It Lives Inside

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It Lives Inside

PG-13

2023

1h 39m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

64%

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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.

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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

Nov 17, 2023

3/5

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...

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Jethro Robathan

Empire Magazine

Oct 26, 2023

2/5

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.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

Oct 20, 2023

2/5

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

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Jazzmin Crawley

Girl, That's Scary (Podcast)

Oct 11, 2025

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.

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Rebecca Sayce

FILMHOUNDS Magazine

Jul 24, 2025

4/5

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.

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David Bax

Battleship Pretension

Feb 6, 2025

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

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Joanna T.

Oct 11, 2023

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

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Maricruz B

Oct 1, 2023

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

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Sonja

Sep 30, 2023

Wasnt scary at all. I got bored watching it

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Ralph

Sep 30, 2023

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

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Jonathan

Sep 29, 2023

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

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Alfonzo

Sep 28, 2023

I liked the movie. 👍🏽

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Bishal Dutta

Director

Neeru Bajwa

Poorna

Megan Suri

Samidha

Mohana Krishnan

Tamira

Vik Sahay

Inesh

Betty Gabriel

Joyce

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It Lives Inside: Trailer 2

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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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