Oct. 24, 2026

Countdown To Halloween!  Sci-Fi Horror Pick #1 “It’s What’s Inside”

Countdown To Halloween!  Sci-Fi Horror Pick #1 “It’s What’s Inside”
Countdown To Halloween!  Sci-Fi Horror Pick #1 “It’s What’s Inside”
Intimate Knowledge
Countdown To Halloween!  Sci-Fi Horror Pick #1 “It’s What’s Inside”

This Saturday we are revealing our favorite sci-fi horror hits: from aliens to creepy technology to unexplained contagious parasites, we’ve got some winners for you to watch. Every weekend we are counting down to Halloween, giving you our top recommendations for guaranteed horror movie hits. There are so many sub-genres in the horror movie category, each Saturday and Sunday we’ll highlight our top movies within that category.

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00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hey there folks it is saturday october 24th yes just one week until halloween and we have got a horror movie recommendation for you from the sci-fi horror genre we absolutely love this movie and it's a little on the freaky side and with that welcome to this episode of amy and tj i should probably explain this when i say freaky it's It'll freak you out a little bit, some of the scenarios that play out in this movie. It is so unexpected. It is so fun. It's so well acted. And Robes, this deserves to be number one on our recommendation.

00:00:37
Speaker 2: It does. Because also, I would say I don't think a lot of people have this movie on their radar, which makes it all the more special. It's called It's What's Inside. And yes, it's our number one sci-fi horror pick.

00:00:51
Speaker 3: Even the title is a mystery.

00:00:53
Speaker 2: It's What's Inside.

00:00:54
Speaker 3: Yes.

00:00:55
Speaker 2: This was actually released straight to Netflix on October 4th, 2024. So it's only two years old. But I hadn't heard of this. We just recently found it. And it is such a gem because, as you pointed out, there are some actors there. They might not be household names. but they are faces that you will recognize. And as soon as you see them, you're like, okay, we're in good hands here. Very much so. But the concept is cool because in this one, very much I think like some of the other sci-fi movies we've highlighted, Significant Other, it starts out in one genre where you think It's going to be, okay, we've got a bunch of kids, a reunion in a house set in a rural area, in an isolated area. What could possibly go wrong?

00:01:43
Speaker 3: Party for the weekend, drinking and drugs. Yes. Reunion, some tension. Yes.

00:01:48
Speaker 2: It's actually a pre-wedding reunion. And so, yes, there's some backstories that you have to unravel why there are certain tensions between different people. Right. It starts out like this, but then it takes a complete left turn, and it goes on a wild roller coaster of a ride. Would you describe it like that?

00:02:07
Speaker 3: You said it, Robe.

00:02:11
Speaker 1: There's one moment that happens in the movie that they and you are all confused about what to.

00:02:20
Speaker 3: Oh, wait a minute.

00:02:21
Speaker 1: It's a mind-blowing scenario that takes place, and that's the twist, and it is such a good time.

00:02:28
Speaker 2: Yes, because you end up having to try and figure things out for the rest of the movie. You're constantly trying to figure out what's going on. So here's the official synopsis of It's What's Inside. A pre-wedding reunion descends into a psychological nightmare for a group of college friends when a surprise guest arrives with a mysterious suitcase. It is funny, though.

00:02:53
Speaker 3: That's all they tell you? That's all it says.

00:02:55
Speaker 2: And the fun thing is, you know the... the movies, the genre, the sub-genre of horror movies where you've got a group of friends in a house. Then you've got another genre of horror movies where there's a box and you open the box or there's a game, there's a Ouija board, there's something. This has both of those elements in it and then you add the sci-fi part of it and it just is a unique experience.

00:03:20
Speaker 3: I didn't really put it together.

00:03:22
Speaker 1: I think that's a pretty good comparison when you Ouija is the one you think of, but how many scenarios? We're going to try some. Let's do a seance. Let's play some game or let's try to summon a spirit or whatever. Yes, it's that thing where everybody's trying something and shit goes awry.

00:03:41
Speaker 2: Exactly. So the cast, again, I don't think you'll know her name. Maybe you will. Brittany O'Grady is... But if you want to immediately say, I know her. She was in White Lotus and she played opposite Sidney Sweeney. She was Sidney Sweeney's best friend in White Lotus. And as soon as you see her face, you'll be like, oh, of course, her. I love her. She's also in Jumanji, Open World. She was in Jumanji. 2026, the new one. She was in House of Dynamite, which is also a great one. And Black Christmas, which we love as well. So she is Yes, she is. I think in the last couple of years, you've seen a lot of her House of Dynamite. You remember that that was with Catherine Bigelow. It was a big Netflix movie where you had kind of the end of days and you saw it from all those different points of view about what was happening at the end.

