Greg Jardin’s genre-bending sci-fi thriller, It’s What’s Inside, premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, catching Netflix’s eye with its unique take on the body swap comedy. The Netflix original follows a group of college friends reunited for a pre-wedding celebration. A night of existential horror ensues when an unexpected guest shows up with a mysterious suitcase.
The film opens with Shelby (Brittany O’Grady) and Cyrus (James Morosini) trying out role-play, but Cyrus is disinterested, leading to an argument between the two about their intimacy as a couple and his waning sexual attraction to her. This scene foreshadows some of the film’s central themes before a hard cut to the title card.
Next, we see Shelby and Cyrus arriving at Rueben’s (Devon Terrell) late mother’s house for the party. On the way there, we’re introduced to the cast of characters with distinct personality traits (that will be important later) through their social media posts while Shelby scrolls through Instagram. Among the other party guests are Dennis (Gavin Leatherwood), Maya (Nina Bloomgarden), Nikki (Alycia Debnam-Carey) and Brooke (Reina Hardesty).
The gang reminisces about another one of their other friends, Forbes (David Thompson), who was expelled from their college after an incident at a birthday party. As they recall the party, the exact circumstances become unclear, as they all remember it differently. Here is where the film utilizes its most creative editing, presenting a flashback of still images from the party with details changing in real-time as one person remembers something differently or is corrected by another.
When Forbes unexpectedly shows up to the party, he is the one to initiate the game of the night as he brings in a suitcase containing a body-swapping device. Forbes describes the device as something he and his friends had been working on to play “Werewolf,” a social deduction party game where players are secretly assigned roles as either werewolves or the villagers trying to hunt them down. In a way, this film is very similar to the game as the guests need to guess who’s in whose body to win. Throughout the film, you must pay very close attention to who’s who — if you stop paying attention for even a second, it can be hard to pick back up.
It’s What’s Inside is similar in premise to other recent films like Bodies Bodies Bodies in its comedic aspects and Talk to Me with its body-swapping angle, with all three focusing on a party game amongst a group of friends as things become increasingly out of control. It’s What’s Inside is a fun ride that you won’t be able to look away from until the credits roll.
Engaging stylistic choices
The cast's ability to act as one another is great and shows off each of their range
Visually stunning
Keeps you interested the whole way through
Somewhat hard to follow at times
Some of the film's themes aren't fully realized or fleshed out enough, particularly when it tries to address privilege, fidelity and social media addiction
The pacing toward the end of the movie makes the film’s ultimate plot twist somewhat convoluted and unearned
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