How fantastic, we've finally found a party game that will ruin more relationships than Monopoly. Yippee! It's What's Inside invites us to a rural manor where a group of friends who have known each other since college are having a pre-wedding party, Reuben (Devon Terrell) being the future groom in question. Joining him initially are Shelby (Brittany O'Grady) and Cyrus (James Morosini) who are a couple experiencing intimacy issues, a popular Instagram influencer and Cyrus' secret crush Nikki (Alycia Debman-Carey), artist Brooke (Reina Hardesty), a rowdy loudmouth Dennis (Gavin Leatherwood) and bohemian Maya (Nina Bloomgarden).
The vibes are a bit off and awkward until a wild card shows up. Enter Forbes (David Thompson), an entrepreneur who's casually known among the group as a gamemaster at parties. He brings with him a suitcase that contains a brand new controller that allows people to swap bodies, something that the group obviously turns into a game. Needless to say, the gathering soon spins out of control.
You probably recognise the story's foundation from comedies and horrors, but interestingly enough, the movie never veers towards them entirely and instead uses the aforementioned sci-fi mechanics to morph it into a psychological drama of sorts where identities and motives are constantly questioned. In his feature debut, Greg Jardin acts as director, writer, editor and VFX artist, and the end result is impressive to say the least as all those different elements and other contributors' efforts are supporting the kinetic energy of the screenplay. And of course you as a viewer also get a question with a wacky premise like this: would you participate if you had the chance?
The editing in particular handles the wild blend of genres robustly, using cuts between different perspectives and visual styles to not only keep up the intoxicating pace but also make sense of the body switching and physical spaces that the characters inhabit. Older audience members might struggle with such an approach, but Jardin and cinematographer Kevin Fletcher might be capturing something unique to young millennials and older zoomers with it. The creative team use some smart tricks to make things a little bit easier for themselves, like using one location for most of the movie and shooting table and group discussion scenes with a round track instead of doing typical coverage, which would be more time-consuming. When you know your destination so thoroughly and your project simply looks like a million bucks as well, these short cuts are easily forgiven.
Jardin's finely structured script ultimately deals with relationships, insecurity, envy, trust and self-worth, while a noticeable chunk is dedicated to the idea of marriage as well. There's a reason why ''till death do us part'' is often said to underline a married couple's commitment, and in this film, a death is indeed used as a turning point in Shelby and Cyrus' damaged bond as well as in Reuben's commitment—he still has romantic feelings towards another person in the group, it turns out. The entire cast (assembled by casting directors Mary Vernieu and Sydney Chircuff) does a fantastic job portraying all the nuances and revelations that reveal the central themes. While it might be a very slight knock against the film that no one gives a true standout performance, it's a miracle that the quality is always so high and never dips during this 100-minute rollercoaster ride.
Starting the journey by seeing everything through Shelby's eyes gives us a clear view to what's happening—and a sympathetic protagonist considering how deeply human her insecurity about being desired and other feelings are—but the real richness of the story boils down to how well everyone in the friend group interacts with each other. They feel like real, messy people who share both great memories and grudges too, and you also understand that everyone's increased life experience has taught them to better differentiate problematic aspects in their interactions. It's also good that Jardin and his actors do not lean into comedy at all since the jokes and banter ring true on their own; this is how we goof around with friends in real life, though hopefully we see less dead bodies than these guys.
Most of all, these filmmakers and cast members have cooked up an insane and insanely engaging thrill ride that also manages to earn the right to have bonkers twists. We're here to have fun, you know. That's not an easy feat either, and for someone's first feature it's even rarer. It's What's Inside announces Jardin as a multi-hyphenate you should probably pay attention to, the actors as forces to be reckoned with and the film itself will undoubtedly be a good time for friends or frenemies who wish to watch it together or by themselves, especially if they're close to the age of the characters or younger.
Smileys: Screenplay, editing, characterisation
Frowneys: Nothing too disappointing
Twist? Inevitable. Wig? Snatched. Yeah, it sure was about a wig all along.
4.5/5
Where to watch:
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