Realizing Who You Are When Facing a Monster

Megan Suri in "It Lives Inside"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

One of the most interesting things that the horror genre can do is focus on different cultures and express the genre through that lens. Whether it be the society or the politics within those cultures, it’s intriguing to see how filmmakers who have close ties to those backgrounds can use their experiences to shape a seemingly simple horror tale and weave it into something that has greater meaning, both on the surface and under it.  This allows us to not only enjoy a good horror movie, but also learn a few things that we might not have known about a culture.

This is the case with writer-director Bishal Dutta for his feature directorial debut, “It Lives Inside.”  Given Dutta’s close connection with the material, we have a horror movie that shows its director’s full vision and a promising start to a career.

Samidha (Megan Suri) is an Indian-American high-school student who tries to maintain a typical lifestyle at school, while also trying to respect her parents wishes to embrace her culture.  When a demonic spirit known as a Pishach latches onto Samidha’s old childhood friend, Tamira (Mohana Krishnan), Samidha must do what she can to defeat the monster and save her friend.

Suri gives a wonderful performance as a young woman who’s constantly being torn between her family’s culture and high-school culture.  She shows the strain of having to please her parents, and also having to put on appearances with her friends when Tamara comes back into her life and causes her to become more involved with her culture.  While Suri’s performance is terrific as a whole, it’s the scenes where her character grapples with her background that act as the heart of the movie.  Here, Suri brings out the emotional hardship of trying to fit in between two groups of people, and this heightens the rest of Samidha’s journey as we understand the dramatic fuel behind the horror that she faces.

Neeru Bajwa, who plays Samidha’s mother, Poora, provides beautiful work as her character tries to understand her daughter, but also wants to make sure that Samidha doesn’t forget her culture.  Bajwa has us see the love behind the strict nature of her character, exhibiting a parent who sees herself as doing right by her daughter, and then as to realize that her daughter has to forge her own path.

While Dutta’s screenplay follows a framework that we’ve seen before, the overall story is a fascinating one as we’re given a view of Samidha’s home life and school life, all while providing a look into Hindu culture.  The thematic crux of the story is how the main character struggles with embracing her culture and has to suppress it to feel less like an outsider, and this ties intelligently into the horror aspect of the narrative.  As the story goes on, there are some clever visual and verbal subtitles in the development of Samidha’s character and situation, further adding depth to the plot.  Dutta creates a fascinating character whose journey is every bit as chilling as it is dramatic, and his script shows a filmmaker who’s heavily invested in the story that he wants to tell.

As a director, Dutta constructs some nail-biting horror set pieces (particularly one on a swing set), and takes advantage of ways to have the monster mostly concealed for a lot of the runtime until the finale.  Whether working with lights and shadows, keeping it out of the frame, or keeping it invisible, Dutta and cinematographer Matthew Lynn have us on edge as we wait to see what we’re in for.  While doing so, Dutta utilizes chilling sound effects, and later on some neat creature design for the finale, to have us know how menacing this demon is both when see it sparingly, and then in the flesh.  In between the horror sequences, Dutta allows for some impactful emotional moments that show the tension and love between Samidha and her mother, letting the audience’s apprehension abate from time to time so we can further understand the dynamics between these two characters.

Now that we’re getting into the swing of Halloween season, I’m sure you’re trying to get your seasonal movie-viewing in order, be it in theaters or at home.  If you’re looking to include a newer movie with smart and creepy thrills for your lineup, look inside this film.

Grade: A-

From the Gamer’s Seat to the Driver’s Seat

Archie Madekwe in "Gran Turismo"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

The filmmaking career of Neill Blomkamp has been a strange one, to say the least.  After his feature-filmmaking debut in 2009 for his stunning sci-fi action film, “District 9,” it seemed like cinema had an exciting new visionary when it came to the genre.  He stuck with the genre for his follow-up in 2013 with “Elysium.”  Although the premise showed a lot of promise, it presented an underwhelming sophomore effort.  In 2015, he gave us “Chappie,” which again, looked like it had potential, but was even more of a disappointment than “Elysium.”  He then ventured into supernatural sci-fi with his negatively reviewed very-low-budget film, “Demonic,” which I haven’t seen.  Fourteen years after his first feature, we’ve been waiting for another movie that displays the filmmaking talent that Blomkamp showed in “District 9.”

For his latest film, he takes a break from sci-fi and goes into something different.  Now, he ventures into sports cinema for his biographical film, “Gran Turismo.”  While not quite the full comeback we’d like from Blomkamp, it still presents a step in the right direction for his career.

In 2011, as part of a marketing promotion, Nissan invites skilled gamers in the “Gran Turismo” racing simulation to take part in a contest to win a spot in the GT Academy, which will train the winning contestants to be race-car drivers, and one of them to be chosen to begin a career in the sport to represent Nissan.  When Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) earns a spot in the academy and then wins the coveted chance to race for Nissan, he’ll brave the dangers of the sport in order to realize his dream.

Madekwe delivers a great feature breakout performance as a young man who’s determined to take his aspirations to the highest level, displaying the courage that it takes to go for such an accomplishment.  Madekwe shows the physical, and later on, the psychological toll that this has on his character, giving Jann some emotional moments that engage the viewer.  Despite the familiarity of this type of story, Madekwe remains committed to his role and keeps you invested in his character’s journey as he faces challenge after challenge in the academy, and soon in a professional sport where others don’t see him as anything more than a gamer.  He elevates the material that he’s given and provides work that offers enough drama to make up for the story’s shortcomings.

As for the supporting performances, David Harbour has good chemistry with Madekwe, portraying Jann’s trainer, Jack Salter.  His character arc follows the mentor-to-the-underdog archetype without any surprises, but just like Madekwe, he does the best job that he can within the limits of the screenplay to present someone who demands the best from his student.  Meanwhile, Djimon Hounsou has a few memorable scenes as Jann’s father, Steve, who can’t seem to understand his son’s obsession with racing and only wants what’s best for him.

The screenplay by Jason Hall and Zach Baylin, who’ve dabbled in biographical screenplays with “American Sniper” and “King Richard,” respectively, follows your typical underdog-story template, exhibiting the beats and dialogue that one would expect from such a movie.  There’s an over-familiarity from a storytelling perspective, but it makes up for that by giving us enough time in the three portions of the film where we learn about Jan and his home life, his time at the academy, and his time as a professional racer.  And, throughout the academy portion and afterwards, the narrative builds a connection between Jann and Jack that makes you care about them, despite the clichéd story. 

As a director, Blomkamp breaks out of his sci-fi comfort zone quite nicely when he gives us the racing sequences.  Whether it be during the academy section of the film or what comes after with Jann as a professional driver, editors Colby Parker Jr. and Austyn Daines (the latter of whom edited Blomkamp’s “Demonic”) and cinematographer Jacques Jouffret bring an energy to the races that’ll help the film appeal to fans and non-fans of the video game.  Thanks to the thrilling views from both inside and outside of the cars, we experience the intensity of the races as Jann ventures further and further into his profession as a driver.

With this film, we see that maybe what Blomkamp needed for his career was to take a break from the sci-fi genre and try something new.  It’s still going take more for Blomkamp to really wow us again, but if “Gran Turismo” is any proof, his comeback looks like it’s on the right track.

Grade: B