They Live Inside Us

Director - Michael Ballif (2 Hours, The Witching Season)

Starring - James Morris (The Witching Season, I Don't Speak English), Hailey Nebeker (A Pug and Wolf Christmas, The Distant Echo: A Star Wars Story), and Stevie Dust (Riot, The Language of Love)

Release Date - 2020

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Every house has a story"

Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Everyone has their go to movies for Halloween.  For most John Carpenter's slasher defining classic Halloween is their go to while adding other films like Hack-O-Lantern, Death O'Lantern, Tales of Halloween, and so on to their annual rotation.  One film that I've added to my list of Halloween tales is Michael Ballif's The Witching Season.  The film not only flowed like a fantastic horror anthology but it perfectly captured that Halloween/autumn look and feel.  Soon after the film's release Ballif started working on his next film They Live Inside Us which was also another Halloween centered film.  I recently spoke with Michael and he hooked me up with a link to check it out.  Thanks Michael.

     The film follows Jake (Morris) who is a struggling author and his daughter Dani (Emily Broschinsky) who visit a supposedly haunted house to draw inspiration.  While he works on his story he finds himself become absorbed by his work but unable to finish his stories.  While he is working we find ourselves watching his stories come to life but once they end he finds remnants of the stories bleeding over into his life.  As he starts to break down mentally he soon finds his daughter missing and his stories are coming to life.

     No one can question Ballif's love for Halloween.  Both of his feature length releases are perfect for the month of October and if you don't add them to your monthly horror routine then you are surely missing out.  The Witching Season is damn near perfect but They Live Inside Us is.  I absolutely loved this movie and I will be adding it to my collection very soon.  The acting in this one is pretty solid.  The characters fit into the stories perfectly and the cast does a great job at making them stand out against horror stereotypes.  The story for this one takes something that has been tackled by other horror films but adds that Halloween twist to it.  There has been several horror films following horror authors that has their works come to life.  However, very few submerge themselves this deep into horror tropes.  The story really does throw everything at the viewer without having the story feel chaotic and unorganized.  It works very well all while without shoving Halloween down your throat.  You know it's Halloween and it feels like a Halloween without over doing it.  Finally, film doesn't disappoint in the way of make-up effects and masked killers.  We get some great practical effects and the make-up effects are out of this world.  There is some blood but for those of you looking for a new gory treat you will be very disappointed.  Overall, They Live Inside Us is a well put together horror tale that will not disappoint.  The atmosphere is absolutely amazing and the story works on so many levels.  Do yourself a favor and WATCH THIS MOVIE!