It Feeds (2025) on Chilling, Yet Generic Supernatural Body Horror

Title: It Feeds

First Non-Festival Release: April 16, 2025 (Theatrical Release)

Director: Chad Archibald

Writer: Chad Archibald

Runtime: 102 Minutes

Starring: Ashley Greene, Shawn Ashmore, Ellie O’Brien, Juno Rinaldi

Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here

The past can be painful to confront. Depending on the experiences you’ve lived through and the resilience you’ve built up, even reflecting on past trauma can make the healing process difficult. The mark these memories have can haunt you until the day you die.

Dr. Cynthia Winstone (Ashley Greene) is a therapist with a unique ability: she has the capability of entering someone’s mind through touch. Alongside her daughter Jordan (Ellie O’Brien), the pair work to help their clients heal from their trauma. With memories of their own trauma still fresh, the pair are understandably secretive about their practices. It isn’t until a desperate little girl, Riley (Juno Rinaldi) rushes into their office begging for help that they are forced to open up. Her father (Shawn Ashmore) quickly retrieves her but not before Cynthia catches a glimpse of the terrifying entity that has attached itself to Riley. Jordan takes to Riley and is determined to save her even when her mother believes there’s no hope left.

A cathartic and affecting horror drama, It Feeds subverts traditional demonic tropes for something special.

The rather generic read on trauma may be frustrating for viewers tapped on an over-reliance on metaphors in storytelling but it proves to be a useful framework all the same. It Feeds certainly takes its cues from the greater emphasis on the depiction of mental health in horror. The sickness that spreads is a clear metaphor for the ways depression can make a person waste away into nothing. Hitting all the beats to highlight the realities of depression (isolation, abuse, lack of agency, etc), It Feeds ensures there is no ambiguity to its message.

Instead, it’s the characters that bring the story of It Feeds to life. Despite the original host at the start of the film, Cynthia’s trauma drives the story. Her backstory informs why someone so caring could be so hesitant to help a little girl in danger, which makes for an interesting character. Wrestling with her own obligations as a therapist with her duty to protect her family, Cynthia’s arc allows her to confront her own fears and demons in the ways she would support her clients. It’s a good reminder that even the most put-together people can have the world weighing on their shoulders.

Some rough performances in the beginning smooth out as the horror escalates and the cast tackle the meatier scenes. Ashley Greene and Shawn Ashmore do solid work carrying the emotional weight of the film and making their contentious dynamic feel authentic. It’s the supporting cast that struggle to convey some of the simpler emotions in the beginning that make the pains evident. As the film goes on, the more serious scenes are given greater intensity, so the uneven performers show up when needed. While it is far more important for the heavier moments to get more attention paid to them, it can be off-putting for audiences trying to get invested in the story from the jump.

Embracing putrefaction and all its other gross elements, It Feeds is a feast of gnarly body horror amidst traditional supernatural scares. The demonic sickness isn’t afraid to get nasty with its victims. As each host carries the infection to term their bodies contort, mangle, and seep into themselves, eventually succumbing to the claws of their ailment. It’s an affecting experience. Gooey and gory all the same, It Feeds delivers quality body horror in its vicious tale of familial supernatural dread. 

Therapeutic to a fault, It Feeds is a beautifully flawed examination of trauma and the ways good people are worn down by a system that doesn’t care about them. Thanks to its odd structure, It Feeds is able to navigate its interesting character dynamics in an authentic manner, embracing the flaws of each person without outright condemning them for it. Stunning, haunting, and scary, this supernatural shocker is one to seek out, especially if you love truly terrifying demons. It Feeds may have quietly crept onto the scene earlier this year but its current place in Hulu’s horror queue makes it a no-brainer to watch this weekend.

Overall Score? 7/10