Neon’s set a September 22, 2023 theatrical release date for the creepy horror film It Lives Inside. The coming-of-age horror debuted at SXSW and took home the Midnighter Audience Award.
The trailer shows two Indian teenagers going face-to-face with a demonic creature, and writer/director Bishal Dutta says his inspiration came from growing up on American horror movies.
“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,” explained Dutta. “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.”
The cast includes Megan Suri, Neeru Bajwa, Mohana Krishnan, Vik Sahay, Gage Marsh, Beatrice Kitsos, and Betty Gabriel.
Get Out‘s Raymond Mansfield and Sean McKittrick served as producers. Edward H. Hamm Jr, Jameson Parker, Arielle Boisvert, and Shawn Williamson executive produce. Dutta’s behind-the-scenes team includes director of photography Matthew Lynn, production designer Tyler Harron, editor Jack Price, and costume designer Odessa Bennett.
The Plot, Courtesy of Neon:
Sam is desperate to fit in at school, rejecting her Indian culture and family to be like everyone else. When a mythological demonic spirit latches onto her former best friend, she must come to terms with her heritage in order to defeat it.