00:04:34
Speaker 3: Was this the one Idris Elba was in? Yes. He played the president or something, right?

00:04:37
Speaker 2: Idris Elba was in it. Yes, exactly.

00:04:39
Speaker 3: That one.

00:04:39
Speaker 2: So she was in that. Anyway, guaranteed, I feel like everyone knows her face. Oh, yeah. And then there was another guy, James Morosini, who was a familiar face. There's a bunch of characters here. All of them, I think, very well acted. None of them necessarily household names, but all of them deliver a fantastic performance.

00:04:58
Speaker 1: Yeah, top to bottom. There's... You got some annoying ones. You got the annoying influencer in there. She's familiar, too, from something. I can't remember her.

00:05:07
Speaker 2: They all have credits.

00:05:08
Speaker 3: They have good credits.

00:05:09
Speaker 2: Of course I know who that is. The director, I thought this was so interesting in researching this movie. His name is Greg Jarden, and this is his directorial debut. I was so impressed. So, yes, they call it a sci-fi comedy horror thriller. That's the genre they give it. But they say it premiered at Sundance and then launched globally on Netflix. So it was a fun film. I was surprised it actually runs longer than I thought it did, an hour 44. That's a little longer than we usually have in our horror movies.

00:05:45
Speaker 3: There's a lot to keep up with, a lot to keep straight in this movie, actually.

00:05:48
Speaker 2: Definitely. And look, Rotten Tomatoes, everybody liked it. The critics gave it 80%. What? Yep. and the audience gave it 70%, which I thought was pretty good because, yes, this is a movie you have to pay close attention to. If you think you're gonna be drifting off or you're a little tired, probably shouldn't put this one on. It isn't this formulaic slasher film. This is actually a thought-provoking, and you really do have to go, wait, what's happening in this scene And I can't say what I really want to say because it would give away the twist, but there is a big, big, big plot twist, and it requires you to pay very close attention to what's going on in the screen.

00:06:36
Speaker 3: You know, I give them credit.

00:06:38
Speaker 1: They do a good job of helping you keep up, and it's necessary. So there's a bunch of moving, there's a lot of moving parts in this movie and they do, I'd give them credit because it is hard to keep up with and the way they chose to do it, how they, it's, this is a good flick.

00:06:54
Speaker 2: It's very good. The critic consensus, and again, it landed at 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, cleverly constructed and leaping off the screen with stylistic verve. It's what's inside centers around a party from hell and that audiences can enjoy from a safe remove. I thought that was funny because, yes, it's almost like the way they shoot this, and it's dizzying sometimes. Remember some of the camera work is really crazy and creative, but you actually feel like you're in the room with them, and yet you know, thank God, you don't actually have to participate in what they're actually doing because it does create some thought-provoking questions.

00:07:33
Speaker 3: I think this is a fun movie to watch at a party.

00:07:38
Speaker 1: Oh, I'm telling you could do 10, 15 plus watching this movie.

00:07:42
Speaker 3: Yes, certainly. You need six probably. This is a good one.

00:07:45
Speaker 2: Because there were so many what if scenarios and you want to ask yourself, what would I do and what would it mean in this group if we also participated in this same thing? Yes, this is a very thought-provoking, conversation-starting movie that's fun in a group, I think.

00:08:05
Speaker 3: Possibly fight-inducing.

00:08:08
Speaker 2: Possibly.

00:08:09
Speaker 3: Because it is. It explores every friend group.

00:08:12
Speaker 1: If you've got six, seven, eight people who've been together since college, there are some weird dynamics. Somebody used to date somebody. Somebody was sweet on somebody. Somebody was jealous of somebody. All that stuff plays out.

00:08:23
Speaker 2: It all comes out. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. I plucked a couple of the critics' reviews that I thought were really perfect. So one of them reads, It's what's inside is a fun and twisty ride that always has a few cards hidden up its sleeves. I'm serious when I say this is one of the best things I have found on Netflix in months. That was a recent critical review. And then another one, Perfect for a Friday or Saturday night viewing with friends. This face-off meets Bodies, Bodies, Bodies by way of Brandon Cronenberg's Possessor offers thought-provoking, discussion-inducing entertainment that also doesn't stint on thrills. So yeah, you still get the thrills. You still get a little shock and jump scares. And you're also just like trying to follow this mind-bending, constantly shifting, changing narrative.

00:09:16
Speaker 3: It's so... Good. The scenario they come up with. The twist is twisted. Yes.

