Exploring ‘It Lives Inside’: A Movie Review

Technically speaking, It Lives Inside is a step above your average horror movie. Vishal Dutta’s film debut has some scary moments, but overall the film isn’t all that scary. But it’s well-made, atmospheric, and shows potential for aspiring filmmakers. The fact that an Indian family and a Hindu monster are at the center of a story set in the United States suggests something more resonant and unique. But the biggest flaw with It Lives Inside, co-written by Dutta and Ashish Mehta, is that if you peel back some of the surface, the film turns out to be a lot sillier than the filmmakers probably realized. In the end, this is a very standard horror movie. All the clichés are there: the teenagers deciding not to tell their parents or the police what is going on, the decision to go to the abandoned house at night, the decision to make a plan for what is going to happen, the decision to always reject the audience is clear (damn plan. With glass!) and other stupid things. In fact, the protagonist is annoying throughout and just when you think he has finally overcome his stupidity, he makes an even stupider decision in the final battle.