Ivan (PANIC) Delivers Underbaked Tech Horror Thrills Wrapped in Relationship Commentary

Title: Ivan

First Non-Festival Release: TBD

Director: Damien Fannon

Writer: Damien Fannon

Runtime: 83 Minutes

Starring: Stephen Bogaert, Tanya Clarke, Ann Mirodin

Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here

This film’s review was written after its screening at the Panic Film Festival in 2026.

Women trapped in abusive relationships feel the pressure on all sides when working a way out of their situation. Enduring the scrutiny of the law, their social circles, and the general sentiment lobbed at women escaping domestic violence situations, women often have to resort to extreme action to keep themselves, and their children, if they have any, safe.

Estranged from her father (Stephen Bogaert) because of her mother’s (Tanya Clarke) decision to separate, Abigail (Ann Mirodin) is thrilled when he decides to visit her after school. Secretive, thanks to the custody arrangement, her father gifts her an AI helper device named Ivan. Abigail accepts the gift with gratitude and immediately sets it up in her bedroom. Abigail is unaware of his sinister plans to use that device to control both her and her mother, with a twist.

A downbeat, messy tech slasher, Ivan delivers so-so commentary on abuse while framing its otherwise generic psychological horror story. 

An intentionally frustrating experience, Ivan blurs the lines between fantasy and reality with its titular source of terror. Never taking the time to explain the mechanics behind its invention, Ivan hopes audiences will get on board anyway. The inexplicable ways in which the device is able to manipulate people and their thoughts is an interesting idea that doesn’t end up doing much to shake the story beyond making it easier to kill each pawn in Jim’s way. The clunky integration of the technology into the family’s life and its subsequent reign of chaos leaves much to be desired from both a psychological horror perspective and its greater story.

Using technology to control his ex-wife and daughter, Jim’s tactics are textbook abusive behavior and serve as an allegory for the ways men invade women’s lives at their discretion. Similarly to the ways husbands and boyfriends will force gps locators, hidden surveillance devices, and social media stalking onto their partners and children under the guise of safety, Ivan is used against the people it is meant to protect. Refusing to let go from either his wife or daughter, Jim decides that the most logical thing to do is find a Trojan horse, kill himself, and then fuse his mind with the device so he can spy, possess, and kill whoever crosses path with the tech. Doing anything except reflecting on his actions, Jim blames everyone but himself for his marriage failing. In the end, the wake of destruction he leaves is familiar to anyone who has dealt with an abusive partner.

There’s no shortage of baffling character choices in Ivan. Kim and Abigail have a clearly strained relationship but there’s little meat behind this. Teenage angst and parental separation can be a catalyst for children to act out in situations like this but the choices each takes makes their family less safe. Both protect their pride over taking necessary action to save themselves from the psychotic patriarch. It doesn’t help that others, well-intentioned or otherwise, keep getting caught in Jim’s deadly path. As Jim’s attempts on their lives escalate, neither Kim nor Abigail take much action against him. Powerless because of the erratic technology that neither truly understands, their ensuing flailing only serves to prolong the inevitable.

Dark, colorful, and gritty cinematography helps Ivan stand out visually from other horror films. Fond of deep reds and stark blacks, Ivan presents its downbeat tale of domestic horror with relatively mundane visuals until its technology comes to life. Bathing the screen in blood-red light, Ivan creates a language to mark when its technology becomes dangerous. It works to elevate the film from its more tedious plot points while giving Ivan an aesthetic all its own.

Mean-spirited, listless, and, worst of all, boring, Ivan is a mediocre tech horror thriller that gives its best-intentioned attack on abuse dynamics that can pop up in the average American household. Lacking a consistent logic to its story and muddling its stakes with a fickle approach to death, Ivan weaves familiar webs of tech horror and slasher tropes. Unsatisfying in buildup and payout, Ivan skates by on its colorful visuals and capable production values. A cautionary tale with a little bite, Ivan is a pedestrian tech slasher, as forgettable as its antagonist.

Overall Score? 4/10