'It Lives Inside' Is a Monster Movie That Addresses the Indian American Experience

Representation for Indian Americans in Western media has long been plagued by stereotypes, from supporting characters like The Simpsons’ Apu Nahasapeemapetilon to The Big Bang Theory’s Raj Koothrappali. The former is a caricature voiced by a white voice actor (Hank Azaria) doing a cheesy accent, and the latter falls into the sexless, model-minority category that has plagued male Asian characters in Hollywood. Orientalism in film and television has led to dehumanizing depictions of Indians — take for example the “primate parfait” in Temple of Doom, or the countless instances of poverty porn seen in comedies and charity ads. These depictions don’t only seep into the psyche of the general public, but as shown in Bishal Dutta’s It Lives Inside, they can even seep into the psyche of Indian Americans.

High-schooler Samidha (Megan Suri) lives in an American small town and tries to fit in with her mostly white classmates by distancing herself from her Indian heritage. When her former best friend Tamira (Mohana Krishnan) comes to Samidha for help with something inside a jar that is clearly taking a toll on Tamira, a rift between the two friends escalates — until a demon from Dharmic mythology called a pishacha is freed. Samidha then has to reconnect with her heritage to save her old friend. 

It Lives Inside is undeniably at its best when dealing with Samidha grappling with her cultural identity — torn between the Indian heritage she was born into and the North American culture she grew up in. The pishacha is a driving force that sends her back into the culture she tried to abandon for the purpose of assimilation. The perspective of Indian Americans has long been overlooked in cinema, so it’s good to see movies being made that give not only cast and crew representation in the industry, but also give representation to an entire community whose voice has been silenced for too long. 

For his first full-length feature, director Dutta wears his influences on his sleeve; many scenes feel straight out of The Ring or A Nightmare on Elm Street. Elements of the plot feel at times formulaic and unoriginal — a common but unfortunate offense in horror movies. Besides the skin of Dharmic mythology, the bones of the film will be very familiar to horror fans, and as indicated by its PG-13 rating, this isn’t a movie that uses heavy gore. Instead it leans on sound and lighting design to fulfill the expectations of the genre. 

Overall, It Lives Inside gives a new perspective on familiar horror, and is a solid first feature with rough edges. It’s definitely worth a watch for horror fans, but it may be largely drowned out in the busy horror season. Hopefully this one finds enough success to earn a sophomore feature from Dutta. Perhaps he can sand off the rough edges and make something truly special next time.