Back when I saw the first trailer for It Lives Inside in 2023, I was intrigued. I don’t think I’d ever seen a movie focused on an Indian community within the horror space. And as a Latina who is consistently striving to watch more diverse films within the genre I love, I was ready to give this movie a chance. Unfortunately for the studios, the writers and actors of Hollywood went on strike, and a lot of movies and TV shows got lost in the sauce of it all. (The writers and actors had to do what they had to do.) It Lives Inside is one of those movies. I had no idea it came out or that it was now available on Hulu. But now I’ve watched it and I have thoughts.
Overall, and from what I’ve seen from other South Asian and Indian reviewers, It Lives Inside barely scrapes the surface of what it is to be South Asian in America. The movie tells you that the lead Sam (Megan Suri) is pulling away from her culture as a means of fitting in. But I don’t feel like it really shows you the deep inner turmoil that comes with being othered in a place new to you. That in itself can feel a little disingenuous to the experience, especially if you are part of these communities and you’re expecting to see this taken care of in the nuance it deserves. But I agree with other South Asian and Indian reviewers, that this movie is a little formulaic and that diverse movies can also just be a scary movie that doesn’t go deep. This doesn’t have to be like Us or Get Out.
I’m not part of the communities that are being represented in It Lives Inside. I might have some familiarity because of South Asian relatives. But I do not follow the customs, celebrations, or no the history. Nevertheless, this movie left me really intrigued about the monster at the heart of this: the Pishacha. I wanted to know everything about it. I wanted to know if it was real, if there are similar creatures or monsters to it, and what kind of stories are told about it. I wanted to know everything. That’s why I like when we diversify the kind of stories told. It’s necessary to bring people together and show that we’re just like everyone else and love horror. So it’s unifying. But it also opens curiosity doors in all of us. And appreciation for a person’s culture and understanding isn’t far behind when you open curiosity doors about a community within film.
Now that we’ve gone through the nitty-gritty of the cultural implications and how stories bring us together, let’s talk about the horror of it all. Because I don’t think a movie has scared me in the way that It Lives Inside did in a long time. And I’m not talking about the big reveal at the end with the Pishacha. Or that epic battle that the lead Sam had with it. I’m talking about the subtle things in It Lives Inside. Personally, I’m really tired of all of these big, gross, and in your face kind of monsters in horror. I like a little subtlety. The glowing eyes in the closet is a simple fear that even kids would have. The same thing goes for the growling, the moving of the hair when there’s nothing there, or the lights that were turning on in front of the teacher and she couldn’t see anything. The unknown is the scariest thing and not enough horror movies take advantage of that.
In a lot of ways It Lives Inside reminds me of why It Follows scared the crap out of me as well. In It Follows, a young woman was stalked by this transformative force that was invisible to others. And I remember watching the movie and being totally freaked out when one of the girls gets thrown to the side like nothing by an invisible force. The same thing when the lead was in the pool and they were trying to kill the creature. It was terrifying to not see this force throwing all these things at the lead. And I feel like It Lives Inside did the same thing in a masterful way that made it so I didn’t want to turn off my lights when I went to bed. The monster teeth appearing on the skin of her friend was terrifying. And the same thing goes for when the dad was attacked.
But the one scene of It Lives Inside that scared me to death, and that I couldn’t look away from, was the death of Sam’s love interest. For a second there the movie led me into a false sense of security where the young guy was going to help her in discovering the truth about everything. Been there, seen that. But that didn’t happen because this invisible monster tangled him up in the swing chain before shaking him about like a rag doll. And the simplicity of the scene and the lead’s reaction, it froze me in my seat and chilled me to the bone. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a scene like that and I don’t know if I want to see a scene like that again. Which, says something about the director Bishal Dutta and the creative team behind it lives inside. They left a lasting impression on me.
Ultimately, It Lives Inside isn’t reinventing the horror genre. But it wielded subtle horror elements in a way that makes this movie feel like a hidden gem that more people should watch.
