It Feeds Review
When I first learned about It Feeds, I had a feeling it would be for me. I love a good horror movie that isn’t afraid to explore deeper emotions such as grief and trauma, and I particularly love a twisted creature flick – It Feeds delivers on all of the above.
Almost right from the start, this film becomes a gripping, twisted, horror movie that will have viewers on the edge of their seats. Starring Ashley Greene (Twilight) as Cynthia, a clairvoyant whose job it is to help her clients work through their traumas, unexpectedly gets pulled into a terrifying situation when a young girl bursts through her office door claiming an unseen entity is eating away at her.
While she immediately knows to stay away, her daughter, who is also training to do what she does, Jordan (Ellie O’Brien, My Life with the Walter Boys) cannot help but go to this girl in her hour of need. What follows is a terrifying story filled with jump scares and incredible visuals. Viewers are sure to be on the edge of their seats throughout the second and third acts of the film, there is no doubt about that.
Creature films can be hard to nail down, especially without a massive budget. You need to know exactly the right amount of screen time creatures can have before they start to lose what makes them so scary. Lighting is key in many scenes where viewers are shown what the protagonists are up against. Thankfully, this is something that It Feeds absolutely nails.
We are not shown the creature too much, and when it is on our screen, terrifying is an understatement. As a parent of two young daughters, the story itself was the scariest part for me. Anything that could potentially put my children in danger is something that I do not want to mess with, so this film was a whole different level of frightening for me.
Another thing that I truly love about this movie is the pacing. It moves along briskly, keeping audiences entertained and never bored. There is a lot happening here, and bit by bit, things are revealed to viewers in perfect time.
One of my favorite things about It Feeds is the ending. There is a big climax in the third act, which could have easily been the end, but the film doesn’t forget to close the door on everything that viewers were introduced to. It flashes to six months later, allowing us to get some much needed closure and key information that brings the whole movie together. Without that, I do not think it would have hit as hard as it does.
The jump scares are perfectly placed with the intense and eerie score setting the tone for them each time they happen. The creature design is one that will certainly haunt my nightmares for months to come.
To no one’s surprise, Ashley Greene is incredible. Her chemistry with her co-lead and on-screen daughter, Ellie O’Brien, is one for the record books. They work extremely well together and, honestly, I would love to see them in the same project again in the future.
Shawn Ashmore (X-Men) plays Randall Harris, and while I wish I could talk more about his character, just know he is the father of the young girl that bursts into Cynthia’s office. In an effort to remain spoiler free, I will do no more than sing his praises for what he does in this film.
Like I said, the fact that the events of the story surround not just one young girl, but two, had the mother in me petrified. My heart was pounding and I was (quite literally) on the edge of my seat waiting to see how it all played out.
If you are a fan of horror movies, It Feeds is sure to be right up your alley. It explores trauma and grief on a level I never would have expected from a creature film, and does so brilliantly.
It Feeds synopsis: After a young girl bursts into their home psychiatry practice claiming an entity is feeding on her, Jordan and her clairvoyant mother must find a way to stop the force before the girl is taken completely.
Rating: 8 out of 10
In the USA, It Feeds will be available on April 18 in select theatres and to rent or purchase on video-on-demand (VOD) via Samuel Goldwyn. In Canada, the film will be released by Black Fawn Distribution in theatres April 18th with advanced screenings taking place on April 16 as part of National Canadian Film Day. It Feeds will be released in the United Kingdom and Ireland May 12 from Signature Entertainment.
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Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She owns Mama’s Geeky, but also is a freelance writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for more than ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association. Her passion for film, television, video games, and comic books started when she was a little girl and has only continued to grow.