidly acted, shot, and written story (which you can't always say for a horror movie). At first I wasn't sure how I'd feel about them pulling from Hinduism, but So many horror films pull from Christianity; this was a breathe of fresh air. Overall, I say it's an entertaining watch.

Samidha "Sam" (Megan Suri) is a teenage girl of Indian descent who is often at odds with her mother Poorna (Neeru Bajwa) over adherence to culture and tradition with Sam even anglicizing her name and speaking mostly in English in order to downplay the connection. Sam is approached for help by her former best friend Tamira (Mohana Krishnan) who often isolates herself from others and carries a jar. Tamira tells Sam that inside the jar is a monster she's trying to keep contained but is losing the ability to do so, Sam disbelieving of Tamira rejects her and in a moment of anger slaps down the jar. Soon after Tamira disappears and Sam and her friends and loved ones soon start to experience a sinister unseen presence in their lives that is tied to Sam's culture.

It Lives Inside is the feature writing and directing debut of Bishal Dutta who previously had directed a number of short films and some TV episodes. Dutta took inspiration from his experiences of growing up in India prior to moving to North America and used Indian mythology as the basis for the story. While the movie doesn't stray far from the standard template of this kind of horror story, Dutta does give the material a unique spin with an interesting mostly untapped mythology in Western horror films which is well carried by Megan Suri's performance.

While the film takes us to a template that those familiar with The Ring, The Grudge and its various imitators are liable to know, it's important to understand that familiarity isn't necessarily a negative against a movie like this. While this premise can be done in mediocre fashion (Polaroid) or even downright awful (Feardotcom, Friend Request), that's less on the premise itself and more on the execution of the material. In the case of It Lives Inside, Dutta examines Sam's cultural and ethnic identity which is well acted by Megan Suri. We also get some strong character work from Neeru Bajwa's Poorna as we examine that schism that has developed between Sam and Poorna. In terms of scares, Dutta does a solid job of giving us a memorable and unique monster that ties in with the film's take on cultural baggage. Dutta puts the monster to good use in the first two thirds as we seldom get a good look at it (save for its eyes in the darkness) and once we see it, it's a very memorable and threatening design. I think my only real misgiving is with the ending of the film which isn't one of those shock endings or anything, but for a story that seemed to be trying to handle the reconciliation of one's cultural identity it really seemed like it was the wrong route to take in my opinion.

I honestly really enjoyed It Lives Inside. While it's not a perfect film and features an ending I really wasn't a fan of, I still give props to Dutta from creating a scenario I was invested in and a unique and memorable monster.

The creators borrowed the idea of "Pishach", a flesh eater tormenter of souls, from the shadowy depths of Hinduism and the associated mythology. Then, they merged it with Westernised horror sensibilities and tried their very best to construct a mixture that could balance out both sides of the spectrum.

Now, I'm sure the intended amalgamation may have looked great on paper, but the potency didn't reflect on the outcome, mainly due to three reasons...

1. Inconsistent screenwriting laced with pacing issues.

2. The over-utilisation of brighter lights and colour scheme, which was antithetical to the conventional setup and staging of horror scenes.

Last but not least,

3. Overstating the presence (and appearance) of the demon in focus, which took away the surprise factor, which does come to be essential in these kinds of features!

I commend the endeavor but not the final product.

It Lives Inside had an interesting premise or at least it could have being slightly different from most other Hollywood movies of this kind. But it chooses to stay in its lane and work its way through many well-known horror movie tropes. The movie is sadly rather forgettable and does not stand out a bit. There is a mostly invisible entity following our protagonist killing everybody she comes too close to. In the third act the creature is made visible which I have to say looked pretty cool and I enjoyed those visuals overall. Also I have to give the movie that it has some scary and eerie scenes that were really tension filled. But overall this movie did not manage to convince me to ever watch it again I think. The fact that the movie is PG-13 should have given me a hint that this can't be that great. [5,5/10]

I'm sorry, but because the release dates are so close, it's natural to make a comparison with 'The Nun II.' In this movie, perhaps due to Bollywood's tradition of producing grand scenes featuring heroic politicians or social realism, this Indian supernatural film, despite having the support of Hollywood teams, focuses too much on traditional legends of Indian immigrants, which confines the overall atmosphere to a smaller group. While Mohana Krishnan's performance does bring out the thrilling aspect of the supernatural, the overall setup and unexpected ambiance can't quite match up to 'The Nun II.' However, because it delves into Indian supernatural elements rooted in Asian folklore, as a Taiwanese viewer, it still gives you the creeps.

