Panic Fest 2025: It Feeds

“It Feeds” is a visually striking tale of psychic trauma and demonic terror that grips from its eerie opening to its pulse-pounding finale.

Canadian indie production house Black Fawn Films has become a consistently reliable purveyor of small but mighty genre films that make a big impression.

Founded by filmmakers Chad Archibald and Cody Calahan, their prolific and impressive output includes Calahan’s Vicious Fun, The Oakroom, and Let Her Out, and Archibald’s Bite, The Heretics, and I’ll Take Your Dead.

Their latest film, written and directed by Chad Archibald, is It Feeds, an effective supernatural chiller about possession, trauma, and hellish demons—both literal and figurative.

A riveting, unnerving opening scene—with an eerie score and fantastic set design that immediately draws us in—introduces us to a gifted therapist named Cynthia Winstone (Ashley Greene). Cynthia is known for her work with trauma victims. What makes her so effective in her work is her psychic ability to enter the minds of her patients, quite literally, and help them battle their demons far beyond simple talk therapy.

It’s a concept somewhat reminiscent of the visually mesmerizing and criminally underrated The Cell.

When Cynthia enters the minds of her patients, often traveling back in time with them to the source of their repressed trauma, she sometimes sustains physical injury that manifests in the real world, making her talents more supernatural than psychological.

This unique gift is as much a curse as a blessing.

Cynthia and her teenage daughter Jordan (Ellie O’Brien) recently had to move to a new town after word got out that Cynthia was using very nontraditional means of therapy, which didn’t sit right with skeptical townsfolk. To make matters worse, Jordan’s husband and Ellie’s father died under mysterious circumstances that we soon learn may have been related to his similar psychic gift.

Jordan works as Cynthia’s assistant, helping vet patients for therapy and providing research support.

One day, a frantic young girl, fourteen-year-old Riley (Shayelin Martin), arrives at their doorstep begging for help from Cynthia.

She seems desperate and anxious, worried her dad, Randall (the excellent Shawn Ashmore), will show up any minute and drag her home.

Though she demands immediate attention, Jordan insists they must do a quick patient intake before Cynthia can see her. Reluctantly, she agrees to take a seat and answer some questions.

With visible burn scars all over her arms, the terrified Riley explains she overheard a woman named Agatha telling her dad that Cynthia could possibly help someone like her, someone who sees things others can’t. She’s being terrorized by a shadowy figure, who she insists is standing right beside them in the room.

“It’s here,” she says, “And it’s hungry.”

At that moment, Cynthia walks out and sees the haunting visage of the figure Riley is so afraid of. She freezes in fear as an angry Randall storms in and drags Riley out of there.

Jordan is eager to help the girl, but Cynthia insists they stay away. “Something terrible is attached to that girl,” she warns, and it’s unsafe for them to get involved.

Jordan is not okay abandoning someone in need of help, so she secretly tracks down Agatha (a sweet but delightfully quirky Misty from Yellowjackets– coded Juno Rinaldi) for answers before embarking on a solo mission to Riley’s home to uncover the truth of her trauma.

What follows is a nail-biting, nasty battle against a force of great evil that puts both Jordan and Cynthia in grave danger.

The harrowing climax is peppered with effective jump scares, nightmarish imagery, and intensely creepy dreamlike sequences that balance visceral horror with Guillermo del Toro-esque gothic beauty.

The film, which explores the lengths a parent will go to protect their child and the relentless terror of lingering trauma, boasts some striking shots and dazzling visuals.

The stunning cinematography is impressive, as is the creative use of red and blue lighting in the heart-pounding finale.

Strong performances give It Feeds emotional resonance while the ghoulish creature design delivers the requisite scares, making it an extremely worthwhile new indie horror entry.