It's What's Inside - Film Review

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Warning: The following review contains spoilers, but they are nothing you wouldn't be able to glean from the trailer.

Shelby and Cyrus's relationship is on the rocks, but they decide to put it on hold to spend the weekend at their friend Reuben's wedding. The night before Reuben's big day, they celebrate with a group of friends from university; Nikki, Maya, Dennis and Brooke.

Things take a turn when Forbes, another old friend none of them have seen in years, turns up with a mysterious suitcase. He produces a mysterious device which allows people to swap bodies with each other, then persuades them to play a game where they swap temporarily and try to guess who is in which body. Once they play, all the history the group have with each other comes to the surface, full of unrequited crushes and scandals, including what happened to Forbes' younger sister Beatrice and why Forbes was kicked out of university.

Other reviewers have described this movie as a "sci-fi horror mystery", but I'm not sure I'd call it horror, since it contains very little in the way of horror elements. It's more of a black comedy/drama, focusing mostly on the complicated relationships of a group of old friends, who behave with realistic recklessness for a bunch of privileged 20-somethings. As a sci-fi fan, I didn't find it all that "mind bending", but it does try something a little different. The plot doesn't take the most obvious route, and there are s few surprises along the way.

This is an impressive debut for director, Greg Jardin. The cast is also excellent. Brittany O' Grady is sympathetic as Shelby, but it was Beatrice (played by Madison Davenport from Black Mirror and The Possession) who I found myself cheering for. It also stars Gavin Leatherwood (from The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as the skeezy Dennis, and David W. Thompson (from Fear Street Part I ) as the mysterious Forbes. Alycia Debnam-Carey is Nikki, the influencer who Cyrus (James Morosini) has a crush on, and Nina Bloomgarden is Maya, the hippy chick for whom Reuben (Devon Terrel) is still carrying a torch.

It's What's Inside is an entertaining horror/comedy with a sci-fi twist that might even be worth multiple viewings. It is currently streaming on Netflix.



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