Turn the volume up, turn the lights off, and have your popcorn ready for a great scare!
It Feeds is hard to be pinned down, or placed into any one subcategory when it comes to horror. It asks its audience to simply sit back and enjoy the ride, and be willing and open to whatever is to come.
Written by Talia Ryckman Klein
If Feeds, written and directed by Chad Archibald, is an entertaining and exciting watch that effectively explores well-loved horror tropes, making those tropes feel fresh, while also delving into a complex mother-daughter relationship that grounds the story and lends emotional poignancy to the film. The story follows Cynthia Winstone (Ashley Greene), a clairvoyant therapist, and her daughter, Jordan Winstone (Ellie O’Brien), who encounter a young girl at Cynthia’s psychiatry practice who is adamant that an evil entity is feeding on her. Cynthia and Jordan then do everything in their power to help the girl, all the while confronting demons of their own.
From the moment the lights go down, we are immediately thrown into a dark, dreamlike (or perhaps nightmare-like, is more apt), and eerie world. As we (through Cynthia's eyes) move through this dreamlike state, we explore a memory or trauma that Cynthia is helping a client work through. The unsettling atmosphere is instantly engaging, and all engrossing, and this is only elevated by a terrific score by Steph Copeland. The same can be said for the camera work, with sharp angles and quick shots, it instantly had me on the edge of my seat and unable to look away, despite the building sense of fear and urge to cover my eyes. It Feeds maintains an eerie, unsettling, and at times downright scary tone for its entirety, only building on these things as the story progresses.
When we first meet Cynthia and Jordan, we quickly come to learn that they have recently suffered a tremendous loss, the loss of Cynthia’s husband and Jordan’s dad and we see firsthand how that has affected their relationship. You feel the looming presence of loss and grief, hanging over both of them, and that presence lingers, almost as if it is a character in and of itself. Cynthia runs a psychiatry practice out of their home, using her gift of clairvoyance to help her clients, while Jordan, who is a teenager, helps take care of the administrative side of things. We immediately get the sense that there is somewhat of a strain on their relationship, and understandably so given the loss that they have both been dealing with. I find mother/daughter relationships in any format whether that be via film, theatre, television, or books, to be endlessly interesting and complex, and while I did enjoy what we saw portrayed between Cynthia and Jordan, I do wish that their relationship and past had been explored more deeply. One of the primary themes that the film explores is grief, and it does an effective job of portraying it, as well as the many ways in which it can manifest, but I believe that had we had even slightly more of Cynthia and Jordan, and their relationship together, it would have been even more impactful. Making the final twenty minutes of the film even more poignant and resonate more deeply with the audience.
That said, It Feeds offers an engaging story throughout, with various twists and turns that kept me constantly on the edge of my seat. While the film follows some classic horror tropes, specifically when exploring the idea of possession and the paranormal, what makes It Feeds stand out is that it takes well-loved tropes such as that and makes them feel fresh and exciting, while also combining some of said tropes in ways that I have not seen done before. The best example of this would be in the final quarter of the film when we see the theme diverge from the paranormal and veer into action and horror territory. The transition happens quickly but works due to the pacing and style of the film, and feels only right due to the natural progression of the story, which ultimately culminates in a satisfying and cathartic final turn of events.
Aside from an interesting and engaging story, the film offers great performances from the entire cast, though a stand-out performance for me is that of Juno Rinaldi as Agatha. A colleague of Cynthia’s who quickly becomes a devoted friend. Rinaldi brings humour, depth, and warmth to the screen, a much-needed contrast to the dark and eerie tone that permeates the film. Shawn Ashmore as Randall Harris does a fantastic job of portraying a terrifying character, one that truly made my skin crawl, and fully embodies the role of a true villain. Ashley Greene and Ellie O’Brien are a compelling mother/daughter duo and have great chemistry with one another, and as mentioned earlier, had there been more time spent on both of them and their backstory, this would have been an even more enjoyable watch.
It Feeds is the perfect film to watch with the lights off and a freshly popped bowl of popcorn ready to go. It is fast-paced and fully engrossing and has something to offer for everyone, whether that be; jump scares, tension-building dream sequences, chase scenes, or demon slaying. It Feeds is hard to be pinned down, or placed into any one subcategory when it comes to horror. It asks its audience to simply sit back and enjoy the ride, and be willing and open to whatever is to come, which is one of the things that makes it so exciting. Though its characters and the inner workings of their relationships may not be as fully fleshed out as they could be, it still makes for an incredibly exciting movie night. Fast-paced, compelling, and downright scary, It Feeds is a powerful and engaging film that deals with grief, loss, and healing, and is one that is not to be missed.
It Feeds is available to watch on VOD and Fandango in the US and on VOD in the UK. The Canadian release date is still TBA.
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