Netflix’s new horror filmIt’s What’s Insideis a horror-comedy that mixes in several key horror tropes. For one,the film has the element of a game gone wrong.When an estranged friend in a friend group at a pre-wedding party brings a device that can allow participants to swap bodies, it starts as a fun game. However, once those bodies are actually switched — and switched back again — the game does not seem as fun anymore as chaos ensues.
In this plot structure,It’s What’s Insideuses two key elements: a game gone wrong and the body-swap. Both elements are oft-used devices for horror and comedy, both of which are genre umbrellas thatIt’s What’s Insidefalls into.Body-swap moviesspan comediessuch asFreaky FridayandJumanji: The Next Level, as well as horror movies such asFreaky. This subgenre and the games gone wrong device are both elements that makeIt’s What’s Insideunique, but there are numerous other films with similar elements that are well worth watching.
Bodies Bodies Bodies
Cast
Bodies Bodies Bodies is a comedy/horror/thriller from 2 AM. When Bee (Maria Bakalova) travels to a hurricane party with her girlfriend Sophie (Amanda Stenberg), they find themselves surrounded by affluent 20-somethings with very different world views. When the party finally kicks off amidst the coming storm, the debauchery leads to a game of “Bodies Bodies Bodies.” However, when a power outage occurs during the game, and a murder occurs in its stead, the party takes a turn for the deadly.
Bodies Bodies Bodiesis a 2022 A24 horror film that,likeIt’s What’s Inside, is set in a party environment.However, this party is a hurricane party, wherein a group of young adult friends lock themselves away in a mansion during a major storm. During their hurricane party, the friends decide to play the eponymous party game “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” wherein there is a secret killer among them that the group must discover. Things go wrong, however, when the game starts to become a blood-soaked reality.
It’s What’s Insideis similar in that it also shows a party game warped out of proportion. Beyond the game, however, the films are similar in that they both explore the underlying tensions within a once close-knit friend group.Bodies Bodies Bodiesdoes not have a body swap element at its core, but nonetheless relies on games as a key factor, making it a great pick for those interested in the drama and game element ofIt’s What’s Inside.
Talk to Me
While trying to cope with the death of her mother, Mia (Sophie Wilde) becomes enthralled with an embalmed hand that can conjure spirits. While Mia and her group of friends get a thrill out of communicating with spirits, things go too far when Mia doesn’t close the door to the other side.
A year after releasingBodied Bodies Bodies, A24 came out withTalk to Me. The 2023 movie explores a group of friends who discover a mysterious embalmed hand that allows them to contact the spirit realm. Similar to the case ofIt’s What’s Inside, things seem to be fun and games until a member of the group accidentally unleashes something far more sinister.
Talk To Meis regularly deemed one ofthe best horror films of 2023, so it is worth watching for genre fans on that basis alone. More specifically toIt’s What’s Inside, however,Talk to Mealso features some kind of non-human device as the agent of chaos for its horror.While the consequences of said device’s use differ in the two films, this overlap likensIt’s What’s InsidetoTalk To Me.
Ready or Not
In Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s 2019 black comedy Ready Or Not, newlywed bride Grace Le Domas participates in a violent game of hide-and-seek with her fiancé’s family, who attempt to kill her during her wedding night as part of a long-standing ritual. The film stars Samara Weaving as Grace, Mark O’Brien as Grace’s husband Alex, Adam Brody as Alex’s brother Daniel, Andie MacDowell as their mother Becky, and Henry Czerny, Melanie Scrofano, Kristian Bruun, and Elyse Levesque as other members of the murderous family.
Ready Or Notis a film by the horror film trio Radio Silence. Released in 2019, the Samara Weaving-led dark comedy tells the story of a wedding night that takes a dramatic turn when the bride’s new in-laws-to-be have her take part in a chilling game. This film is classified as both a dark comedy and a splatter horror film, containing intense amounts of blood.
