‘It Lives Inside’ Review: Earnest Hindu Horror Fails to get a Scare out of its Mason Jar
PG13: Terror, violent content, bloody images, brief strong language and teen drug use
Runtime: 1 Hour and 39 Minutes
Production Companies: QVC Entertainment
Distributor: NEON
Director: Bishal Dutta
Writers: Bishal Dutta, Ashish Mehta
Cast: Megan Suri, Neeru Bajwa, Mohana Krishnan, Betty Gabriel, Vik Sahay
Release Date: September 22, 2023
Exclusively in Theaters
During SXSW, Myan and I balanced out our horror platter amid the many comedies we screened. So, we chose some of the notable titles from reputable studios. A24 came to Austin with an embalmed hand (Talk to Me), Warner Bros. had the book of the dead (Evil Dead Rise), and NEON came through with a demon in a mason jar (It Lives Inside). That jar demon went far since It Lives Inside won the Midnighters Audience Award at the festival. As two horror fans with vastly different tastes, Myan and I saw what lived inside and were unimpressed by it.
Indian-American teenager Samidha (Megan Suri) is at a tumultuous crossroads with her Indian identity. She rejects the Hindu-based traditions enforced by her mother, Poorna (Neeru Bajwa), while her dad Inesh (Vik Sahay), is more lenient, in favor of an assimilated American lifestyle. Most of the setup involves Sam’s estranged childhood best friend, Tamira (Mohana Krishnan). Sam’s friendly teacher, Joyce (Betty Gabriel), implores Sam to check in on a very lonely Tamira, who has not been herself lately, for she comes to class looking exhausted and carrying a dirty mason jar. One day at school, Tamira requests Sam’s help to keep a demon away by speaking a Hindu phrase. Sam’s insecurities take over as she unintentionally breaks Tamira’s jar, unleashing an ancient Indian demonic monster that kidnaps Tamira. Sam must come to grips with her relationship with her heritage and find a way to save Tamira before the monster consumes her for dinner.
Diverse filmmakers of underrepresented communities have been making the mainstream American horror landscape inclusive lately by incorporating supernatural entities from religious backgrounds. Last year, Nikyatu Jusu’s Nanny did it with the African mythology tied in a poignant story about the immigrant experience. Director/co-writer Bishal Dutta brings Hindu supernaturalism into horror, which might be the freshest, most original aspect of It Lives Inside. I commend Dutta for adding much-deserved representation to the genre, and I hope this encourages other filmmakers of Indian descent to enter the sphere. That said, Dutta’s mason jar has nothing noteworthy inside of it.
Full disclosure, I am a pansy when it comes to horror. Whenever Myan and I attend a horror film screening together, she catches me doing my trusty defense mechanism tactic of wincing and covering my ears during spooky scenes. I have been doing that for 20 years. Myan has gotten so used to it she uses it to gauge a film’s horror factor. It Lives Inside didn’t trigger this reaction from me.
It Lives Inside frustratingly hits all the formulaic beats from the “supernatural horror movie 101” guidebook and adds nothing original to it outside of its Hindu coat of paint. It provides a fresh setup, bridging a plot about a second-generation immigrant wanting to break free from the religious aspect of her life, a metaphor for her unappreciative relationship to her culture with the demon in the jar. Once Sam breaks that jar, Dutta’s debut feature becomes every other horror supernatural movie you’ve seen before.
Dutta makes a solid effort to deliver elevated tension and scares. However, its misfire stems from a generic screenplay featuring underdeveloped characters with as much nuance as a lead from a ‘90s afterschool special. The Indian teen girl desperate to assimilate to a “normal” American lifestyle—even crushing on a basic white boy—has been beaten over the head countless times, mostly thanks to Mindy Kaling. Yet, those familiar archetypes have some semblance of identity outside their cultural references to make them engaging. Sam merely exists to promote the story’s blatant cultural appreciation message rather than acting as a character desperate to save Tamira and restore her relationship with her Hindu faith.
Megan Suri stood out in other projects with comedic supporting roles in the Mindy Kaling comedy series Never Have I Ever (#JusticeforAneesa) and the thriller Missing, highlighting her charisma and screen presence. It Lives Inside offers Suri’s first venture as a horror lead, and while she’s doing her best with the generic material given, Suri’s range doesn’t meet its full potential.
While the story hits every predictable plot point, the supernatural force Sam is up against presents inconsistencies within the narrative. The movie sets up rules about how it devours its prey, and one book Sam finds discusses how it can be defeated. Yet, those rules break as the story furthers. The creature has countless opportunities to merc many of the victims that stand in its way, but Dutta applies unbelievable plot armor for almost all of them. By the climax, there’s no sense of natural tension or stakes. The creature is an amalgamation of many familiar horror entities, ranging from Freddy Krueger to Pennywise, but bears no original angle that sets him apart from the rest, religious background excluded. By the time the creature is revealed, it’s so underwhelming. There’s an effective use of practical and VFX for sure, but it leaves a lot to be desired. It doesn’t look remotely scary, which is emblematic of It Lives Inside as a whole.
Bishal Dutta’s It Lives Inside means well with its earnest attempt to bring Hindu representation to American horror. Unfortunately, it suffers from frustrating execution, generic plotting, and underwhelming thrills.
