It Lives Inside

Play trailer

1:10

It Lives Inside

PG-13

2023

1h 39m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

64%

Tomatometer

118 Reviews

46%

Popcornmeter

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.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

Jazzmin Crawley

Girl, That's Scary (Podcast)

This is good entry level Horror. The sound design is good and some of the visuals are terrifying. It's doesn't bite as hard as it could.

Oct 11, 2025

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

Read all reviews

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

Full Review

Sonja

Wasnt scary at all. I got bored watching it

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

09/30/23

Full Review

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

Full Review

Alfonzo

I liked the movie. 👍🏽

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/28/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

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

View more videos

The Boogeyman

60%

65%

The Boogeyman

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Boogeyman

The Invitation

32%

59%

The Invitation

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Invitation

Blackwater Lane

10%

47%

Blackwater Lane

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Blackwater Lane

Prey for the Devil

15%

69%

Prey for the Devil

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Prey for the Devil

Insidious: The Red Door

39%

69%

Insidious: The Red Door

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Insidious: The Red Door

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

It Lives Inside: Trailer 2

1:10

It Lives Inside: Trailer 1

2:29

View more videos

View more photos

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

Most Popular at Home Now