Production Budget Analysis

The production budget for It Lives Inside (2023) has not been publicly disclosed.

CAST: Megan Suri, Neeru Bajwa, Mohana Krishnan, Betty Gabriel, Vik Sahay, Gage Marsh DIRECTOR: Bishal Dutta CINEMATOGRAPHY: Matthew Lynn MUSIC: Wesley Hughes PRODUCTION: NEON, QC Entertainment, Brightlight Pictures

Box Office Performance

It Lives Inside earned $4,675,092 domestically and $124,908 internationally, for a worldwide total of $4,800,000. The film skewed heavily domestic (97%), suggesting strong North American appeal.

Profitability Assessment

Insufficient publicly available data to assess profitability.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Production

On October 14, 2021, Neon and QC Entertainment announced a partnership to produce a then-untitled debut feature from Dutta, starring Megan Suri, Neeru Bajwa, Vik Sahay and Betty Gabriel. Principal photography started the same day in Vancouver.

Dutta took inspiration for the film from his own childhood experience of being born in India prior to moving to North America. The story is influenced by Indian demonic mythology as well as a personal story from Dutta's grandfather. Dutta explained:"After I moved to North America from India at the age of four, a lot of my social education came from watching American horror films. I always wondered, what were families like mine doing while Bruce the shark tore through Amity's waters, while Freddy Krueger slashed teenagers in the dreamscape, and while Jack Torrance chased his son through the maze-like halls of the Overlook? As it developed, It Lives Inside formed its own dual identity much like mine. On one hand, it is a love letter to the community and culture that raised me while on the other, it is a visceral experience that is designed to instill the same raw terror in its viewers that my favorite horror films instilled in me."

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: 2 wins & 6 nominations total

CRITICAL RECEPTION

Audiences polled PostTrak gave the film a 34% positive score, with 44% saying they would definitely recommend it. Alexandra Heller-Nicholas of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists wrote, "While on the surface It Lives Inside plays fairly conventionally with horror's familiar codes and conventions, the incorporation of Hindu folklore in a story that is fundamentally built around the immigrant experience breathes new life into the otherwise hackneyed storyline." The Hollywood Reporter's Lovia Gyarkye wrote, "The potency of It Lives Inside — and why it might be worth checking out even if it isn't wholly satisfying — lies in how it introduces Sam and Tamira's relationship and links it to Hindu lore."

Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com was more critical, writing, "While I appreciate the effort here and the quest for representation involving a culture that is not often seen in American horror, the execution misfires in every direction, leading to one of the most frustrating films I saw at SXSW this year. I kept actively trying to like It Lives Inside. It kept pushing me out." Slant Magazine's Derek Smith wrote, "Had the film actually delivered some genuine chills, it would be easier to look past its derivative story, hollow characterizations, and overly literal symbolism of depression and alienation", and gave it 1.5/4 stars. David Fear of Rolling Stone wrote, "while the idea of using a supernatural scary movie as a starting point for exploring the second-gen immigrant experience... is rife with possibilities, the end result here doesn't necessarily make good on the promise of that premise."