Rotten Tomatoes
Submit search Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

It Lives Inside

Play trailer 1:10 Poster for It Lives Inside PG-13 2023 1h 39m Horror Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
64% Tomatometer 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.
Watch on Fandango Stream Now

Where to Watch

It Lives Inside

It Lives Inside

What to Know

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.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More
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... Go to Full Review 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. Go to Full Review 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. Go to Full Review 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. Go to Full Review 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. Go to Full Review 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. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Joanna T. Oct 11, 2023 Loved it!!!! It’s definitely a must see! See more 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 See more Sonja Sep 30, 2023 Wasnt scary at all. I got bored watching it See more Ralph Sep 30, 2023 Boring at the beginning, got better towards the end. The actual creature was disappointing See more Jonathan Sep 29, 2023 Movie was okay the finale saved this movie, the characters and plot felt bland See more Alfonzo Sep 28, 2023 I liked the movie. 👍🏽 See more Read all reviews
It Lives Inside

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING

Cast & Crew

View All

Bishal Dutta

Director

Neeru Bajwa

Poorna

Megan Suri

Samidha

Mohana Krishnan

Tamira

Vik Sahay

Inesh

Betty Gabriel

Joyce

Movie Clips

View All

It Lives Inside

It Lives Inside: Exclusive Movie Clip - There's a Monster in Here It Lives Inside: Exclusive Movie Clip - There's a Monster in Here 1:20 Now Playing View more videos

More Like This

View All
The Boogeyman 60% 65% The Boogeyman Watchlist TRAILER for The Boogeyman The Invitation 32% 59% The Invitation Watchlist TRAILER for The Invitation Blackwater Lane 10% 41% Blackwater Lane Watchlist TRAILER for Blackwater Lane Prey for the Devil 15% 69% Prey for the Devil Watchlist TRAILER for Prey for the Devil Insidious: The Red Door 40% 69% Insidious: The Red Door Watchlist TRAILER for Insidious: The Red Door Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

It Lives Inside

It Lives Inside: Trailer 2 It Lives Inside: Trailer 2 1:10 Now Playing It Lives Inside: Trailer 1 It Lives Inside: Trailer 1 2:29 Now Playing View more videos
View All

It Lives Inside

It Lives Inside (2023) It Lives Inside (2023) It Lives Inside (2023) It Lives Inside (2023) It Lives Inside (2023) It Lives Inside (2023) It Lives Inside (2023) View more photos

Movie Info

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
Join The Newsletter Join The Newsletter Cookie Settings