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There are several reasons whyReady Or Notis a great next step for fans ofIt’s What’s Inside. The Radio Silence film not only has a similar game-gone-wrong concept, butit also has a similar backdrop.Ready Or Nottakes place at an actual wedding, whereasIt’s What’s Insideis set the day before. While this leads to physically distinct settings, the marriage looming in the background of the film’s horror is prevalent in both films, makingReady Or Nota good watch in conjunction withIt’s What’s Inside.
Freaky
Freaky is a film directed by Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day 2U) and centers around a young girl in high school that swaps bodies with a deranged serial killer. When four teenagers are found dead, the Blissfield Butcher’s re-emergence has made the town somewhat on alert. While waiting for her ride home at the end of a football game, Millie Kessler is attacked by the butcher with a mysterious dagger called La Dola, which then swaps the two into one another’s bodies in a Freaky Friday-like fashion. Millie discovers that to get back to her original body, she needs to get her friends and family to believe that their bodies have swapped - and she needs to reverse the ritual in twenty-four hours, or the switch will remain permanent.
Freakyhonors the legacy of one of the most classicBody Swapfilms,Freaky Friday. Instead of a mom and her teenage daughter, however, the body switch inFreakysees a maniacal serial killer switch bodies with a high-school senior girl. Throughout the film, the now-middle-aged-man-bodied Millie must fight to switch back and regain control of her own body before it is too late.
Unlike some of the other films on this list,Freakydoes not include a game at the center of its plot. Instead,Freaky’s biggest similarity withIt’s What’s Insideis thatit is also a body swap-based thriller.It’s What’s Insideswaps to much wackier proportions, but both films find physical humor like their swaps. This provides comedic levity to both movies in a way that is similarly appealing in their thriller plots.
Ouija: Origin of Evil
Ouija: Origin of Evil is a 2016 prequel to the 2014 Horror film Ouija. Written and directed by Mike Flanagan, the film sees a Medium and her family using a Ouija board to attempt to contact her deceased husband. She ends up making contact with another spirit that begins to possess one of her daughters.
Some horror films may invent their mystical games, but others succeed by riffing off of existing games. Such is the case with theOuijaseries, which tackles horror narratives by centering around the famous Ouija Board, which involves using a letter board to supposedly contact the spirit realm.Ouija: Origin of Evilis the prequel to 2014’sOuija, which is set in 1967 and tells the story of a mother and her daughters who promote their scam seance business with a new stunt.
In some ways, the firstOuijais more comparable toIt’s What’s InsidethanOuija: Origin of Evil. After all, it also centers around a group of friends, thus crafting a similar dynamic to that ofIt’s What’s Inside.Ouija: Origin of Evil, however, is a far superior film toOuija. It ishelmed by legendary horror director Mike Flanagan, and his skill in the genre is evident throughout.Ouija: Origin of Evilstill has a mystical game elementthatIt’s What’s Insidefans will enjoy, even if it does not have the same interpersonal dynamic between its characters.
M3GAN
M3GAN follows a toy company roboticist who creates an AI doll designed to emotionally bond with her orphaned niece. As the doll’s programming becomes excessively protective, it leads to unforeseen and alarming consequences. The film explores themes of artificial intelligence and emotional connections.
M3GANtook the horror world by storm when it was released in early 2023. The film tells the story of a robotics engineer named Gemma who suddenly and unexpectedly becomes the caretaker for her niece, Cady, when Cady’s parents die in a tragic car accident. In an attempt to give Cady companionship, Gemma brings home an original creation, an AI robot doll named M3GAN that at first, seems innocent but gradually starts to take over their lives.
M3GANis expecting a sequel inM3GAN 2.0, which is set for release in June 2025.
M3GANdoes not exactly feature a game gone wrong, butit does explore the misuse of a mysterious and seemingly inventive device.M3GANalso leans into the comedy side of its horror comedy, including physical comedy gaffs with M3GAN’s absurd dancing and singing, as well as over-the-top kills. Those who liked the comedic absurdism ofIt’s What’s Insidewill findM3GANinstantly appealing.
Tarot
The plot centers on a group of college friends who start dying in ways that are related to their fortunes after having their tarot cards read. Before their time runs out, they have to work together to uncover the mystery.
