In his director Statement, Bishal elaborated, "After I moved to North America from India at the age of four, a lot of my social education came from watching American horror films. I always wondered, what were families like mine doing while Bruce the shark tore through Amity's waters, while Freddy Krueger slashed teenagers in the dreamscape, and while Jack Torrance chased his son through the maze-like halls of the Overlook?" 

His statement continued, "As it developed, It Lives Inside formed its own dual identity much like mine. On one hand, it is a love letter to the community and culture that raised me, while on the other, it is a visceral experience that is designed to instill the same raw terror in its viewers that my favorite horror films instilled in me."