It Lives Inside

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It Lives Inside

PG-13

Released Sep 22, 2023

1h 39m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

64%

Tomatometer

117 Reviews

46%

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50+ Verified Ratings

Sam, an Indian-American teen, lives in an idyllic suburb with her conservative mother and her assimilated father. Sam's cultural insecurities grow due to her estranged friend, Tamira, who mysteriously carries around an empty mason jar all the time. In a moment of anger, Sam breaks Tamira's jar and unleashes an ancient Indian demonic force that kidnaps Tamira. Sam searches for Tamira, following the trail of a young man who performed a deadly ritual, until the demonic entity starts targeting her, murdering her boyfriend and shattering her reality with terrifying visions. Sam must band together with her parents and a sympathetic teacher to save Tamira and put an end to the terror of the demon.

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Critics Consensus

Effective horror with a strong core of social commentary, It Lives Inside is an eerily compelling calling card for filmmaker Bishal Dutta in his feature-length debut.

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Jenny Nulf

Austin Chronicle

It Lives Inside at least isn’t just another mainstream horror weepy about grief – there’s a lot more that it’s playing around with...

Rated: 3/5

Nov 17, 2023

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Jethro Robathan

Empire Magazine

Some fresh ideas spruce up this horror, but it’s an ambitious debut which forgets that less is more. A lack of focus is the real killer.

Rated: 2/5

Oct 26, 2023

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

The early scares from the debut director Bishal Dutta are eerie and evocative, but once the demon itself appears all bets are off.

Rated: 2/5

Oct 20, 2023

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Rebecca Sayce

FILMHOUNDS Magazine

It Lives Inside shows that fear transcends all cultures, and uses a creature common in folklore to explore the immigrant experience through poignant interactions and terrifying visuals that are sure to give audiences a real good scare.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 24, 2025

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David Bax

Battleship Pretension

It Lives Inside doesn’t have enough to distinguish it as a horror flick, despite Dutta’s clear efforts.

Feb 6, 2025

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Nadya Martinez

Big Gold Belt Media

While it offers an intriguing introduction of Hindu culture and delves into supernatural mythology we don't typically see in horror, it does little to add anything new to the oversaturated possession genre with basic jump scares, and teen horror tropes.

Rated: 3/5

Jan 29, 2025

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Joanna T.

Loved it!!!! It’s definitely a must see!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/11/23

Full Review

Maricruz B

The movie was horrible. Put half of our group to sleep. Unless you understand the Hindu culture and speak it there are parts you wont understand since they speak a different language and there is no translation. Its like the boogie man movie except in another culture. Dont recommend

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

10/01/23

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Sonja

Wasnt scary at all. I got bored watching it

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

09/30/23

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Ralph

Boring at the beginning, got better towards the end. The actual creature was disappointing

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/30/23

Full Review

Jonathan

Movie was okay the finale saved this movie, the characters and plot felt bland

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

09/29/23

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Alfonzo

I liked the movie. 👍🏽

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/28/23

Full Review

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Bishal Dutta

Director

Neeru Bajwa

Poorna

Megan Suri

Samidha

Mohana Krishnan

Tamira

Vik Sahay

Inesh

Betty Gabriel

Joyce

It Lives Inside: Exclusive Movie Clip - There's a Monster in Here

1:20

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It Lives Inside: Trailer 2

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It Lives Inside: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Sam, an Indian-American teen, lives in an idyllic suburb with her conservative mother and her assimilated father. Sam's cultural insecurities grow due to her estranged friend, Tamira, who mysteriously carries around an empty mason jar all the time. In a moment of anger, Sam breaks Tamira's jar and unleashes an ancient Indian demonic force that kidnaps Tamira. Sam searches for Tamira, following the trail of a young man who performed a deadly ritual, until the demonic entity starts targeting her, murdering her boyfriend and shattering her reality with terrifying visions. Sam must band together with her parents and a sympathetic teacher to save Tamira and put an end to the terror of the demon.

Director: Bishal Dutta
Producer: Raymond Mansfield, Sean McKittrick
Screenwriter: Bishal Dutta, Ashish Mehta
Distributor: Neon
Production Co: Brightlight Pictures, Splendid Film, QC Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Brief Strong Language|Bloody Images|Teen Drug Use|Terror|Violent Content)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 22, 2023, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 10, 2023
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.7M
Runtime: 1h 39m
Aspect Ratio: Digital 2.39:1

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