IT LIVES INSIDE. As deeply as the tropes of teen horror movies are carved in the genre, a shift in perspective, in setting, in character can turn them on their head. Focused on an Indian American teenager, writer and director Bishal Dutta’s It Lives Inside opens up new avenues to explore isolation, shame and family conflict. Desi experience and Indian lore are as much at the core of the movie as teen girlhood and navigating friendships and shifting identities. While it may not go as far into those explorations as it could, It Lives Inside speaks to an overlooked kind of American coming of age and it’s a fun scare.
Samidha (Megan Suri), who goes by Sam, is blending in as best she can as a dark-skinned daughter of Indian American immigrants in a majority white suburban high school. To her mother Poorna’s (Neeru Bajwa) chagrin, she’s also pushing away from her family and culture, more interested in hanging out with a classmate than helping cook for an Indian celebration. Sam sniffs her clothes for Indian food smells upon leaving the house and endures cringy moments where she says nothing as white classmates stereotype her. But nothing is as mortifying to her as the appearance of her childhood bestie Tamira (Mohana Krishnan). A social outcast, Tamira’s not fitting in, maybe because she’s far less assimilated, maybe because her hair is a nest of tangles and she clearly hasn’t slept in days, or maybe because she also clutches a jar of dirt in her trembling hands wherever she goes. When she reaches out to Sam and tells her she can no longer keep a demon trapped in that jar, Sam lashes out and smashes it in frustration with Tamira’s apparent delusion and embarrassment at being heard talking to her. This is a mistake. And when Tamira vanishes, Sam goes looking for her, realizing, as she flips through a deceased Indian classmate’s diary, that the Pishacha, a demon from the stories they heard in childhood, is real and may have taken Tamira.
It Lives Inside draws on the bonds and chasms between immigrant parents and their children, the pull to assimilate into white American mainstream culture and the strength and support of family and Indian traditions. The cast handles what they’ve got well, but the script doesn’t mine too deeply, and the race to find Tamira doesn’t leave much time for reflection. We barely scratch the surface of Poorna’s experience, though her instinct to respond to a demonic presence by cooking a huge meal is one for the South Asian mom hall of fame. Sam’s sense of shame, too, could be further plumbed in terms of the workings of the demon and its connection to unrest and bad feelings.
The scary stuff is fairly simple: glowing eyes, movement in shadows, monstrous contortions. (Those of us who cut our teeth on The Amityville Horror know how far you can get with a set of glowing eyes.) And Dutta’s execution is solid. We grip the armrests as a teacher moves through empty school hallways, and when the lights go out, Dutta delivers on that hiding-under-the-blankets thrill. Listen, after watching the trailer for Saw X (there are 10 of these?) ,I have renewed appreciation for a writer/director who can get teeth chattering with a PG13 rating.
It’s only when the creature becomes a visible, palpable thing that the tension drops, which, unfortunately is when it should crescendo. My son is a tremendous fan of monsters, especially Guillermo Del Toro’s. Those creatures feel fully formed, carry their own sorrows and rages in their bodies and postures, a touch of humanity that makes them awful. Without that, they can feel silly. In that case, it’s better they stay in the shadows where our imaginations make their shapes. PG13. 99M. BROADWAY.
Jennifer Fumiko Cahill (she/her) is the arts and features editor at the Journal. Reach her at (707) 442-1400, extension 320, or jennifer@northcoastjournal.com. Follow her on Instagram @JFumikoCahill and on Mastodon @jenniferfumikocahill.
NOW PLAYING
AMERIKATSI. An Armenian prisoner in a Soviet prison forms a connection with a guard whose home he can see from the window in his cell. NR. 117M. MINOR.
BARBIE. Barbie and Ken live in a colorful, seemingly idyllic world but want to leave it behind for the real one. Where can I sign up for this version of Freaky Friday? With Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and Will Ferrell. PG13. 114M. BROADWAY.
THE BLIND. Biopic about the marriage, family, downward spiral and spiritual redemption of … the Duck Dynasty guy. PG13. 108M. BROADWAY.
THE CREATOR. A soldier (John David Washington) in the war between humans and AI robots captures a secret weapon in the form of a child robot. PG13. 133M. BROADWAY, MILL CREEK, MINOR.
DUMB MONEY. Comedy drama about the GameStop investors who turned the company into a hot stock. Starring Paul Dano and Pete Davidson. R. 105M. BROADWAY, MILL CREEK.
THE EQUALIZER 3. Denzel Washington reprises his role as an erstwhile assassin aiding underdogs, this time in Italy. R. 109M. BROADWAY.
EXPEND4BLES. Yet another ensemble of action movie elder statesmen joined by Megan Fox and legends Tony Jaa and Iko Uwais. R. 93M. BROADWAY, MILL CREEK.
A HAUNTING IN VENICE. Kenneth Branagh reprises his role as the mustachioed Belgian detective solving a murder at a seance. With Tina Fey and Michelle Yeoh. PG13. 104M. BROADWAY, MILL CREEK.
IT LIVES INSIDE. Demonic entities make an Indian American girl’s (Megan Suri) teen years even scarier. PG13. 99M. BROADWAY.
THE NUN II. Cinema’s scariest sister returns with worse than a ruler. Starring Taissa Farmiga and Storm Reid. R. 110M. BROADWAY, MILL CREEK.
PAW PATROL: THE MIGHTY MOVIE. An asteroid grants dogs superpowers in this animated adventure voiced by Dan Duran and Kristen Bell. PG. 92M. BROADWAY, MILL CREEK.
SAW X. The puppet-loving serial killer (Tobin Bell) makes the case for socialized medicine via gross basement torture when he takes revenge on medical fraudsters. R. 118. BROADWAY, MILL CREEK.
STOP MAKING SENSE (1984). Put on your biggest suit for the 40th anniversary of the iconic Talking Heads’ concert movie. PG. 88M. MINOR.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM. The crime-fighting brothers emerge from New York City’s sewers for an animated adventure. PG. 99M. BROADWAY.
Fortuna Theatre is temporarily closed. For showtimes call: Broadway Cinema (707) 443-3456; Mill Creek Cinema 839-3456; Minor Theatre (707) 822-3456.
This article appears in In search of safe crossing.
