“It Lives Inside” (2023) is set during Durga Puja, the annual ten-day Hindu harvest festival which celebrates the multi-armed, weapon-wielding, maternal goddess Durga’s victory over Mahishasura, a shape-shifting demon. High school student Samidha/Sam (Megan Suri) has almost fully assimilated into Western ways and abandoned her family’s Indian roots when her former childhood friend Tamira (Mohana Krishnan) appears troubled while clutching a jar. Instead of helping Tamira, Sam exacerbates the situation, and now Sam is the one crumbling. Writer and director Bishal Dutta, a horror fan, makes his feature debut.
Dutta does a deft job of paying homage to classic horror films and bringing new-to-us, ancient Hindu mythology to the big screen. It is refreshing to have a story where the spiritual power is not rooted in Christianity or Western paganism. The big bad in “It Lives Inside” is a Pishacha, an evil, flesh-eating demon who can alter its appearance, feed on human energy, drive people insane, live in darkness and receive offerings in exchange for staying away. This monster’s modus operandi and appearance were more evocative of the boogeyman than the titular evil in “The Boogeyman” (2023). As the movie unfolds, Pishacha reveals more of itself for increasingly longer durations, and its appearance is not disappointing, which is a danger for most onscreen monstrous reveals. Even as a glowing pair of eyes, the Pishacha is a welcome addition to the pantheon of terrifying creatures. It resembles the indigenous Windy boy (out of respect for the culture, one is not supposed to use the name)—any relation considering they have the same dietary needs and the reference to whistling? It also feels like a combination of Freddy Kruger’s soul chest from “A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors” (1987) and the hybrid xenomorph from “Alien3” (1992). Dutta’s horror homage does not stop there. The art design in the film evokes the graffiti in “Candyman” (1992). He also borrows J horror imagery from films such “Ringu” (1998) to heighten the terror. Visually the sound design and the evocative flashbacks to the Pishacha’s first victims with the red and dark brooding atmosphere, tracking shots and no people in the scene seemed like an improvement on “It Comes at Night” (2017). The girl’s locker room scenes felt like “Carrie” (1976) shout outs.
Viewers who are paying attention to detail may wonder whether the Pishacha and Mahishasura are connected. Based on brief research, no, other than that they are demons with the power to alter people’s perception of them; however, a small percentage may be distracted or assume that the Durga-defeated demon and the antagonist are the same. Readers feel free to reach out if you can provide additional insight. It does appear that Dutta took some liberties with the way to defeat the Pishacha, and the deviation aligned with the source material.
The best horror is a metaphor rooted in real life problems, and Sam’s predicament is that she is becoming a monster within the Desi community. It is a joy to get a film centered around a first-generation Indian American teenage girl. Sam is relatable and sympathetic but not likeable as she follows a strict regimen to fit in and betrays herself, her family, and friends. Dutta introduces her in the bathroom sitting on the edge of a bathtub, an image that he reprises later, and she is not genuinely happy. She smiles briefly while taking a selfie, but the smile vanishes so she can appraise her photo and post it online. She is a harsh inspector trying to erase anything that makes her different: her name, her hair, her food, her clothes, her relationships. If she was rejecting tradition and having fun exploring being independent, the tone would be different, but she is self-condemning and cannot enjoy her small, empty victories in assimilating and acceptance. When her loved ones confront her with what she perceives as her otherness, she feels threatened and reacts in an unflinchingly harsh manner. She is not a good daughter or a good friend, but her abrasiveness is rooted in self-hatred, which makes her an unlikely but perfect ally for a demon that hates community and thrives on isolating people.
Sam’s nightmare is being seen as other, and her greatest fear comes true as this demon, who is also a part of the Indian diaspora, begins to terrorize her. Instead of associating with her family’s community and their life-giving rituals, she only claims a heritage filled with death, mutilation, and pain by lingering in spaces that once belonged to an Indian family, the Chaudhry family, who died under mysterious circumstances. Sam’s home is pale pink, colorful and light whereas the condemned house with a back story is desolate, dark, and red as blood. The Chaudhry house is the traditional empty house shrouded in mystery and unfortunate legends. “It Lives Inside” is like “Halloween” (1978) in terms of pacing and showing the relationship of characters to their neighborhood.
In contrast to John Carpenter’s editing, Dutta uses tracking shots to suggest that the town has a hidden, sinister underbelly, and it existed before the demon arrived. Sam consciously chooses this space over her family’s home. Both films are set during the fall, and though the neighborhood feels like the suburban ideal, there is an undercurrent of distrust and fear. Instead of Haddonfield ignoring Laurie’s pleas for help, the broader community is suspicious that Sam is the monster. There is a classroom scene about homogeneity and a “city on a hill,” which is a reference to the John Winthrop 1630 sermon about the Massachusetts Bay colony. Without a rewatch, it is hard to determine the soul of the entire community based on this single lesson, but Dutta keeps showing the high school marquee, which says “Home of the Werewolves.” It suggests that as much as the community tries to appear welcoming and an ideal, it never intended to be so welcoming to brown people. Everyone suffers from being two-faced: human and monstrous. The majority pretends that they accept Sam, but they only do if she conforms. Sam fits right in by using that same logic with the people who love her.
Dutta transforms the American mythology of self-reliance, the lone independent self-made man, into a cautionary tale advising against going it alone; thus, setting the stage for Sam to either reconcile with her community or ensure her complete destruction. Sam’s past obnoxious behavior becomes an obstacle to that reconciliation as her mother, Poorna (Neeru Bajwa), shuts down any of Sam’s feeble communication attempts.
While overall Dutta does a decent job of developing the mother and daughter relationship, it felt as if the pacing of it needed to be more moderate, so it did not feel as if their relationship was too far gone. Poorna is almost as off-putting as her daughter though her behavior is justified. Despite the poignant daytime flashbacks, other than to be saved, Tamira should never associate with Sam. Just because people are friends in childhood does not mean that they should continue as they get older. Sam’s healthiest relationships are with the guys in her life: her gentle, accepting dad, Inesh (Vik Sahay), and Russ (Gage Marsh), a nice boy interested in her. Dutta does have a nice touch with intentionally creating solidarity by having a Black woman teacher, Joyce (Betty Gabriel) as an ally.
Some viewers had an issue with the oneiric logic of “It Lives Inside.” Dutta never shows what Sam’s school day is like after the town becomes suspicious of her. When Tamira was battling the demon, she got similarly transported to Sam without encountering anyway. It is a feature, not a flaw. The Pishacha drives them insane so they disassociate and lose time instead of interacting with or noticing anyone around them unless the person is a possible intervenor, thus making them a target.
Even if you are not looking for anything too deep except a horror film, “It Lives Inside” will be a comfortable fit with devastating kills and a brutal, bone crushing, flesh shredding monster. My audience just wanted to hilariously talk to the screen and had a rollicking good time. The acting is phenomenal, and the production value is sumptuous.
