Spoilers below for anyone who hasn’t yet watched It’s What’s Inside as part of Netflix’s 2024 lineup, so be warned!
Only one entry form this year’s movie schedule will provide audiences a full feature runtime to weigh the pros and cons of trading one’s identity with a friend — or personality or soul or whatever fits best — look no further than one of Netflix’s most bonkers originals to date: Greg Jardin’s body-swapping horror comedy It’s What’s Inside. It’s a fun and provocative tale for the most part, and has potential to be among the streamer’s best horror movies, hinging largely on an impossible piece of technology and a group of “friends” whose ulterior motives abound.
For the majority of its runtime, I had a great time watching and wondering what was actually happening as these characters played a deduction party game with deadly and traumatic consequences. (Like the frightfest Talk to Me, but sci-fi instead of ghosts.) To that end, the filmmaking team deserves credit for using camerawork and colors to limit the confusion as much as possible. And after the pulse-pounding climax’s abrupt cut to black, I spent half a second being in awe of Jardin’s audacity to leave both viewers and characters in the lurch. But then came that story-breaking Coda sequence…
Already, It’s What’s Inside trusted viewers to just accept and run with a lot of baffling ideas and character choices while trying to keep all the relationships and histories intact. Then it pulled the rug out with a twist I legitimately thought was brilliant as it was unveiled, and offered conclusions for others’ stories as well. But before the credits had even finished rolling, I was already taking issue with how things wrapped up. So let’s roll through a few of these gripes.
Beatrice’s Revenge Plot Doesn’t Make That Much Sense To Me
To be sure, I fully understand why Madison Davenport’s Beatrice would still have lingering feelings of rage and resentment over everything involving the drunken partying that got her brother expelled and led to her being admitted to a mental institution. But I’m not sure if the punishments fit the crimes, especially after ten whole years passed between that party and the film’s events.
For one thing, it doesn’t seem like Beatrice gives a shit about her brother Forbes (David Thompson) in the slightest. Viewers aren’t subjectively made privy to their relationship, but it seems like Forbes was empathetic and wanted the best for her, even if he was the one that brought her to the party. And yet we’re led to believe that she immediately stole Forbes’ device for vengeance as soon as he showed it to her, and seemed perfectly content with leaving him in her former body. Harsh.
As well, I was confused by the way Beatrice-as-Forbes reacted to Dennis’ (Gavin Leatherwood) apology, in which he confessed that both he and Reuben gave the dean the info that got Forbes expelled. In the moment, it seemed like Forbes himself was unaware of this information, and only later was it clear that Beatrice was the one hearing it. But like, if she didn’t know all that, then was her entire revenge plot just about getting back at Dennis for getting her drunk that night?
If she was only unaware of Reuben (Devon Terrell) being involved, which is possible, then I’m not sure why that new information would change anything for her. Really, I just needed more of a formal mission statement from Beatrice herself as opposed to all the second-hand details.
Cyrus Doesn’t Deserve Jailtime, And Shelby Isn’t Exactly A Hero Here
Cyrus, played by The Sex Lives of College Girls vet James Morosini, is hardly anything resembling a hero within the narrative of this movie, but he’s also nowhere near guilty of the kinds of acts that would genuinely deserve jail time. He’s initially in the wrong for continuing a relationship with Brittany O’Grady’s Shelby that he’s not fully invested in, for not being physically romantic with her, and for hiding his long-harbored lust for Alycia Debnam-Carey’s hawt influencer Nikki.
His weirdest sin, if we can use such language, is using Reuben’s body to make out with Nina Bloomgarden’s Maya (in Nikki’s body), all while others mistook him for being Forbes, actually Beatrice. (That entire sentence should be a sin, really.) And that does raise all kinds of questions and concerns about consent, but is any of it worthy of going to prison when he didn’t actually have anything to do with Reuben and Maya’s sex-related deaths?
On the flip side of the prison glass is Shelby, whose attempt to permanently take over Nikki’s body is arguably a more unforgivable act than anything Cyrus did. To her credit, Shelby was possibly the only character who evolved from beginning to end, even if it wasn’t in a wholly positive manner. But it’s baffling to me that she’s played up to be the victorious heroine in her final exchange with her now-ex.
Just because she was ignored and sort of cheated on doesn’t mean she’s justified in letting Cyrus stay in jail despite knowing full well that he didn’t cause anyone’s death. If anything, she should at least get cited for whatever lies she presumably must have told to keep him in there.
But also, she’s not even the only person who would serve as a credible witness to keep him out of jail. Sure, Dennis hates him and Maya probably doesn’t trust him after their make-out sesh, but that shouldn’t be enough to stop them from having a part in ruining Cyrus’ life.
All Those Wedding Guests Probably Shouldn’t Be Milling About At A Presumed Murder Scene
In the end, Beatrice stuck Nikki inside Reuben’s body, and she flew the coop, leaving behind what I can only imagine is a very confused and depressed former fiancé. What was supposed to be Sophia’s wedding day turned into both a romantic tragedy and a literal one, with the setting for the nuptials now a crime scene. So why are all those people still there and hanging around the property, and why did Sophia already seem to have her hair done?
When the police arrived in the moments just ahead of the Coda, I can’t imagine it was that deep into the a.m. hours. Regardless of when exactly it happened, are we just meant to assume that no one got in touch with anyone in Reuben’s family about the “murders” that happened there? And that no one reached out to Sophia to tell her the wedding was likely off? And that no one reached out to any of the other people who showed up?
While that last gripe about the wedding spectators is shallow enough, I do more fully stand by the first two as being legitimate bummer conclusions for a fun and thought-provoking movie. I’m not sure that I fully agreed with or actually liked any of these characters, but had a blast watching them fall down the rabbit hole.
It’s What’s Inside is currently available to stream with a Netflix subscription while waiting to hear whether or not a sequel is coming down the pipeline.
