Picture: Netflix
Acquired out of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival by Netflix for an impressive $17 million dollars, It’s What’s Inside is the brainchild – or swapping brainchild – of writer/director Greg Jardin, a short form/music video director making his feature film debut.
Pitched by Jardin as a “sci-fi thriller with jokes with a … unique, heightened tone”, the film centers around a group of old college pals who reunite for a celebration the night before one of the friends, Reuben is set to be married.
In a story filled with variables and social trappings, the tension really starts to mount when an estranged classmate, Forbes, arrives with a large suitcase in hand. Within the suitcase, he unveils a top-secret device his team has been working on that can switch people into new bodies. When they play a guessing game involving the device’s mysterious power, old rivalries, former flames, & current relationship issues flare up as round by round the game goes off the rails, causing a panic throughout the house.
Just when things turn ugly, and bodies start dropping (literally), things get even more interesting as the finale twists & turns into one last guessing game revealing who came out on top.
Produced by Oscar nominated actor Colman Domingo alongside Such Content & Boldly Go Productions, It’s What’s Inside features a deep cast of young talent that not only have to define & command their own characters, but also imprint their fellow actors’ character traits & mannerisms into their swapped body representations.
The impressive ensemble includes: Brittany O’Grady (The White Lotus) & James Morosini (I Love My Dad) as long-time couple Shelby & Cyrus, Gavin Leatherwood (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as rich party boy Dennis, David Thompson (Fear Street) as tech savvy game master Forbes, Alycia Debnam-Carey (Fear the Walking Dead) as social media starlet Nikki, & Devon Terrell (Barack Obama in Barry) as groom-to-be Reuben.
While the story will draw comparisons to recent horror film successes Talk To Me and Bodies Bodies Bodies for the gameplay element & large, young cast, It’s What’s Inside separates itself from its peers with well-established characters & goals from its outset, a disorienting & effectively uncomfortable plot device, and a strong commentary on identity & the elements that express who we are without the facade.
The film seamlessly blends sci-fi, horror, & mystery tones; not just with its puppet master gameplay manipulation, but also with its mansion-turned-art installation set design that plays with colors, space, mirrors, & angles to effectively adjust mood & intensity of a scene. The additions of well-placed sharp cut edits, split screen views, and black & white flashback photography keeps the audience on its toes while adding additional depth & insights into character mindsets and plunging into the mysterious revenge unfolding around them.
While some critical reads of the film see these flourishes as a distraction from the lack of emotional depth & storytelling complexity, I disagree. The fraying relationships of disingenuous old friends and the lies they tell themselves to make their lives easier to take is at the core of every decision for writer/director Jardin. The opening sequence of Shelby & Cyrus’ relationship drama tells you everything that is to come: changing the exterior cannot fix the rot from inside and the truth will always find a way. Forbes’ backstory & mysterious suitcase serves as a skeleton key to unlock the truth and serve revenge from the ones who’ve suffered the most.
The only criticism I can subscribe to is that the very end of the film may seem like a let down; after the frenetic pacing, emotional freakout, & game element is taken away, the punishments, and those serving them, may not completely fit the crimes or satisfy the audience in the way the previous 90 minutes may have. The revenge plot can seem less interesting than the relationships coming apart at the seams, so much of the juice has been squeezed before the film’s final moments. However, the bulk of the 100 minute runtime does more than enough to excite, examine, & enjoy before the last callback closes the curtain.
It’s What’s Inside. (L-R) Reina Hardesty as Brooke, Devon Currie as Reuben, James Morosini as Cyrus, Brittany O’Grady as Shelby, Gavin Leatherwood as Dennis, Nina Bloomgarden as Maya, David Thompson as Forbes and Alycia Debnam-Carey as Nikki in It’s What’s Inside. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix
Overall, It’s What’s Inside may seem like the title of a self-help book or a soapy romance novel, but it’s also the perfectly apt description for a genre-bending tale that strips the layers of humanity & modern societal complexities back to its core tenants of survival, desire, & attention. A more sci-fi driven gameplay element fuels the anxiety & discomfort of the well-defined characters before it gives way to the final throes of deep-seeded revenge. A well-crafted crowd-pleaser from a directorial debut and a great way to kick off the Netflix & Chills month of October.
Watch It’s What’s Inside If You Liked
- Talk To Me
- Bodies Bodies Bodies
- I Know What You Did Last Summer
MVP of It’s What’s Inside
The Shelby/Cyrus Relationship
In such a deep ensemble cast with such a twisty plot device, it’s hard to pick just one actor that jumps off the screen, especially when actors are jumping around being different people multiple times.
However, the most grounded guiding force that seems to keep the story on the tracks is the relationship between the conscious people pleaser Shelby and the chronic liar to himself and others Cyrus.
As noted above, their opening scene sets the tone for all the themes and anxieties in the film. Well acted to cringy perfection, Brittany O’Grady & James Morosini are constantly at odds even when one of them is having a great time. Cyrus’ jealousy from a man who pines for another woman is a classic archetype that audiences can relate to and be repulsed by; after all, he is “Cyrus the Virus”. Shelby is also a classic archetype in the sense that she doesn’t want to admit her relationship is failing and doesn’t have the self-esteem to end it, so she’ll try most anything to try to repair something that was tainted from day one. While I don’t fully embrace the end of their story, it’s still the proper bookended narrative that finally gets Shelbow to a better place.
It’s What’s Inside is an engaging, twisty, & unique revenge play with a genre-blending, neon-filled exterior and an anxious, semi-feminist human experiment at its core. A rewatchable crowd pleaser for fans of the many genres it plays with.