As a horror fan, I was excited to watch this horror flick by a director who was debuting.

For me, the movie was just bland. Nothing was new in it, it was just the same old story which has been told and shown hundreds of time. The screenplay was average as it could have been more tight, the direction was also average but a decent one for a debut director, the performances were just okay as the characters were not that much convincing.

Overall, it was neither a good nor a bad horror movie. All blame goes to a bland-outdated story which weak execution. If you want to give it a try, you can but don't keep expectations.

What a great story highlighting family, tradition, religion, and culture! What a blessing it would have been if they would have told it a little faster. The pacing felt a bit slow. The dialogue is slow in areas and there are moments where it felt like the story was spinning it's wheels.

There are moments where we gain momentum just to slow it down again. It's almost as if the script notes repeatedly said "slowly." "Take your time," was the underlying theme of this film which they certainly did.

I would love to see a sequel with more visual references of Hindu history and Indian culture, especially parts that have been distorted by western culture. Hopefully they make it tighter so the pacing doesn't feel so glacial, leaving us cold.

I was surprised this got a cinema release, it felt like that movie you pick up at supermarkets in the discounted section, whilst watchable, it is both extremely lazy and has massive plot holes and contradictions.

For the majority of the film, it's invisible which personally I think it's because when you do see it, the monster looks pretty terrible. The effects are extremely cheap looking and really take away from the quality. There was one scene that should have been shocking that most of the people in my screening were laughing.

The acting wasn't too bad but there were a lot of questionable character choices and how they kept popping up at locations for no real reason especially with how easy it was to break into condemned houses.

The story has potential, worryingly they teased it's not over but this film in this form should not have a sequel.

What kinda school was it? Can openly just talk to teachers by there first name? They ask for a fair help and you give them endless attitude? Or taking big gulp drinks into class? Weird.

The lead girl was ok until she went from caring to abusive for no real reason in one scene.

It's not completely terrible, it is watchable, but it's just not very good, especially if you're a big fan of horror films.

A spooky thing tormenting a protagonist is a common theme in horror flicks. What distinguishes Bishal Dutta's "It Lives Inside" is not only a cast consisting mainly of people of Indian descent, but in addressing connections to one's heritage. The main character is a girl uninterested in her ethnic background, but things change for her when she accidentally releases something.

I didn't expect any sort of masterpiece, and the movie isn't one. It doesn't try to be (some scenes were a little silly, in fact). The main source of interest is the issue of the girl's relationship with her culture. It's simply not easy to be fully invested in one's heritage when one grows up in a different setting (this was also the point of the 2000 British movie "East Is East").

Anyway, worth seeing if not the most cerebral movie out there. Probably the only horror flick that you'll see with a significant amount of Hindi spoken.

Megan Suri has appeared as Aneesa on Netflix's "Never Have I Ever".

So-so but acceptable horror movie full of thrills, chills , and shocking scenes starring an adolescent and by a sinister ghoul who goes amok. This Bishal Dutta's feature film directorial debut deals with an Indian-American teenager (Megan Suri) lives in an idyllic suburb with her conservative mother (Neeru Bajwa) and her assimilated father (Vik Sahay) . Sam's cultural insecurities grow due to her estranged friend, Tamira (Mohana Krishnan), who mysteriously carries around an empty mason jar all the time. Along the way, the teen is 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 lonelines, shattering her reality and life .

This gloomy terror film contains thrills, intrigue, chills, and it connects with India religion, supernatural legends, Gods and Devils from India. Terror film about an ancient demon goes bersek, this is an American supernatural horror film written and directed by Bishal Dutta and starring Megan Suri. Genuinely scary moments overcome some obvious plot devices; this is a juicy gothic material fashioning an iconic monster providing screaming , chilling and eerie scenes. Bishal Dutta, baptized as the new Night Shyalaman by some critics, places the center of this horror film on Samitha, a young Indian, who lives in the USA and rejects her origins in order to fit in at school, what she does not know is that her roots can save her from a terrible threat. This horror films combines deadly rituals, a demonic entity starts targeting on teens, grisly killings and terrifying visions. During the presentation of the film at the prestigious Sitges Horror Film Festival, in its official section director Dutta declared: "Horror is the perfect genre to portray the insecurities of adolescence". As the director explained: ¨A ghost story that his grandfather told him was the origin of the film that explores, through Indian history and demonic forces, the drama of a young emigrant who seeks to find the balance between her dreams and the new culture of the country in which she lives¨.

