Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘It Lives Inside’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

I have to admit, that I tend to avoid possession related horror movies more often than not, simply due to the fact that these types of motion pictures tend to try and replicate the success of The Exorcist and follow that iconic film’s formula to a tee. After all, we’ve seen countless possession movies that feature a young woman who finds herself under the influence of pure evil and she is transformed into a monstrous being that forces everyone to question to their faith and belief system before some force for good finally banishes the evil from her soul and saves the day and the damsel in distress.
 
If anything, seeing that same recycled formula pop-up in this subgenre of films time and time again outright bores me and I know that sounds incredibly elitist and snobbish in its own right to say, but I know I’m not alone here. Horror fans want their stories to challenge them or provide them with something different and new, and formula has made me incredibly picky when it comes to possession flicks that pop up in theaters. But thankfully, the indie horror market is going strong and I tend to find new things there when I take the time to dive in and recently, I was able to watch a possession themed film that did its best to shake up the mythos in It Lives Inside.
 
Now in this particular film, we are introduced to a man and woman, whose names we never learn, and they are very much in love. In fact, they have a son, and a new house to live in and it really seems as though this couple has their whole lives ahead of them. But hidden within the attic of this house is an evil spirit that loves nothing more than to claim souls in twisted and painful fashion and it has selected the man for its demented harvest, and it will do everything within its power to break the man’s spirits and shatter his family so that it can finally have the soul it so craves…

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Okay, so before we dig too deep into what I enjoyed about this film, I need to provide you with total transparency on a couple of things, because it would be irresponsible as a reviewer to not inform you that this is in fact, a low budget venture. Now that’s not a bad thing by any means because we’ve all seen some gems when it comes to low budget movies, but the lack of a budget here does show at times, which results in some clunky storytelling early on and the story does move at a supremely slow and steady pace, which may infuriate some viewers and I fully understand that. However, the film’s greatest ‘flaw’ is precisely why I found value in it.
 
Because by not spending all of its money on grandiose special effects, the film is forced to focus upon the characters and that allows for the man’s story in this tale to become a grand and sweeping tragedy as we watch the evil spirit break him in every way imaginable. And watching this downward spiral is simply a fascinating affair, thanks quite frankly, to the film’s slow style approach to telling the story. Because now the terror and confusion that comes about from this possession takes the center stage since the man is forced to ponder upon what is happening to him and his family and that creates a genuine sense of dread that builds nicely and thankfully that grand buildup pays off in the end.
 
When all is said and done however, what I truly appreciated about this motion picture is that it really did try to do something new with this subgenre of horror films, and I really do love that the victim in this tale was a man for a change rather than the always stereotypical innocent girl and hopefully more possession films follow suit with that notion so that women aren’t always portrayed as weak vessels for evil in these types of movies. But I digress because what matters more, is that this is a satisfying film when all is said and done, since it really does keep its characters and their reactions to what’s going on behind the scenes as its focus, and if you’re okay with a slow burn approach then definitely check this one out. 

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