[ad_1]
Warning: This post contains spoilers for It’s What’s Inside.
The concept of body-swapping in horror movies is nothing new. Just think about Christopher Landon’s Freaky, Joe Lynch’s Suitable Flesh, and, of course, Jordan Peele’s inimitable Get Out.
However, in those films, the swapping happens against one or both of the swappers’ wills. In writer-director Greg Jardin’s debut feature It’s What’s Inside, on the other hand, a group of college friends reunited for the night before the wedding of one of their own all make the conscious decision to mentally trade places amongst themselves—to disastrous results.
Following a buzzy premiere at Sundance, the low-budget, high-concept horror comedy is now streaming on Netflix (which purchased the genre-bender earlier this year for a cool $17 million, one of the biggest sales in the festival’s history). “Initially I was pitching it as The Big Chill meets Freaky Friday by way of Black Mirror,” Jardin told IndieWire of the inspiration behind his surprise breakout hit. “When I initially came up with the idea, I saw it as a straight-up sci-fi comedy. And then as I was really working through it…I thought, maybe I can lean into a darker vibe but still be funny.”
The setup
The movie opens with anxious lead Shelby (Brittany O’Grady) trying and failing to seduce her longtime—and clearly indifferent—boyfriend Cyrus (James Morosini) into a role-playing scenario involving a blonde wig. It’s a thinly-veiled display of Shelby’s insecurities surrounding Cyrus’ interest in women who don’t look anything like her, particularly their old college friend-turned-social media influencer Nikki (Alycia Debnam-Carey).
The struggling couple then heads to a pre-wedding party at the eclectic mansion of the late mother of the groom-to-be, their friend Reuben (Devon Terrell). There, they reunite with the rest of their college cohort, artsy party girl Brooke…
[ad_2]