It Lives Inside(2023) was mediocrely directed by Bishal Dutta and nothing special, that's why it is full of terrifying situations that we had already seen before and even better. The film debuted at the 2023 South by Southwest film festival, and was released by Neon on September 22, 2023. Getting several nominations and prizes, such as: Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival , 2023 Nominated Official Fantàstic Competition Best Motion Picture Bishal Dutta. Leo Awards 2024 Nominado Leo Best Casting in a Motion Picture, Kris Woznesensky , Kara Eide, Daniel Cardona, 2024 Nominado Leo Best Sound Motion Picture Sandra Portman (supervising sound editor) Nolan McNaughton (sound designer) Rob Coxford (re-recording mixer) Daniel Cardona (re-recording mixer) Eric Mouawad (dialogue editor) Shawn Miller (sound mixer) Craig George (sound effects editor) , Bishal Dutta 2024 Nominado Leo Best Direction in a Motion Picture. Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival Bishal Dutta 2023 Nominado Narcisse Award Best Feature Film. SXSW Film Festival Bishal Dutta 2023 winner Audience Award Bishal Dutta. Golden Scythe Horror Awards Megan Suri in It lives inside (2023), 2024 Nominado Golden Scythe.

No pun intended - if you grew up in a country that is not the one your parents where born in - you may understand what the girl has to go through here. At least to some degree - her mother especially trying to guide her ... although of course that alienates her even more.

A few things are not spoken out ... loud, but you can feel her struggle to fit in. Trying to be cool with the ... well cool kids of her school. At first she seems quite rational - her decisions make sense ... as the movie progresses she does make choices that are not as rational ... well not always that is.

That being said, you need people to act a bit differently, otherwise what would be the fun of it, right? And how would they get themselves in situations where they seems helpless .. and without any chance? Well that is for you to see .. there quite a few harrowing scenes in this ... and it really creates quite the atmosphere ... really a good one ... if you let yourself immerse in it!

3 out of 5 stars.

It Lives Inside is a fair supernatural horror film that brings up a story about a demonic Indian entity that feeds on ones soul. And it wont stop until it is kept in a jar or inside something.

The plot was okay. Felt like a Boogeyman concept. The script was thin with the characters. The direction was bland. It did have some creepy moments. And very little amount of scares and thrills. The music score tried to help with the creepy tone. The acting was decent with the cast ensemble. Most of the performances were flat.

It is a horror film with little scares and thrills. It tried being entertaining for what it was.

It Lives Inside is the latest indie horror offering to be unleashed onto horror fans who will ultimately find this to be a sheer disappointment. A intriguing and creepy premise is hindered by awful direction and a lifeless script.

The problem with It Lives Inside is that it borrows heavily from other superior horror flicks and copycats the formula to the point of parody.

All the actors give fine performances with what they are given but with a template that is generic and stale, they are unable to save this and elevate it to classic horror movie status. This movie does not feel like it belongs in the theaters but dropped on Netflix to join the other generic horror films that flood the streamer platforms. Quite frankly this would have been much better in an anthology series then a full length feature.

Tedious and exhausting by the finale, you will want to leave the theater and do something more productive with your time.

As a self-proclaimed movie enthusiast, one of the things I enjoy most is going into a film with no prior knowledge, allowing myself to be completely surprised by what unfolds on the big screen.

However, while experiencing the film, my excitement quickly turned into disappointment.

There was an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. As the story unfolded, it became increasingly evident that the movie was following a blueprint we've seen many times before.

While the inclusion of Indian protagonists hinted at a refreshing departure from the beaten path of American horror, the movie ultimately failed to capitalize on its potential. By resorting to the same tired clichés and lacking in true cultural depth, it missed the mark in delivering a memorable and distinct horror experience. As someone who revels in the unknown when it comes to movies, I left the theater with a sense of disappointment. Nevertheless, the positive surprise of the protagonists' cultural background reminds us of the importance of diverse representation in film.

Let's hope Bishal Dutta will get the opportunity to make a movie more personal.

Hindi girl Samidha has assimilated into American high school as Sam. She even speaks English at home when she's talking to her parents. Her former friend Tamira has not assimilated and became isolated as the weirdo loner. Their teacher Joyce is concerned. Tamira is carrying around a mysteriously filled jar. When Tamira tries to talk to Sam, Sam breaks the jar.

The indie horror is rather standard. It's pulling various horror tropes like the lights turning on. We've seen most of this before. The creature is a bit clunky. It looks a lot better in the dark. It needs to keep that same menacing presence in the light. What I like most is the immigrant child changing into western style to fit in. They could do more with the culture chameleon. This is a good first draft of a better movie.