10 Best Movies Like It's What's Inside

Netflix’s new horror film It’s What’s Inside is a horror-comedy that mixes in several key horror tropes. For one, the film has the element of a game gone wrong. When an estranged friend in a friend group at a pre-wedding party brings a device that can allow participants to swap bodies, it starts as a fun game. However, once those bodies are actually switched — and switched back again — the game does not seem as fun anymore as chaos ensues.

In this plot structure, It’s What’s Inside uses two key elements: a game gone wrong and the body-swap. Both elements are oft-used devices for horror and comedy, both of which are genre umbrellas that It’s What’s Inside falls into. Body-swap movies span comedies such as Freaky Friday and Jumanji: The Next Level, as well as horror movies such as Freaky. This subgenre and the games gone wrong device are both elements that make It’s What’s Inside unique, but there are numerous other films with similar elements that are well worth watching.

10 Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)

An A24 Horror Film With A Deadly Game

Bodies Bodies Bodies is a 2022 A24 horror film that, like It’s What’s Inside, is set in a party environment. However, this party is a hurricane party, wherein a group of young adult friends lock themselves away in a mansion during a major storm. During their hurricane party, the friends decide to play the eponymous party game “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” wherein there is a secret killer among them that the group must discover. Things go wrong, however, when the game starts to become a blood-soaked reality.

It’s What’s Inside is similar in that it also shows a party game warped out of proportion. Beyond the game, however, the films are similar in that they both explore the underlying tensions within a once close-knit friend group. Bodies Bodies Bodies does not have a body swap element at its core, but nonetheless relies on games as a key factor, making it a great pick for those interested in the drama and game element of It’s What’s Inside.

9 Talk To Me (2023)

A True Horror Where A Mysterious Object Is Misused

A year after releasing Bodied Bodies Bodies, A24 came out with Talk to Me. The 2023 movie explores a group of friends who discover a mysterious embalmed hand that allows them to contact the spirit realm. Similar to the case of It’s What’s Inside, things seem to be fun and games until a member of the group accidentally unleashes something far more sinister.

Talk To Me is regularly deemed one of the best horror films of 2023, so it is worth watching for genre fans on that basis alone. More specifically to It’s What’s Inside, however, Talk to Me also features some kind of non-human device as the agent of chaos for its horror. While the consequences of said device’s use differ in the two films, this overlap likens It’s What’s Inside to Talk To Me.

8 Ready Or Not (2019)

A Radio Silence Splatter Horror Movie

Ready Or Not is a film by the horror film trio Radio Silence. Released in 2019, the Samara Weaving-led dark comedy tells the story of a wedding night that takes a dramatic turn when the bride’s new in-laws-to-be have her take part in a chilling game. This film is classified as both a dark comedy and a splatter horror film, containing intense amounts of blood.

Samara Weaving in Ready or Not, Ghostface in Scream VI, and Melissa Barrera in Abigail

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There are several reasons why Ready Or Not is a great next step for fans of It’s What’s Inside. The Radio Silence film not only has a similar game-gone-wrong concept, but it also has a similar backdrop. Ready Or Not takes place at an actual wedding, whereas It’s What’s Inside is set the day before. While this leads to physically distinct settings, the marriage looming in the background of the film’s horror is prevalent in both films, making Ready Or Not a good watch in conjunction with It’s What’s Inside.

7 Freaky (2020)

A Horror Take On Freaky Friday

Freaky honors the legacy of one of the most classic Body Swap films, Freaky Friday. Instead of a mom and her teenage daughter, however, the body switch in Freaky sees a maniacal serial killer switch bodies with a high-school senior girl. Throughout the film, the now-middle-aged-man-bodied Millie must fight to switch back and regain control of her own body before it is too late.

Unlike some of the other films on this list, Freaky does not include a game at the center of its plot. Instead, Freaky’s biggest similarity with It’s What’s Inside is that it is also a body swap-based thriller. It’s What’s Inside swaps to much wackier proportions, but both films find physical humor like their swaps. This provides comedic levity to both movies in a way that is similarly appealing in their thriller plots.

6 Ouija: Origin Of Evil (2016)

The Better Prequel To 2014’s Ouija

Some horror films may invent their mystical games, but others succeed by riffing off of existing games. Such is the case with the Ouija series, which tackles horror narratives by centering around the famous Ouija Board, which involves using a letter board to supposedly contact the spirit realm. Ouija: Origin of Evil is the prequel to 2014’s Ouija, which is set in 1967 and tells the story of a mother and her daughters who promote their scam seance business with a new stunt.