00:09:23
Speaker 2: And I don't think, like, you're constantly trying to predict... How is this going to end? How are they going to wrap this up? It is fun to see how the tale evolves. So when we come back, we're going to tell you what the audience had to say. We're going to tell you where you can watch it and, yes, why this is, in our opinions, a guaranteed, the number one guaranteed Halloween horror sci-fi hit. Welcome back. everyone, to Amy and TJ. We are at our number one recommendation for sci-fi horror on this Saturday before Halloween, the last Saturday before Halloween. It's What's Inside. It is a fabulous, fun, mind-bending flick that will keep you engaged and entertained the entire time. It is on Netflix, so pretty much who doesn't have Netflix these days? This is going to be an easy one to find, and it will be free as long as you've got that service. I loved some of these audience reviews I found. It got 70% in Rotten Tomatoes. Krista S. said this, Honestly, this movie was so confusing, but I love me a good confusing movie. The ending, bro, I was so disappointed because I was like, what you mean the end? I wanted more. I thought that was good. You didn't want it to end.

00:10:53
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I'm thinking back to the, yeah, I'm trying to remember how I felt. If I felt completely satiated by the ending of this movie.

00:11:02
Speaker 2: Well, look, I think people were hoping that this could continue because you weren't really sure. Yes, well. There are concepts of justice and what's right, what's wrong. What would you do in this scenario? There is a First, there's the initial twist. Then there's a twist within the twist. And then there's a final twist. It's so good. But Krista S. did give it five stars. Logan D. gave it four stars and said, This is a hidden gem featuring rapid-fire pacing. and an impressive ensemble cast of mostly unknowns. The premise is clever, and the neon-soaked images will either appeal or not. It does lack the depth I would have liked in a film such as this, but still was a worthy view. I was like, he gave it four stars because it didn't have depth. I thought it had depth. Great depth. I was totally enthralled in the storylines and I didn't think it was some vapid. Yes, there were some funny comedic moments while they had some stereotypical characters that were a part of the ensemble cast. But yeah, that's what a good horror movie typically has. Right. We need some generalism. like generalized characters that we expect to show up in horror movies.

00:12:22
Speaker 1: At 70%, what did you see as a general consensus of what issue people took with it?

00:12:27
Speaker 2: I think most people just thought it was confusing. They said that it was hard to pay attention to, and I just didn't find it to be that case at all. But that was like, if there was a complaint, it was just that it was almost too confusing.

00:12:41
Speaker 3: That was the brilliance. That was the whole point. That's the centerpiece of the movie. Exactly.

00:12:46
Speaker 2: I think some people, it's funny, I do find what they complain about sometimes was the whole point of the movie, which I think sometimes just speaks once again to expectations. But this is why we've had so much fun this month going through all of these sub-genres of horror movies because there is no, like, yes, we've got a stereotypical... plot that you expect a horror movie to go through, just like a rom-com. Yes, you've got the false ending, you've got the final girl, all of that, typically. But so many sub-genres have popped up that are fun. And the sci-fi one, I think, is really the one that I like it a lot because those are the types of movies where you get... something you weren't expecting. There's some left turn that just comes out of nowhere. And with sci-fi, you can explain it in that way. Like, ooh, you didn't know because who would have thunk it? Because it is something that is original. And that's what makes this so cool.

00:13:45
Speaker 1: And in sci-fi, oftentimes we do think of aliens or space or something like that.

00:13:50
Speaker 3: Science fiction. This is science. It is fiction. But it's of this earth. if you will.

00:13:57
Speaker 1: Is that fair to say? I'm not giving away too much there. It's not some far-fetched alien type movie.

00:14:02
Speaker 2: I actually think anyone who's kind of into where we are now in society with our advancements in technology, even like, yes, let's think artificial intelligence or that kind of a thing where you're able to do things you wouldn't have thought possible before, but it is... That's what's cool about this movie. The... Science fiction, part of it, the technology that is brought into this plot is something that, yes, is far-fetched today, but could it be possible 10 years from now, 20 years from now, 30 years from now?

00:14:36
Speaker 3: In that context, this movie is terrifying.

00:14:39
Speaker 1: Because all the AI stuff now, really, babe, this doesn't seem as far-fetched as it once did.

00:14:46
Speaker 2: That's a good point. And so maybe that's why, yes, it is a horror movie. But we loved it. We really think this is a guaranteed hit. Get a group together, a pre-Halloween party, even if you had it on during Halloween in the days leading up to it. This is totally fun. We'll get you in the spirit. It kept us guessing. A extremely unique movie. With so many fun twists and turns, and yes, at the end of the day, it is fun. And we love when you get to start asking yourself, what would I do? If that were me, how would I handle it? And that is exactly what this movie is. So please, everyone, enjoy our number one pick for our Saturday sci-fi horror movie, It's What's Inside. And with that, everyone, we always appreciate you listening to us. Check out our feed tomorrow. We're going to have a whole other sub-genre of horror movies for you. I'm Amy Robach, alongside TJ Holmes. We'll talk soon.