Inside (2025)

February 27, 2025 (AU) • Crime, Drama, Thriller • 104m

Overview

After being transferred from juvenile to adult prison, Mel Blight is taken under the wing of both Mark Shepard, Australia’s most despised criminal, and Warren Murfett, a soon to be paroled inmate. As a paternal triangle grows between them, we see that even the worst of men have a little bit of good inside that will be their undoing.

Director

Charles Williams

Writer

Charles Williams

Top Billed

Vincent Miller

Keywords

prison paranoid cautionary

Where to watch

Rent

Buy

Top Billed Cast

Vincent Miller

Mel Blight

Cosmo Jarvis

Mark Shepard

Guy Pearce

Warren Murfett

Tammy Macintosh

Colleen

Toby Wallace

Adrian Murfett

Michael Logo

Noel

Chloé Hayden

Tara

Steve Mouzakis

Mel's Case Worker

Nikki Shiels

Deb

Clarke Parkinson

Shane Fennell

Sean Millis

Barnes

William Freeman

Harrington

Leah Vandenberg

S.T.O.P. Class Clincian

David Margetts

ERG Officer

Elena Mandalis

Female Detective

Luke Elliot

Male Detective

Audrey O'Sullivan

Mel's Sister

Adam McConvell

Officer Kemp

Lucy Moir

News Reporter

Fletcher Humphrys

Gerry

Raif Weaver

Young Mel Blight

Sara Ellis Holland

Mother of Jason

Georgia Chara

Mel's Mother

Zane Ciarma

Jason Devitt

Mandela Mathia

Baz

Joe Gaudion

Ambrose

Peppa Sindar

Newsagent

Crew

Anton Palmer

Executive Producer

Andrew Commis

Director of Photography

Thomas M. Wright

Executive Producer

Charles Williams

Writer

Kate Glover

Producer

Charles Williams

Director

Marian Macgowan

Producer

Zohie Castellano

Costume Design

Nick Downing

Stunt Coordinator

Leah Popple

Production Design

Michael McEvoy

Boom Operator

Dane Cody

Production Sound Mixer

Drew Rhodes

Location Manager

Hayley Bennett

Boom Operator

Selena Pertzel

Makeup Designer

Chiara Costanza

Original Music Composer

Kyle Stroud

Executive Producer

Guy Pearce

Executive Producer

Niki Leskinen

Executive Producer

Roosa Toivonen

Executive Producer

Ari Tolppanen

Executive Producer

John Craighead

Executive Producer

Muwaffaq Salti

Executive Producer

Adrian Politowski

Executive Producer

Nadia Khamlichi

Executive Producer

Sierra Garcia

Executive Producer

Nessa McGill

Executive Producer

Martin Metz

Executive Producer

Francis Chapman

Executive Producer

Leo Carter Hall

Executive Producer

Danny McGrath

Executive Producer

Nelson Khoury

Executive Producer

Nick Farnell

Executive Producer

Charles Williams

Co-Producer

Sean Wheelan

Co-Producer

Kristina Börjeson

Co-Producer

Nathan Lewis

Co-Producer

Nikki Barrett

Casting

Natalie Wall

Casting

Reviews

Brent Marchant

⭐ 6/10

September 18, 2026

The key to making an effective slowburn thriller is to leave viewers continually mesmerized on the way to a riveting, explosive conclusion. But, if a filmmaker drops the ball on this, the result is generally more puzzling than compelling, the core issue impacting this debut feature from writer-director Charles Williams. When juvenile detainee Mel Blight (newcomer Vincent Miller) turns 18, he’s transferred to an adult prison to finish out his sentence. He thus becomes part of an Australian correctional system that eagerly claims to help inmates move toward parole by encouraging contrition and accepting responsibility for their crimes, even going so far as to require them to write letters of apology to their victims (whether dead or alive) expressing their remorse and pledging to become better people. But the system’s blindness to its own naivete reveals itself when officials make dubious decisions for the fate of the incarcerated, such as assigning the newly arrived (and obviously troubled) Blight to be the cellmate of lifer Mark Shepard (Cosmo Jarvis), considered to be the country’s most notorious convict. Shepard, a now-evangelizing inmate seeking to open the eyes and minds of his peers, takes Mel under his wing, But something never feels quite right about that relationship, so the neophyte is soon transferred to become the cellmate of Warren Murfett (Guy Pearce), an aging prisoner nearing parole. However, despite Murfett’s seemingly genial (though patently insincere) nature, it quickly becomes apparent that he can’t be trusted, either, especially when he quietly recruits Blight to execute a prison hit against Shepard. Mel is left more troubled and confused than ever with the emergence of these dizzying circumstances: who can he trust, and what is the best course? To complicate matters, despite all of the nefarious subterfuge surrounding them, the three principals each genuinely wrestle with their own guilt, adding an underlying element of uncertainty on how they might proceed, especially where Mel’s and Warren’s parole prospects are concerned. In theory, this narrative *should* provide the basis for a solid prison drama, but, regrettably, it never materializes as effectively as it could have. The story frequently meanders and goes off on tangents supposedly designed to provide insight into the lives and back stories of its three leads, though these elements generally feel more underdeveloped and distracting than revelatory. As a consequence, these shortcomings seriously impact the clarity and depth of the character development, raising more questions than providing answers about who these individuals are. It also doesn’t help that the picture’s poor sound quality makes matters worse, especially when it comes to comprehending the dialogue’s frequently used slang and cutting through the actors’ thick Australian accents. To its credit, the three leads (especially Miller) strive to make the best out of the material they’ve been given to work with, but even their fine performances can’t pave over the inherent weaknesses of the screenplay and the production’s less-than-adept execution. That’s unfortunate, given that cleaning up these aspects could have made “Inside” a much better picture. Nevertheless, prison dramas are common enough fare in the world of cinema that viewers would be wise to invest their time in one of those releases rather than spending it on this undercooked effort.

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Inside (2025)

Where to watch

Top Billed Cast

Crew

Reviews

Brent Marchant

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