There’s a lot to prove when you’re making your first feature film. It’s the one opportunity to impress not only the crowd but other studios who may possibly be interested in buying your next film. Greg Jardin has made many shorts, including a short for the Netflix series Cowboy Bebop, but It’s What’s Inside is his feature directorial debut, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. It was shortly after that when Netflix purchased the film for $17 million, the largest deal made at that edition of the festival.
Netflix is currently on a streak when it comes to making streaming deals; for some, that could be excellent news, as they get to watch it in the comfort of their own home, and it’s more accessible. For others, it could be terrible news, as they don’t get to experience the film in a cinema with an audience. While I found myself having the time of my life with It’s What’s Inside, I very much do wish that I was able to experience this film with a crowd. And for that, I’m envious of the people who got to watch this at Sundance, SXSW, or any of the other festivals it showcased at.
It’s What’s Inside is a horror story that follows Shelby (Brittany O’Grady), Cyrus (James Morosini), Dennis (Gavin Leatherwood), Maya (Nina Bloomgarden), Nikki (Alycia Debnam-Carey), and Brooke (Reina Hardesty), who attend their friend Reuban’s (Devon Terrell) pre-wedding party. Their estranged friend Forbes (David W. Thompson), whom they haven’t heard from in a while, attends the party with a mysterious briefcase, which changes the entire trajectory of their night.
The concept of the film is a strong one; it’s the main selling point of the film. Greg Jardin takes this concept and starts off really well with how he introduces the characters. We open up the film on Shelby putting on a wig and preparing to have sex with Cyrus, but her plan comes to a halt when she catches him masturbating, which then leads to an argument between them. We now have an idea of their relationship and even get a better insight later on when we find out how spontaneous Shelby is about trying out new things, such as dancing, which Cyrus is never really up for. It’s dilemmas such as this that lead up to the intense, dramatic scenario we end up in during the third act of the movie.
When Forbes enters the scene, we quickly find out that this briefcase allows the connected participants to switch bodies. It’s a body swap movie; this makes for an interesting concept for a horror movie, but unfortunately, the horror felt like it was missing. Instead of this leading into a spooky murder mystery or something sinister happening when they use the briefcase too much, we just get, well, casual drama between friends. The briefcase is only set up as a MacGuffin to get our characters to reveal all this information that has been hidden among them for years – secrets that will tear apart relationships. It works within the context of the story, and although the second act can feel quite slow, it all becomes worth it once we hit the third act and everything begins to unravel.
Forbes gives them the opportunity to switch bodies by playing a game, one that he compares to Werewolf and Mafia. This comparison is what led to the belief that we may get to witness the rules of that game play out with the addition of the body swap – a movie that I still would love to see – but what Jardin delivers with this film is a special one.
The cinematography is unlike anything I’ve seen from any film that’s been released this year. The lighting and colours complement Greg Jardin’s overall direction so well, with the colour red being used to signify which character is actually talking whilst they’re body is swapped. The editing is also phenomenal, and with all of this combined, it makes a movie that already had a fun premise even more fun and gives it that electric feeling. The use of the RGB lights was a creative choice that helped tell the story and made understanding what was going on much clearer, as at times it felt hard to understand who was who.
It’s What’s Inside is Bodies Bodies Bodies meets Knives Out. It’s a movie with many creative decisions that all flourish well together to provide a very gorgeous-looking movie with a beautiful cast to match it, who deliver performances so good that it makes you think that the actors have experienced body swapping in real life. This film gave the actors their chance to show off their range, and it succeeded. I can only imagine seeing them in more roles after this film’s release.
While the second act can feel quite slow, it’s detrimental to the chaos that ensues in the third act with a plot twist that not even a psychic could guess. It’s What’s Inside is a film that’s made to be watched with a group of friends, and although it doesn’t feel like a horror film and lacks those elements, it’s still a fun film that will have you saying, “What the f*ck?”
It’s What’s Inside is streaming on Netflix from October 4. Check out the trailer below:
The Review
It's What's Inside
'It's What's Inside' is 'Bodies Bodies Bodies' meets 'Knives Out'. A beautiful film with some of the best performances that might dip in the second act but still offers a good, fun time.
