“It Lives Inside” brings Hindu demons to the horror scene providing viewers with a new monster to be afraid of. 

The thriller surrounds a young Indian-American girl struggling with both her cultural identity and a flesh-eating demon called the Pishach. We follow her through her journey of trying to navigate high school and inadvertently releasing a demon onto herself and others. 

The Pishach is a flesh eating demon that infiltrates its victims’ minds to slowly degrade their sanity and connections to others. Its main goal is to bring its victim down mentally to a point their soul can be consumed. 

This movie was amazing. I loved seeing a movie that had something different than a devil, ghost or creepy doll. The Pishach was terrifying, not only because it is not fully seen until the ending of the movie but also because it was new. I had no knowledge of it so I had no idea what they could even do to defeat it. 

Another strong point of the movie was the acting. Tamira the best friend, played by Mohana Krishnan, and Samidha, played by Megan Suri, portrayed fear extremely well. A lot of the scenes before the demon’s reveal relied on close up shots of their faces and Megan and Mohana did not disappoint. I felt true fear coursing through my body as their eyes became large, as they moved back in fear and as they screamed; none of it seemed fake. 

The use of red lighting was also done well. Whenever the characters were around or in fear of the Pishach, they were bathed in red light, adding to the fear of the monster. One of the most memorable moments was after Tamira had been taken and was underneath a cloth. The entire scene is red and watching her face change from confusion to pure horrific fear, added another layer of evil to what she saw.

My issue with the movie is that in the end, once you see the monster, you lose fear of it. I don’t think that the creators tried to not make it scary, there was just something about it that makes you go, “oh that’s not too bad” and come out from under your covers. 

Overall, I think the movie is a 9/10 and the open ending sets up an opportunity for a second movie and I hope they take it. It was refreshing to see a horror movie get away from the run-of-the-mill plot and dive into something different for once.

Categories: Arts & Entertainment