Tarotwas an unexpected horror hit upon its release earlier this year. The film explores the idea of what happens when the rules of a game are broken. In this case, said “game” is Tarot card readings, where a group of friends accidentally breaks the rule that one can never use someone else’s deck. When they break this rule, a terrible fate is unleashed as the evil within the cards is revealed.
Both are good films to watch for those looking to keep up with some of this year’s more niche horror hits.
Tarot’s reviews were very negative upon its release, getting an 18% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film succeeded at the box office, however, making over $49 million worldwide. Even with its lackluster reviews,the craze surroundingTarotmakes it worth watching for someone coming off ofIt’s What’s Inside.It’s What’s Insidehas also been successful in its Netflix release thus far, so both are good films to watch for those looking to keep up with some of this year’s more niche horror hits.
Abigail
Abigail is a 2024 horror thriller directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. The plot follows a group of people who kidnap the daughter of a dangerous crime lord only to discover that the little girl is actually a vicious vampire out for blood. Alisha Weir stars as the titular character alongside Kathryn Newton, Melissa Barrera, and Dan Stevens.
LikeReady or Not,Abigailis another Radio Silence film on this list. The 2024 movie tells the story of a group of criminals who kidnap a young ballerina and take her to an isolated mansion. This backfires for the group, as they soon realize that the girl, Abigail, is the daughter of Dracula and is thus a bloodthirsty vampire.Abigailfinds humor in its over-the-top gore and the balletic sequences interspersed within the film.
Matthew Goode
Kristof Lazar
Abigaildoes not have either of the two main subgenre elements ofIt’s What’s Inside, body swap and games. Butthe film does shareIt’s What’s Inside’s genre sensibilities in infusing comedy alongside its thrills.BothAbigailandIt’s What’s Insidealso take place predominantly in one location, which can lead to its own kind of fascinating tensions. For these reasons,It’s What’s Insideaudiences could easily becomeAbigailappreciators.
Circle
Circle (2015) is a psychological thriller that places fifty strangers in a mysterious chamber, where they awaken in a circle with no recollection of their arrival. Facing an ominous device, they must confront the reality that one of them will die every two minutes until only one remains.
There are plenty of recent horror tales worth watching afterIt’s What’s Inside, but a slightly older recommendation is found in 2015’sCircle. This dramatic horror film tells the story of a group of strangers who are forced against their will in a battle of wits and ethics. These 50 people awake in a chamber with circles on the ground, and find out that they have to decide which one of them must live. The rest will die.
Circleis far more dramatic thanIt’s What’s Inside,and its “game” of sorts is more esoteric in nature.That said,Circleis a great example of taking a deadly game to one of the most extreme and emotionally wrenching levels.It’s What’s Insidehas tension between old friends, butCircledials that up by revealing tension between strangers. They will get to know each other better for the film, but the interpersonal tension is off the charts.
Would You Rather
Would You Rather is a psychological thriller directed by David Guy Levy. The film stars Brittany Snow as Iris, a young woman who competes in a deadly game of “Would You Rather” hosted by the sadistic millionaire Shepard Lambrick, played by Jeffrey Combs. The contestants, all desperate for a financial windfall, must navigate a series of increasingly brutal challenges, testing their morals and survival instincts.
Another slightly older horror pick forIt’s What’s Insidefans comes in the form ofWould You Rather.Would You Ratheris a 2012 Brittany Snow film about a young woman who agrees to compete in a game of “Would You Rather” with deadly consequences, to save her brother.Would You Ratherreceived less-than-stellar reviews and a limited release, making it one of the more overlooked movies at the time of its release.
The negative reviews ofWould You Rathershould not scare off horror fans. The filmdoes a great job using a game as its central device, exploring how those external games can torturously toy with one’s own psyche.It’s What’s Insideis less psychologically intimate thanWould You Rather, making the 2012 film great for those who like the game trope but are more interested in the horror aspect of a gamified world.
It’s What’s Inside
It’s What’s Inside is a film centered around a high-stakes narrative involving complex character dynamics that explore internal and external conflicts. Throughout the storyline, characters face personal challenges as they navigate their intertwined fates, providing a gripping view of their struggles and transformations.
