Review: It's What's Inside

Image courtesy of Netflix.

Game nights are seemingly treacherous terrain, according to horror and thriller films as of late, from last year's "Talk to Me" to "Bodies, Bodies, Bodies." The latest in this subgenre, director Greg Jardin's "It's What's Inside," is more of a thriller with science fiction elements than a horror movie, and there's only one mildly bloody scene, but it still has some of the same trappings of the aforementioned films.

The picture primarily takes place at a large, somewhat secluded house where a group of friends are gathered to celebrate the impending marriage of Reuben (Devon Terrell). The group includes a couple experiencing problems with their sex life - Cyrus (James Morosini) and Shelby (Brittany O'Grady) - which allows for an amusing opening sequence involving this issue.

Others include ultimate bro Dennis (Gavin Leatherwood), hippie Maya (Nina Bloomgarden), influencer Nikki (Alycia Debnam-Carey), and stoner Brooke (Reina Hardesty). A final member of their group when they were in college - Forbes (David Thompson) - is mentioned and seems like a distant memory until, that is, he suddenly arrives and Reuben mentions that he'd invited him.

The last time Forbes was seen was during a raucous party that led to him being kicked out of school and his at the time underage sister, who had been having a fling with Dennis, to go into a mental hospital. Upon his arrival, Forbes introduces the idea of playing a game, which turns out to be a little more than anyone bargained for.

The game involves flipping a switch on a box - any explanation I could give would probably be as flimsy as that given by the film - that leads to all of the persons at the party switching bodies. In other words, their consciousness pops up in the bodies of one of the others present. Some members of the group are put off by the game, while others seem to relish in the freedoms it allows.

One of those freedoms ultimately becomes being able to hide which personality has ended up in which body, leading to some double crosses and secrets being unearthed. When two of the characters run off for a quickie on a balcony, tragedy ensues and the rest of the film revolves around the various characters debating whether to return to their original bodies, especially considering that two of those bodies are now corpses.

While I'm sure that something deeper could have been done with a story involving the quandaries of swapping bodies with someone else and what freedoms that might entail, "It's What's Inside" is content with merely plot twists and seeing actors portray other characters who have become disembodied. It's amusing enough, but not as memorable as "Talk to Me," which I liked well enough and had a fair amount of atmosphere and some decent shocks.

"It's What's Inside" often feels like a dark comedy with bits of horror or science fiction thrown into the mix. It's funnier than it is scary, and its final punchline - despite that you could probably see it from a mile away - will likely result in a smile. But I feel like this film could have been more than what it ultimately is - a mild divertissement.