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.
For in-depth thoughts on It Lives Inside, please see my colleague Lane Mills’ review from its original festival debut here.
Video Quality
Decal Releasing brings It Lives Inside to MOD Blu-Ray with a rich 1080p video presentation. The image remains crisp and clean with the shadowy, natural palette rarely failing to impress. Flesh tones are natural with a significant amount of detail present in close-ups. The makeup work provides some interesting facets that are a welcome part of the frame. The production design and the outfits provide clear textural details. The presentation allows for a significant amount of depth on display, even when it comes to darker environments. Black levels are pretty deep with no serious instances of digital noise. You will spot some light banding and other minor digital hiccups in fleeting moments. Overall this is a rock solid release from the label.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with a nice and active DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that accomplishes everything it needs to do. Environmental sounds of the space engage the surround speakers in an unsettling manner. Ambient sounds are precisely placed in the rear channels for a fully three-dimensional experience. Dialogue always comes through clearly without being overpowered by any competing sounds. The effective score comes through the speakers with crisp fidelity. There are some palpable moments in the film that add power to the low end. The audio track is a winner for the film. There are optional English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles provided.
Special Features
There are no special features provided on this disc.
Final Thoughts
It Lives Inside attempts to straddle the line between so-called “elevated” horror and more mainstream tendencies, and it does so quite well most of the time. The unique perspective of this narrative is the primary benefit to it overall, and it is a choice we want to see more of in the future. That being said when the film starts leaning on tropes, it loses its footing, and things get especially rote in the final stretch of the feature. We are left with a very entertaining spooky outing, but it does not count itself among the greats. Decal Releasing has released a Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation but no special features. Even if it is not perfectly realized, this one is still worthy of your time. Recommended
It Lives Inside can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or various other online retailers.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Decal Releasing has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.