Oct
Explaining the Ending of “It’s What’s Inside”: Who’s in Whose Body?
Entertainment Weekly unpacks the twists and revelations of Netflix’s intriguing sci-fi film.
Greg Jardin’s film, It’s What’s Inside, is a darkly comedic tale about a group of college friends who reunite for one last night of fun before one of them gets married. They gather to reminisce, drink, and experiment with a black market body-swapping device. When it debuted at Sundance earlier this year, Netflix acquired it for a staggering $17 million—one of the festival’s largest sales to date.
“I initially pitched it as The Big Chill meets Freaky Friday through the lens of Black Mirror,” Jardin shared with IndieWire about his directorial debut. “I initially envisioned it as a straightforward sci-fi comedy, but as I developed it further, I leaned into a darker tone while maintaining the humor.”
The final product is a wild ride filled with unexpected twists, though its complexity may require multiple viewings to fully grasp. As characters swap bodies rapidly, viewers might find themselves questioning their identities.
Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for It’s What’s Inside.
Contents
What’s the Storyline of It’s What’s Inside?
Jardin’s film follows seven college friends—Reuben (Devon Terrell), Dennis (Gavin Leatherwood), Nikki (Alycia Debnam-Carey), Brooke (Reina Hardesty), Maya (Nina Bloomgarden), and the couple Shelby (Brittany O’Grady) and Cyrus (James Morosini)—who gather at Reuben’s house the night before his wedding for one final celebration.
The group is also joined by Forbes (David W. Thompson), a former wild child turned scientist. They haven’t seen him since he was expelled from college for bringing his underage sister, Beatrice (Madison Davenport), to a wild party. Beatrice had developed an obsession with Dennis, who was then dating Nikki, which led to her mental breakdown and subsequent hospitalization.
Forbes’s arrival creates an air of tension among the group. This tension escalates when he introduces a mysterious device he invented that allows users to swap bodies. He persuades the group to play a game where they switch bodies and try to guess who is who.
As the game unfolds, each character discovers unexpected advantages to inhabiting different bodies, leading some to desire permanence in their new forms while others rush to return to their original selves.
What’s the Twist in It’s What’s Inside?
Things take a dark turn when Reuben and Brooke, inhabiting Dennis and Maya’s bodies, engage in sexual activity on a precarious balcony and tragically fall to their deaths. This incident sparks a heated debate about whether to involve the police. Forbes, eager to protect his body-swapping device, insists on keeping the authorities out of it.
In the aftermath, Dennis, enraged that he must live in Reuben’s body, reveals that Cyrus only dated Shelby because Nikki rejected him. Maya informs Shelby that Cyrus, pretending to be Forbes, attempted to kiss her. In retaliation, Dennis falsely reports that Cyrus murdered him and Maya while they were in Reuben and Brooke’s bodies. In the chaos, Forbes attempts to escape with his device but is knocked out by Shelby, who is currently in Nikki’s body.
Shelby, now enjoying the perks of being a social media influencer, refuses to switch back to her original body unless Nikki complies with her demands. She threatens to destroy Nikki’s career if pressured to return to her own body. Shelby collaborates with Cyrus, suggesting he switch into Reuben’s body, allowing him to pursue Nikki while Dennis, in Cyrus’s body, takes the blame for the tragic accident.
What Happens by the End of the Night?
Nikki and Dennis join forces to revert everyone back to their original bodies. Nikki takes drastic action, causing Shelby to go into anaphylactic shock by giving her peanut butter and withholding an EpiPen unless they switch back.
Meanwhile, Dennis discovers someone has siphoned money from his account into an untouchable offshore account. Believing Cyrus is behind the theft, the two engage in a physical fight, triggering the body-swapping device just as the police arrive.
Who’s Who at the End of It’s What’s Inside?
The following morning, Beatrice shows up at the house to find Dennis in Forbes’s body. She reveals a shocking truth: she has been impersonating Forbes to exact revenge on Dennis and Nikki. Beatrice’s brother had introduced her to the body-swapping device in hopes of reconnecting with her after a traumatic separation, but she instead harbored resentment.
Meanwhile, Shelby and Cyrus have returned to their original forms. Shelby visits Cyrus in prison, where he’s serving a life sentence for the deaths of Dennis and Maya and the theft of Dennis’s money. He pleads with her to prove his innocence, but she refuses, leading him to question her identity, even though it’s genuinely her. She simply cannot support him after he kissed Maya.
In a final twist, it’s revealed that Beatrice, now in Nikki’s body, has escaped with Forbes’ body-swapping machine and all of Dennis’s money. As Forbes and Dennis strategize on how to retrieve the device, the possibility of a sequel looms on the horizon—after all, stranger things have happened.
Latest new from Owl Fashion Shop