Greg Jardin, director of genre-bending Sundance darling It’s What’s Inside, knows you’re going to expect his film to be a horror movie. The buzzy festival hit has got all the trappings of the familiar genre: from the creepy, dimly lit home where danger could lurk in every corner to a cast of attractive young people (in this case, all hiding secrets from their nearest and dearest). It even debuts during spooky season — It’s What’s Inside is now streaming on Netflix. But the movie that audiences — and critics — couldn’t get enough of is hardly a slasher. 

“We never considered it horror,” Jardin tells Oscar nominee Colman Domingo, who executive produced It’s What’s Inside alongside his creative partner and husband, Raúl Domingo. “I’d say it’s a sci-fi thriller with jokes.” 

If anything, Jardin and Domingo agree that It’s What’s Inside might stir up what Domingo calls “the horror of the soul.” Why? Because the movie is ultimately a body-swapping thrill ride, as you can see in the trailer above. 

“It’s about a bunch of friends [who] get together in a house. One of them brings up a body-swapping machine,” Jardin explains. “He suggests they play a game with it where they can all simultaneously swap bodies. Then the night devolves into existential chaos.” 

You likely have more than a few questions now about It’s What’s Inside. Keep reading for an in-depth look at the thriller from Jardin and Domingo — and you don’t even need to jump into their bodies to learn the truth. 

What is It’s What’s Inside about? 

It’s What’s Inside follows a pre-wedding party that descends into an existential nightmare when an estranged friend shows up with a mysterious suitcase. The bash’s attendees include anxious Shelby (Brittany O’Grady), her insensitive boyfriend Cyrus (James Morosini), globally envied influencer Nikki (Alycia Debnam-Carey), charming groom Reuben (Devon Terrell), trust-fund kid Dennis (Gavin Leatherwood), artist Brooke (Reina Hardesty), and spiritual Maya (Nina Bloomgarden). Then there’s the enigmatic Forbes (David Thompson).  

Now, Jardin and Domingo are ready to tell you all about their heart rate–spiking movie. 

Erica Hernández

Colman Domingo: If I only had one second to talk, how would you describe your film to me?

Greg Jardin: A bunch of friends at a party, guy brings suitcase, shit gets crazy.

Domingo: The movie is funny. I’ve seen it a few times. The thing that I really love about it, even just from reading the script, was that you start dealing with Shelby and Cyrus’ relationship as a couple and then we get into the game. I just loved all the opportunity for all this wild stuff. 

When I read [the script], the first thing I loved was the idea of getting into Nikki the influencer’s body. We get into that deep-seated stuff that you would think about someone else. Then you’re in their body and it’s another [experience].

Jardin: Yeah, this essentially top-line sci-fi conceit of body-swapping allow us to explore the artificial intimacy presented online in the various forms — social media being a huge one, as well as beauty standards and just a whole lifestyle we see online. What does ingesting those essentially artificial values do to people and to couples in stress, especially to someone who’s being ignored by their partner, like Shelby?  

Domingo: You’ve described It’s What’s Inside as “anxiety chic.” What does that mean to you? What makes the movie anxiety chic to you?

Jardin: Our main character Shelby is a very anxious person. So it’s like, “How can we as filmmakers make the audience feel the way an anxious person feels?” Part of that is the jittery editing. A big part of that is the music. The overall anxiety chic experience is watching a movie that makes you anxious, but in a fun way — not in a truly uncomfortable way. It’s a lot like when people go to haunted houses — they’re scared, but in a fun way.

Domingo: Who are some of your influences? Because from what I see, I’m assuming you like Brian De Palma. I’m assuming you like Robert Altman. 

Jardin: Yeah, De Palma for sure. A bunch of crew members and I watched Blow Out before production. Altman is another inspiration, for sure. David Lynch is a huge, huge hero of mine. More recently, Spike Jonze, Robert Eggers, and very recently, I love Emma Seligman’s stuff.

Domingo: There are a lot of great twists and surprises in It’s What’s Inside. How did you keep track of them all? 

Jardin: People have been asking me that for a long time. I’m still not sure.

Domingo: How?! 

Jardin: I literally made a Photoshop diagram of eight people’s heads with their names. And then I would put, “This person is in this body now.” So I had it all down visually. 

Domingo: I want to talk about casting. Is this the cast and characters that you imagined in your head, or were there some bits of casting or dialogue that were inspired by the actors? 

Jardin: We had that week of rehearsals before filming, and I was watching everyone improv and do stuff. I rewrote the script for everybody based on their performances during that week. That was the first experience I really had [of] really going deep with actors and seeing everyone just be so committed and interested in their characters and being able to take so much agency.

Domingo: Tell me about how you cast some of your stars. 

Jardin: To be honest, the person closest to come in [terms of] how I pictured the character is probably Nina as Maya. On the other hand, when casting Forbes, I was like, “I’m looking for this guy that has a really unique quality, but it’s hard to really pinpoint what it is.” When David [Thompson] auditioned for Forbes, within the first five seconds I was like, “Oh, this is the guy.” 

When I met Alycia [Debnam-Carey], who plays Nikki, at one of your parties, I was like, “Wow, you’re so much different than I thought you’d be, in the best way.” 

Domingo: You knew her from Fear of the Walking Dead when she always had mud on her face. 

Jardin: Yeah. And then she got on set and you see the stuff she’s doing. It’s like, “I can’t believe this is happening in a movie that I’m directing.” When people give me compliments on the cast, I honestly think, “It’s all them!”

This interview has been edited and condensed. 

When does It’s What’s Inside premiere? 

The body swapping has begun! It’s What’s Inside is now streaming on Netflix.

Can I watch a trailer for It’s What’s Inside?

Yes! Check it out at the top of the this article. 

Who made It’s What’s Inside? 

The movie is SXSW Grand Jury Prize winner Jardin’s directorial debut; he’s also the writer of It’s What’s Inside. William Rosenfeld, Kate Andrews, Jason Baum, and Raúl Domingo are all producers, and the executive producers are Ulf Ek, Robert Kapp, and Colman Domingo, who was excited to bring to life the vision of a first-time feature filmmaker like Jardin.  

“There are so many skills that Greg has, and I knew that he was an editor as well as a director. I'm like, ‘My gosh, I really want to see him pull this whole painting together,’ ” Colman Domingo says. “So I got excited just about [Greg] more than anything, as a creative … I knew that he had it down because he also wrote [the movie], knew what the visual language was, and would deliver what was inside his head. And he did.” 

Who’s in the It’s What’s Inside cast? 

Just like Jardin and his diagram, you’re probably going to want to keep track of these faces. The It’s What’s Inside cast is: 

• Brittany O’Grady as Shelby 
• James Morosini as Cyrus 
• Alycia Debnam-Carey as Nikki 
• Devon Terrell as Reuben
• Gavin Leatherwood as Dennis 
• Reina Hardesty as Brooke 
• Nina Bloomgarden as Maya 
• David Thompson as Forbes 

Keep track of all the twists and turns with this cast guide and dive even deeper into the film here. 

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