Party games gone wrong have been a winning formula for genre movies over the past couple of years, and Netflix's new movie It's What's Inside is sure to prove another big hit with critics and audiences alike.
In the vein of Bodies Bodies Bodies and Talk to Me, It's What's Inside sees a group of friends reunite for a pre-wedding party. The unexpected arrival of an estranged friend leads to a brand-new party game that quickly descends into an existential nightmare as secret obsessions are revealed and old grudges resurface.
We could go into a bit more detail about the actual game, but that would spoil the fun of the discovery. We can say though that It's What's Inside is part horror, part sci-fi, part thriller and part black comedy, and taken as a whole, it's a must-see experience.
What strikes you first about Greg Jardin's feature debut is the style and visual identity it has from the get-go. Even before the mind-bending concept is introduced, Jardin finds engaging ways to frame and edit conversations, using split-screen, voiceover and other devices to give the movie the sense of constant motion.
It's not just style for style's sake either. Rather than distracting you with visual flourishes, Jardin uses the style for substance, including an ingenious use of colour as visual storytelling as It's What's Inside gets progressively wilder.
This is not a subtle movie and could prove too much for some. Scenes frequently end mid-conversation and as it ramps up, there's a wild kinetic energy to proceedings that is enthralling. It proves a perfect match for the story Jardin is telling, building to a chaotic final act where the style and the story match in innovative and hilarious ways.
What to Read Next
The movie has a personality that so many Netflix originals lack and, combined with the plot surprises, you'll wish you could have seen it on the big screen with a proper crowd. (It's worth noting that Netflix acquired it out of Sundance rather than producing it, which sets it apart from other originals.)
The cast, including Brittany O'Grady, Alycia Debnam-Carey and Gavin Leatherwood, is so uniformly excellent that it's churlish to single anybody out. It's a true ensemble effort that asks a lot of the talented cast, especially once the party game gets going – for reasons we won't spoil here.
In order to keep up with the plot, you're reliant on not just the visual storytelling, but the subtleties in performance as the game unfolds. Too often while watching Netflix you might find your attention wandering to your phone, but here, you won't be tempted as you know you'll miss a critical line of dialogue or a facial expression as a vital clue.
If there's a criticism to be had of Jardin's intricately clever script, it's that there isn't much left to the viewer's imagination. A coda, especially, spells things out too neatly as the movie plays its final devious card, where perhaps a bit of ambiguity would have proven more interesting.
That's a minor blemish though when the rest of It's What's Inside is such an absorbing and surprising watch. It manages to thrill, horrify and delight in an equal manner, while also tackling topics like doomscrolling and consent in fresh and provocative ways.
In a strong year for genre movies, from Strange Darling to Late Night with the Devil and more in between, It's What's Inside delivers another jolt of originality that you don't want to miss.
It's What's Inside is available to watch now on Netflix.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
