It’s What’s Inside might seem like a simple body-swapping game movie, but deep down, it’s about jealousy, insecurity, anger, and all kinds of petty feelings, so the title fits perfectly with the story. Through this cast and character guide, we see how Forbes’ (or actually Beatrice’s) body-swapping machine at Reuben’s pre-wedding party changed everyone’s lives in just one night.
Spoilers Ahead
Shelby and Cyrus
Brittany O’Grady as Shelby and James Morosini as Cyrus perfectly capture the dynamics of a modern, flawed relationship. From the start, we see how their chemistry as a couple is tense, strained, and lacking genuine affection. It’s all because Shelby is deeply insecure and always seeks validation from her boyfriend Cyrus, while Cyrus is emotionally detached as he never truly appreciates Shelby for who she is, and seems to view her as a second choice as he did not get to be with his college crush, Nikki. It looked like he wanted Shelby to be like Nikki, and maybe that’s why, he never seemed to approve of Shelby and seemed to see a future for them. So, clearly they were not on the same page. Shelby sometimes used to wear blonde wigs to be like Nikki, in the hope of getting Cyrus’ attention. So, you can see how their relationship reflects the struggles which revolve around appearance and social validation, and the inability to truly connect on an emotional level. When Shelby ended up in Nikki’s body during the body-swapping game, it became clear why she never wanted to leave. For the first time, she felt like she was everything Cyrus wanted, and being in Nikki’s body gave her the sense of power and validation she had always craved but never received, she felt like she was desirable, perfect, and admired by the world. The followers on social media, the attention, and everything about Nikki’s life was what Shelby thought she needed to finally be accepted by Cyrus, and perhaps even by herself. And I think that is why the fact that Shelby did not want to leave Nikki’s body wasn’t just about looks, it was about her deeper emotional needs, as she wanted to feel worthy. By the end, when Cyrus ended up in jail, Shelby’s decision not to help him get out was a turning point for her character. She finally realized that Cyrus was never going to love her for who she truly was. His obsession with Nikki and his inability to see Shelby’s worth outside of physical appearance broke her, and she was done with the lies, the emotional manipulation, and the constant feeling that she wasn’t enough, honestly good for her!
Forbes and Beatrice
David Thompson as Forbes and Madison Davenport as Beatrice form a complicated, intense brother-sister duo in the film and their relationship is central to the story’s drama as it reveals how their past trauma had finally led to Beatrice’s ultimate revenge plot. We have seen how Dennis’ birthday party was a key turning point for both siblings. Beatrice, who was known for her multiple mental episodes faced another emotional episode that night as she had been secretly in love with Dennis, and when she saw him with Nikki, she could not take it. So naturally her emotions exploded and led to huge chaos in the party as Beatrice lashed out, and when things escalated further, the police got involved. As a result, Forbes, being her brother and her protector, wanted to keep things calm but eventually got expelled as Reuben and Dennis snitched on him. So Beatrice was finally sent to a mental asylum on suicide watch as she was branded as “delusional,” and her mental health worsened from that point on. Forbes felt guilty and responsible for what had happened to Beatrice as he saw her as misunderstood and mistreated by their former friends, and as a way to help her, he created the body-swapping machine to reconnect with Beatrice and help her feel better by giving her a way to experience life through different perspectives. Forbes believed this could be a form of healing for her which was a way to repair the bond that had been damaged since the incident at Dennis’ birthday party.
However, once Beatrice got her hands on the machine, everything changed as she wanted revenge. Beatrice was still haunted by the events of Dennis’ birthday and the way everyone treated her as “crazy.” Once she managed to swap bodies with Forbes, she saw an opportunity to get back at all the people who had wronged her. In Forbes’ body, she manipulated the group after going to Reuben’s pre-wedding party. She carefully played her cards and led the group into a series of mind games by using the body-swapping machine to confuse them, as her ultimate goal was to make them pay for the emotional scars. Throughout the movie, it becomes clear that Beatrice isn’t just angry about the birthday party. She felt deeply betrayed by everyone, especially Dennis and Nikki, who were the reason behind her breakdown. In the end, Beatrice’s revenge plan succeeded after she’d manipulated the group, causing deaths, and ensuring their downfall, so Beatrice switched to Nikki’s body to take on the perfect life she had always envied, her beauty, popularity, and social status. On the other hand, she also transferred all of Dennis’ money into her account to secure her financial future. And the most ironic part was that Forbes, the brother, had been manipulated by his psycho sister, something he should have realized from the beginning before helping her.
Reuben, Maya, and Brooke
Devon Terrell played the role of Reuben, the guy whose pre-wedding party brought everyone together. Yes, it may look like Reuben was obsessed with his fiancée, Sophia, but deep down, that wasn’t the case. He still had unresolved feelings for Maya, played by Nina Bloomgarden, even though he was supposed to be moving forward with his life and marrying Sophia. Things took a messy turn when Reuben’s consciousness ended up in Dennis’ body, and Maya’s body held Brooke’s (Reina Hardesty) consciousness during the crazy body-swapping game. Despite the mix-up, the old feelings between Reuben and Maya came through and, caught in the moment, they kissed on the edge of the roof. But while in the act they fell off the roof, and both of them died—Reuben in Dennis’ body, and Maya’s body, which still had Brooke’s conscience inside.
Nikki and Dennis
Alycia Debnam-Carey played Nikki, and Gavin Leatherwood played Dennis, who used to be a thing back in their college days, but Dennis messed it all up when he cheated on her with Beatrice. To make it worse, he knew all about Cyrus’ feelings for Nikki and how Cyrus had always pretended to be the “good guy” just to get close to her because of her fame and beauty. When the body-swapping chaos happened, Dennis ended up in Cyrus’ body. Dennis didn’t want to switch back, as his body was dead, and this led to a big confrontation between the two. Cyrus, who was in Forbes’ body at the time, shamed Dennis after calling him a loser who lived off his parents’ money as he tried to make Dennis feel small for not being successful in life. But Dennis fired back as he revealed in front of everyone that Cyrus never really loved Shelby, as he saw her as a second choice, a kind of “exchange offer” because he couldn’t be with Nikki. Then Dennis impulsively called the police and claimed that Cyrus was the one who pushed Dennis and Maya off the roof and killed them. That snap decision landed Cyrus in jail.
