A friend group sheds their skins but not their baggage in funny whodunit It’s What’s Inside

Who among us wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to briefly shed our own skin? Especially living in an era where the most enviable details of other people’s lives are cherry-picked and broadcast on social media, it’s easy to feel an ever-shrinking sense of self-worth. Yet sometimes it takes a truly out-of-body perspective to understand one’s own distinct strengths and, importantly, others’ inherent weaknesses—to cut through the negative noise of internal monologues. 

It’s What’s Inside, the feature debut from writer-director Greg Jardin, demonstrates that clearly, though the film inevitably strays from making any sort of salient social commentary. It opens with longtime couple Shelby (Brittany O’Grady) and Cyrus (James Morosini), whose sex life has become so stagnant that the curly-haired beauty feels compelled to don a conventional blonde wig to spice things up. In truth, they’re both a bit obsessed with Nikki (Alycia Debnam-Carey), a friend from their college days who is now a major social media influencer. Shelby carefully chose the synthetic platinum locks, and even specific catchphrases, in order to excite Cyrus, who has not-so-clandestinely pined over Nikki for the better part of a decade. 

As it turns out, Shelby, Cyrus, and Nikki are imminently reuniting with the rest of their undergraduate friend group on the eve of Rueben’s (Devon Terrell) wedding. Rounding out the crew is hippie stoner Maya (Nina Bloomgarden), brash alt-girl Brooke (Reina Hardesty), and affable slacker Dennis (Gavin Leatherwood). They collectively settle back into their dynamic, regurgitating gossip from years past. Immediately, Brooke and Maya delve into the events that led one of their other core group members, Forbes (David Thompson), to break ties with the rest of them. Predictably, he shows up unexpectedly shortly thereafter, clutching a mysterious briefcase.

Already plied with booze and drugs, the group excitedly accepts Forbes back into the fold, even if some are suspicious of his sudden resurfacing. He proposes a party game, akin to Mafia, wherein everyone will temporarily have their consciousness transferred to another’s body. The winner is whoever is able to correctly identify everyone as they’re encased in someone else’s flesh. As it turns out, the briefcase houses a contraption that makes this all possible, with wires and electrodes facilitating the cognitive switch. As everyone embraces their newfound bodies, underlying tensions—sexual, political, emotional—inevitably surface. Can the warm body of a lover or foe itself act as a conduit for catharsis? 

Of course, the performances are fascinating to absorb, as personalities must be preserved no matter the vessel they inhabit. Thompson is particularly revelatory, perhaps because he obscures the true reason for his reappearance until a final reveal, which recontextualizes drama from a disastrous past house party that resulted in disciplinary action from the university they all attended. Yet each actor must implicitly study all eight characters and convey their distinct personalities, and no one in the ensemble outright flubs the assignment (that said, some cast members certainly have more screen time than others). Shelby and Cyrus’ quarrels follow them through various corporeal forms, which drives the bulk of the narrative and, admittedly, gets a bit tiring. It would have been nice to gain more detailed insight into some of the other ties between these friends, though it’s made clear how wandering eyes and lingering resentments impact individual relationships and the broader friend group. 

If It’s What’s Inside egregiously falters, it’s in its subdued raunchiness. For a group of blatantly horny millennials, there’s not nearly enough sexual experimentation embedded in the R-rated narrative. Quite a few nagging questions remain: If given the opportunity to experience an orgasm from a different sexual organ, would no one in the group seriously take it? What does sexuality look like if the object of your desire is occupying a different gender’s body? Does what makes our identities likable or unlikable correlate with our perceived physical attraction? None of these queries need to be directly answered or unraveled, but the predominantly heterosexual perspective of the characters does limit the film’s sexual imagination. 

Though marketed as a horror film, It’s What’s Inside is more aptly described as a constantly shifting whodunit. There is no excessive gore, no stalking slasher, no supernatural interference. Jardin’s film feels distinctly in conversation with titles like Knives Out and Bodies Bodies Bodies, which are tense and mysterious but contain a palpable sense of humor. There are plenty of laughs to be had here, making it the perfect movie night selection for a large group when it hits Netflix (the sheer amount of weed smoked will also make you glad you watched it in close proximity to a rolling tray). While the film’s social commentary isn’t radically incisive, it does manage to capture the nature of a true party game: excitement initially abounds, but you can’t play along forever. 

Director: Greg Jardin
Writer: Greg Jardin
Starring: Brittany O’Grady, James Morosini, Gavin Leatherwood, Nina Bloomgarden, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Reina Hardesty, Devon Terrell, David W. Thompson, Madison Davenport
Release Date: October 4, 2024 (Netflix)