IT LIVES INSIDE

IT LIVES INSIDE is a horror film about a teenage girl haunted by a monster from Hindu folklore. A second-generation Indian immigrant, Samidha has no patience for the customs that her parents brought over from their homeland. She is forced to reconcile with them when her childhood friend, Tamira, tells her that she has a monster called a pishach trapped inside a glass jar, a demon that embodies pure evil. Not believing her, and creeped out by Tamira’s ramblings, Sam pushes the jar out of her hands, accidentally shattering it and releasing the pishach. Sam turns to her mother and her culture to find a way to stop the creature from killing them and everyone they love.

As both a monster horror movie and an “immigrant experience in America” movie, IT LIVES INSIDE has two genres, and it offers nothing original in either. Everyone in the picture is a stock character with pre-programmed dialogue, and the story structure is so canned that practically every scene can be predicted before it starts. There is nothing in this movie that hasn’t been done before, more than once, and much better. The synthesis of racial and cultural issues with horror is popular due to Jordan Peele’s work, but based on IT LIVES INSIDE, it seems best to leave it to the experts.

The worldbuilding of IT LIVES INSIDE is extensively based on Hindu myths and legends. While there is nothing blasphemous or specifically Anti- Christianity in this portrayal of an alternate worldview, caution is advised for young viewers who may be unable to differentiate between mythical creatures and rituals that have fictional power versus real, true spiritual warfare as understood from Scripture and divine revelation. For this reason, as well as the moderate foul language, audience members of all ages should use prudent judgment when deciding whether or not to view this film.