For my first year, I was so pleased with what I could see at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.  Many films moved me to tears and stirred me to action, making the snowy walks worth it and the public transportation quirks (almost) bearable.  I did leave Utah with one unresolved woe, though, and I know it’s one that every film festival attending critic experiences multiple times a year: not seeing the film everyone wound up talking about.  Though I tried to get to it at the last minute, I could not worm my way into a screening of Greg Jardin’s It’s What Inside, and while I was happy to hear that Netflix scooped it up, my FOMO was raging as I boarded the plane back to Minnesota.

The critical thing to know about this review is that you won’t get much out of me about the plot or even a lot about the characters because even that runs the risk of letting a sleek cat out of a pretty cool bag.  I’ll talk around the film to give you a general idea of what to expect. But hopefully, by now, you’ve already picked up your remote, and either watched the film and came back to read this review or added it to your queue to watch later (maybe with a group of friends). 

Remember Clue?  Or The Cabin in the Woods?  Bodies Bodies Bodies? Or how about those late ‘90s ensemble comedies where super chic twenty-somethings gather for an <insert occasion here> only to watch their worlds fall apart in chaos?  If you are a fan of anything I’ve mentioned above, It’s What’s Inside is going to be your new best friend because it harvests a familiar set-up, adds it to a blender with heavy doses of psychological horror, a dash of existential dread, a pinch of sci-fi shenanigans, and three heaping spoonfuls of comedy.  Then it intentionally leaves the cover off, stands back, and hits liquify.

An unexpected guest has arrived at the pre-wedding celebration for a group of old college friends.  He’s part of their crew but had alienated himself from them over an unresolved dust-up years earlier.  Remaining friends with the groom, he honors his invitation, much to the chagrin of the others.  You know how that goes, though, right?  One friend is just a bit different than the rest of the gang but is still welcomed back almost as a favor.  The trouble is, this new addition has brought a party game that starts as a good time but winds up a true nightmare.

Trust me when I say this is one of those rare films where knowing less creates a better experience for you.  Jardin’s script isn’t just twisty, it’s head-spinning and completely chaotic.  I’m sure he must have had numerous walls in his house with arrows pointing this way and that to show the direction the plot had to go to get it all to fit together logically…and you know what?  It does.  The risk-taking surprises keep coming, but they’re always grounded in characters that feel so real you can’t help by stay invested.  Whereas I found the latest Knives Out sequel easy to predict because of crucial mistakes, Jardin doesn’t leave any breadcrumbs for you to pick up to follow his trail.

Perfect on paper doesn’t mean perfect on-screen…you need the right cast to make it work, and Jardin has assembled a stellar ensemble.  Each company member has been cast for a specific purpose (again, sorry, I can’t say why, but trust me, casting this must have been so difficult!), and all take on the challenge of the material with unnerving, edgy charm.  I especially like Brittany O’Grady (Black Christmas) and James Morosini (I Love My Dad) as Shelby and Cyrus, a bickering couple who arrive at the party on unsteady ground and who find their relationship deteriorating when they should be working together.  At first, Alycia Debnam-Carey’s (Into the Storm) vapid social media influencer Nikki feels like it will be one-note, but once the night gets going and Jardin’s mystery unfolds, she gets ample time to steal the show. The film lives or dies by these performances, and this cast elevates every aspect of the already tight script.

The tight hallways and claustrophobic spaces of the primary location, a house that eventually develops into a psychological funhouse complete with lurid colors and mirrors, make for a perfect playing space.  Cinematographer Kevin Fletcher has a ball using clever angles and framing to keep the audience and actors off-balance, giving perspective to the unraveling mental state of the characters.  Along with Andrew Hewitt‘s score and Jardin’s editing (the movie is so complex he basically had to edit it himself), each puzzle piece comes together, creating a well-rounded experience that grips you immediately and doesn’t stop until the final credit appears onscreen.

The wicked comedy is razor-sharp just as the shocking moments are almost gleefully absurd – yet it never steps over the line.  Balancing horror and humor without defusing the tension along the way, It’s What’s Inside operates at full throttle, asking viewers to consider what happens when friends are confronted with the unknowable and then allowing us to sit back and watch a wild ride unfold.