It Feeds Review: I watched this expecting a mid-tier horror flick. What I got was something stranger: a movie that feels like it was assembled after binge-watching Insidious, Smile, The Conjuring, and It Follows, then asking, “Can we do all of this… but safer?”
I’m not saying it’s unwatchable. I am saying it feels lifeless in a very specific way.
My Rating: 2.5/5
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Movie Title | It Feeds |
| Genre | Horror, Supernatural, Psychological |
| Release Year | 2025 |
| Director | Chad Archibald |
| Writer | Chad Archibald |
| Main Cast | Ashley Greene, Shawn Ashmore, Ellie O’Brien |
| Runtime | Approx. 1h 42m |
| Language | English |
| Country | United States |
My Experience Watching It Feeds
The opening actually works. There’s a hint of atmosphere, a setup that suggests we might go somewhere interesting. Ashley Greene plays a mother who’s also a therapist with a paranormal side hustle; she can enter people’s minds and confront their trauma and demons, literally.
Sound familiar? Yeah. Lorraine Warren meets Elise Rainier, with a dash of Smile’s grinning entity thrown in for flavor.
A girl shows up needing help. Her father shuts it down. Surprise, she’s possessed, or haunted, or attached to some hungry metaphysical parasite. Our protagonist is the only one who can help. From there, the It Feeds movie slides into the most familiar horror beats imaginable.
The “mind space” she enters feels like a budget version of The Further. The entity behaves like it took notes from the Smile demon. The mythology exists, technically, but it never breathes. Everything stays surface-level, like the It Feeds movie is afraid to linger too long on any idea.
And that’s the core problem: nothing sinks in.
Performances: Fine Isn’t Enough
Ashley Greene isn’t bad. She’s just… there. Flat in a way that makes it hard to connect. She says the lines. She reacts when she’s supposed to. But I never felt her fear, guilt, or urgency.
The daughter, oddly enough, gives the strongest performance. She feels the most natural, the most emotionally grounded. Everyone else, including Shawn Ashmore as the dad, lands squarely in “acceptable TV movie” territory.
Nobody is embarrassing themselves. Nobody elevates the material either. It feels like everyone showed up, did their job, and went home.
The Big Midpoint Moment (The One Good Surprise)
I’ll give the It Feeds movie credit where it earns it: there’s a moment around the halfway mark that genuinely surprised me. I didn’t see it coming, and for about ten minutes, I thought, Okay, maybe this is where it takes a turn.
It doesn’t fully capitalize on that moment, but it does keep the movie from completely flatlining. Without it, I probably would’ve checked out mentally.
Why the It Feeds Movie Feels “AI-Written” (Even If It Isn’t)
I don’t actually know if AI was involved in the script. But here’s the problem: it feels like it was. Not because it’s a ripoff, horror has always recycled ideas. Slashers did it for decades. The difference is energy. Personality. Risk. The movie feels like it was built from data points:
- Audiences liked Insidious
- Audiences liked Smile
- Let’s combine those elements
- Don’t push too far
- Don’t offend anyone
- Don’t get weird
The result is a movie that technically functions but has no pulse. There’s a weird emptiness to it. As everyone involved knew exactly what kind of movie they were making, and never once tried to surprise themselves.
That’s the kind of lifelessness people associate with AI, whether that’s fair or not.
What Worked vs. What Didn’t Work in It Feeds
The Good
| What Worked | Why It Helped |
|---|---|
| Decent cinematography | It looks competent and occasionally moody |
| One solid mid-movie twist | Briefly injects tension and curiosity |
| The daughter’s performance | Feels more genuine than anyone else |
| Runtime | Doesn’t overstay its welcome |
Also Read: Dead Man’s Wire Review: A True-Crime Story That Turns Into a Campy Media Circus
The Bad
| What Didn’t Work | Why It Hurt |
|---|---|
| Derivative story | Feels like a knockoff instead of an homage |
| Flat performances | Hard to care about anyone |
| Shallow mythology | Sets things up but never explores them |
| No real risks | Plays everything painfully safe |
| Forgettable scares | Nothing sticks after the credits roll |
Who It Feeds Movie Is Actually For
If you’re a huge fan of Insidious or Smile and just want something familiar to throw on for 90 minutes, this might scratch that itch. It’s competently made. It won’t offend you. You might even say, “Yeah, that was fine.”
But that’s the ceiling. If you’re looking for something memorable, inventive, or emotionally gripping, skip it. There are way better horror movies competing for your time, including the ones this movie is borrowing from.
Final Verdict On It Feeds
I’m going to forget this movie exists in about a week. That’s not an insult, it’s just the truth. It Feeds isn’t terrible. It’s just empty. A technically okay horror movie that refuses to take risks, refuses to go deep, and refuses to justify its own existence beyond “people like these kinds of movies.”
If you’re desperate for a familiar horror fix, maybe. If you value your watchlist, your time, or your brain, there are better options.
Rating: 2.5 / 5. Not bad. Not good. Just… there. And honestly? That’s the worst thing a horror movie can be.