It Feeds 
Content Advisory: Suicide, Kidnapping, Terminal Illness
A clairvoyant therapist tackles a demonic entity that slowly feeds off its victims in It Feeds. Cynthia Winstone (Ashley Greene) is a therapist with psychic abilities that enable her to enter the minds of her patients. One evening, a young girl named Riley Harris (Shayelin Martin) barges into Cynthia’s house and begs the therapist’s teenage daughter, Jordan (Ellie O’Brien), to see her. However, before Jordan can complete the assessment process, Riley’s father, Randall (Shawn Ashmore), barges in to take her away, but not before Cynthia walks in and sees that a Demonic Creature (Brooklyn Marshall) has attached itself to Riley.
Due to a past traumatic experience involving her late husband, Cynthia is extremely reluctant to try and use her abilities to help Riley. However, Jordan is adamant that they should try, and she ends up tracking down Riley with the help of Cynthia’s friend Agatha Baker (Juno Rinaldi), who was the one who referred Riley. However, after arriving at Riley’s house, Jordan finds out that Randall has been utilizing extreme methods to protect his daughter.
It Feeds Synopsis
It Feeds is the first film in six years from writer/director Chad Archibald (I’ll Take Your Dead, Bite, The Heretics, The Drownsman). The film is the most personal that Archibald has written, using the recent death of his parents as inspiration for a film that equates demonic possession with cancer. The plot also bears similarities to James Wan’s Insidious in how the film’s protagonist of Cynthia Winstone, played by Ashley Greene (The Twilight Saga, Burying the Ex), can psychically transport herself into the minds of her therapy patients, often coming face-to-face with their most horrific trauma. Cynthia often uses the information she gains from her sessions to provide tips to police detective John Otis (Mark Taylor) about possible predators.
Cynthia draws the line of using her ability to cure those possessed by demons, due to a previous experience involving her late husband, who had similar clairvoyant abilities. However, her teenage daughter Jordan, played by Ellie O’Brien (Kingdom Come), feels differently and decides to track down troubled girl Riley Harris, played by Shayelin Martin (Wild Goat Surf). However, Jordan soon discovers the horrifying truth of what Riley’s father, Randall, played by Shawn Ashmore (X-Men Franchise, The Free Fall), has been doing to protect his daughter.
My Thoughts on It Feels
I have been following the career progression of director and producer Chad Archibald and his company Black Fawn Films for just over a decade. Without much hyperbole, I can say that It Feeds is arguably Archibald’s finest work and probably the film that would help Black Fawn Films break out from merely being the producer of low-budget, yet grossly Canadian genre films. It Feeds is helped greatly by having an internationally recognizable cast that includes Ashley Greene, Shawn Ashmore, and even a brief appearance by Canadian genre legend Julian Richings (Ejecta, Vicious Fun, Anything for Jackson).
It Feeds is an immensely well-produced film, with me even arguing that it is one of the best-looking Canadian horror films that I have seen. The film also features one hell of a sound mix, which makes the film’s many jump scares all the more affecting. It Feeds is indeed a film that is made to be seen on the big screen.
I don’t want to delve too deep into the plot of It Feeds past the first act of the film, since some developments happen that can be considered major spoilers. However, the plot to the main threat of the demonic creature, played extremely frighteningly by actor Brooklyn Marshall, under much prosthetic make-up, as a metaphor for how bottled up trauma can eat at you like a cancer. It Feeds also delves into how people react to such trauma, particularly through the characterization of Shawn Ashmore’s Randall Harris, a character who could benefit from an expanded backstory in a possible follow-up.
Ultimately, It Feeds is the culmination of Chad Archibald’s two-decade career as a filmmaker. This is a film that introduces him and Black Fawn Films to a larger audience, leading to bigger and better things. It is also a film that has some very real scares and should be seen on the big screen with a good sound system.
Trailer for It Feeds