In some ways, the first Ouija is more comparable to It’s What’s Inside than Ouija: Origin of Evil. After all, it also centers around a group of friends, thus crafting a similar dynamic to that of It’s What’s Inside. Ouija: Origin of Evil, however, is a far superior film to Ouija. It is helmed by legendary horror director Mike Flanagan, and his skill in the genre is evident throughout. Ouija: Origin of Evil still has a mystical game element that It’s What’s Inside fans will enjoy, even if it does not have the same interpersonal dynamic between its characters.

5 M3GAN (2023)

A Sci-Fi Horror About A Corrupted AI Doll

M3GAN took the horror world by storm when it was released in early 2023. The film tells the story of a robotics engineer named Gemma who suddenly and unexpectedly becomes the caretaker for her niece, Cady, when Cady’s parents die in a tragic car accident. In an attempt to give Cady companionship, Gemma brings home an original creation, an AI robot doll named M3GAN that at first, seems innocent but gradually starts to take over their lives.

M3GAN
is expecting a sequel in
M3GAN 2.0
, which is set for release in June 2025.

M3GAN does not exactly feature a game gone wrong, but it does explore the misuse of a mysterious and seemingly inventive device. M3GAN also leans into the comedy side of its horror comedy, including physical comedy gaffs with M3GAN’s absurd dancing and singing, as well as over-the-top kills. Those who liked the comedic absurdism of It’s What’s Inside will find M3GAN instantly appealing.

4 Tarot (2024)

A Recent Box Office Horror Hit

Tarot was an unexpected horror hit upon its release earlier this year. The film explores the idea of what happens when the rules of a game are broken. In this case, said “game” is Tarot card readings, where a group of friends accidentally breaks the rule that one can never use someone else’s deck. When they break this rule, a terrible fate is unleashed as the evil within the cards is revealed.

Both are good films to watch for those looking to keep up with some of this year’s more niche horror hits.

Tarot‘s reviews were very negative upon its release, getting an 18% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film succeeded at the box office, however, making over $49 million worldwide. Even with its lackluster reviews, the craze surrounding Tarot makes it worth watching for someone coming off of It’s What’s Inside.It’s What’s Inside has also been successful in its Netflix release thus far, so both are good films to watch for those looking to keep up with some of this year’s more niche horror hits.

3 Abigail (2024)

Another Underrated Gem From Radio Silence

Like Ready or Not, Abigail is another Radio Silence film on this list. The 2024 movie tells the story of a group of criminals who kidnap a young ballerina and take her to an isolated mansion. This backfires for the group, as they soon realize that the girl, Abigail, is the daughter of Dracula and is thus a bloodthirsty vampire. Abigail finds humor in its over-the-top gore and the balletic sequences interspersed within the film.

Abigail Cast

Characters

Melissa Barrera

Joey

Dan Stevens

Frank

Alisha Weir

Abigail

Kathryn Newton

Sammy

William Catlett

Rickles

Kevin Durand

Peter

Angus Cloud

Dean

Giancarlo Esposito

Lambert

Matthew Goode

Kristof Lazar

Abigail does not have either of the two main subgenre elements of It’s What’s Inside, body swap and games. But the film does share It’s What’s Inside‘s genre sensibilities in infusing comedy alongside its thrills. Both Abigail and It’s What’s Inside also take place predominantly in one location, which can lead to its own kind of fascinating tensions. For these reasons, It’s What’s Inside audiences could easily become Abigail appreciators.

2 Circle (2015)

A Horror Game Immersed In Ethical Dilemmas

There are plenty of recent horror tales worth watching after It’s What’s Inside, but a slightly older recommendation is found in 2015’s Circle. This dramatic horror film tells the story of a group of strangers who are forced against their will in a battle of wits and ethics. These 50 people awake in a chamber with circles on the ground, and find out that they have to decide which one of them must live. The rest will die.

Circle is far more dramatic than It’s What’s Inside, and its “game” of sorts is more esoteric in nature. That said, Circle is a great example of taking a deadly game to one of the most extreme and emotionally wrenching levels. It’s What’s Inside has tension between old friends, but Circle dials that up by revealing tension between strangers. They will get to know each other better for the film, but the interpersonal tension is off the charts.

1 Would You Rather (2012)

A Horror Film Whose Game Is Highly Psychological

Another slightly older horror pick for It’s What’s Inside fans comes in the form of Would You Rather. Would You Rather is a 2012 Brittany Snow film about a young woman who agrees to compete in a game of “Would You Rather” with deadly consequences, in order to save her brother. Would You Rather received less-than-stellar reviews and a limited release, making it one of the more overlooked movies at the time of its release.

The negative reviews of Would You Rather should not scare off horror fans. The film does a great job using a game as its central device, exploring how those external games can torturously toy with one’s own psyche. It’s What’s Inside is less psychologically intimate than Would You Rather, making the 2012 film great for those who like the game trope but are more interested in the horror aspect of a gamified world.

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