Aahana Swrup
The Netflix comedy thriller film ‘It’s What’s Inside’ presents an intensely trippy premise as it gathers a group of dysfunctional friends and equips them with life-changing technology. Reuben is about to get married and has invited his college friends for a pre-wedding celebration. Among the group is Nikki, the famous influencer; Brooke, his ex; Maya, whom the groom-to-be had the hots for; trust fund baby Dennis; and the on-the-rocks couple, Shelby and Cyrus. Surprisingly, an estranged friend, Forbes, also ends up in attendance and brings his latest invention along for an unconventional game. In his suitcase, the man has a device that can swap people’s consciousness around in each other’s bodies.
Consequently, as the group tries out the technology—and ends up in randomized bodies—the night takes a freakish turn. Considering the many secrets and grudges that persist between these people, the night naturally results in a dead body or two. However, with confusion running rampant about everyone’s identities, viewers may find themselves out of the loop about who exactly loses their lives in Forbes’ screwed-up game. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Two Dead Bodies Pile up in Round Two
Shortly after Forbes arrives at the party, he introduces Rueben and his friends to the device inside his suitcase. Once everyone plugs themselves into the technology through electrodes, they can swap their minds inside each other’s bodies with the press of a switch. Consequently, Forbes pitches a game where everyone would be transferred randomly to another’s body, and then the group would have to guess their real identities. The first round of the game goes well enough, with minimal chaos. However, as they go into a second round, things become crazier.
The swaps that have taken place in this round pave the way for intense drama. For one, Shelby, who has always been remarkably jealous of Nikki—on account of her boyfriend’s crush on the other woman—finds herself in the latter’s body. On the other hand, Reuben, who never got over his infatuation with Maya, finds himself in Dennis’ body with his ex, Brooke, as Maya. Thus, as the round stretches on longer, the game is almost abandoned in favor of interpersonal conflicts. Reuben realizes that this might be the only chance he has to fulfill his fantasy about Maya. Similarly, Brooke—Maya’s best friend who hasn’t had the best luck with love—realizes that she can learn what it feels like to be desperately wanted while in her friend’s body.
As a result, Reuben and Brooke—while in Dennis and Maya’s bodies—end up covertly hooking up on the roof away. However, in the throes of passion, the two easily lose their balance and hurl down the balcony’s edge. A fall would have been bad enough, yet the duo were unfortunate enough to have picked a balcony that directly overlooked a spiky statue in the gardens. Thus, Reuben and Brooke end up dying. Nevertheless, their mortal bodies are left behind and occupied by other people. Meanwhile, Dennis and Maya, who are in Cyrus and Shelby’s bodies, respectively—lose their actual bodies in collateral damage.
What Happens to Dennis and Maya?
Although Reuben and Brooke are the only ones who die throughout the film, their ill-timed deaths also ruin other people’s lives—Dennis and Maya, particularly so. Since the former two weren’t in their own bodies when they died, they ended up taking the latter pair’s mortal bodies with them. Since those bodies are now dead, Forbes can’t perform another transfer between the two, stranding Dennis and Maya outside of their bodies. Thus, the two can never go back to their previous lives and have been declared dead for all legal purposes.
While the same remains a point of contention at first—especially for Dennis, who can’t accept that he can never return to his old life—the night unfolds in even messier ways. Consequently, by the next morning, the group has no choice but to accept their predicaments. As such, Maya—who has been transferred to Brooke’s body—decides to make peace with her new life. She has always had a Zen energy about herself, and it’s likely that she has realized there is no alternative for her in this situation.
Yet, Dennis’ circumstances remain a bit more complicated. Instead of transferring into Reuben’s body to get a clean swap, Dennis ends up in Forbes’ body. As it turns out, Forbes was never himself to begin with. Instead, his sister, Beatrice—who landed in a mental institution thanks to Dennis and his friends—had swapped into his body and arrived at Reuben’s party to take her revenge. Therefore, due to their previous toxic fling, Beatrice punishes Dennis by swapping into his body in the first round and moving his trust fund into her own offshore account. Afterward, she takes over Nikki’s body, stashes her in Reuben’s, and escapes with the device. Thus, in the end, Dennis ends up in Forbes’ body, eternally perplexed about the night’s events.
Read More: Netflix’s It’s What’s Inside: Filming Locations Explored
