It Feeds follows the harrowing story of a young girl who insists that a malevolent entity is feeding on her. Ashley Greene (Twilight) stars as a clairvoyant therapist who must confront her own past traumas to save the girl before it’s too late, with Shawn Ashmore (X-Men) as the anguished father desperately fighting to protect his daughter from an unimaginable force.
Reuniting the two stars following their collaboration on the horror film Aftermath, It Feeds is a chilling, supernatural entry that provided plenty to talk about when our Peter Gray spoke with the duo as the film releases in the United States, touching on the horror film that proved their gateway into the genre, what they find most challenging about acting in a heightened space, and where they both personally stand on the notion of clairvoyants and other-worldly entities.
I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to a variety of actors and directors in the horror field, and I always like asking what their gateway horror movie was into the genre? For both of you, what was the film that got you interested in horror? Or are you interested in horror? You hear about people that make the films but don’t actually like the genre…
Ashley Greene: Oh, my God. Someone just told me their first horror movie was The Exorcist. The first scary-ish movie for me was Interview with the Vampire. I was very young, and I know it’s not traditional horror, but my mom wasn’t happy about it. I was at my cousin’s house and we watched it. I really liked it. I kind of got away from (the genre) for a little bit, but I liked it until I moved into my own house and I was then very specific about the horror movies I would watch. Like, I watched The Strangers and, Jesus Christ, why did I do that? “Why are you doing this? Because you were home”, or whatever that line is, like, oh, my God. I’m never leaving my house again!
Shawn Ashmore: I love horror films, I’m a big fan. The first kind of scary movie that I remember watching was Psycho. I was, like, nine at a friend’s sleepover, and it didn’t seem like a scary movie until it was the most disturbing thing I’d ever seen. That wormed its way into my brain. And I think I’ve been interested in darker stories and horror films ever since. I guess it’s debatable whether Psycho is considered a horror film, but at nine years old it seemed like a horror film to me.
It’s always the sleepover that does it.
Shawn Ashmore: I saw Pet Sematary at a sleepover, too, and I couldn’t sleep for six months after that. I was nine or 10 and I couldn’t get out of the bed to go to the bathroom because I was afraid that there was something under my bed who was going to slice my Achilles heel. You know, like in the film? I just couldn’t get out of bed.
Ashley Greene: What’s the most horrific movie for you? I remember someone suggested The Human Centipede to me…
Shawn Ashmore: Oh, God, I can’t watch stuff like that!
Ashley Greene: I was, like, first of all, why are you recommending this to me? (Laughs).
Shawn Ashmore: Yeah, you probably shouldn’t be friends with that person (laughs). That’s the kind of stuff I have never been into. Like, I don’t understand that stuff. I get that there’s an audience for everything, but stuff like that? I just never understood. It just seems like pure suffering. There’s not even character development or a journey to go on. It’s just misery. Torture. No, thanks, I’m good.
Yeah, that really was one of those movies where the title got everybody interested, but you question as to why you’re torturing yourself by watching it. But with that, the genre is so often one that pushes its characters to their limits, both emotionally and psychologically. What did you both find was the most challenging or most surprising aspect of acting in that heightened space?
Ashley Greene: I think it’s always challenging to trust myself and just let go in those spaces, and not to continue to live in a space that we’ve been talking about. Like, we now have the ability to just leave things on set and to separate ourselves from that. I do find there’s always this moment of me going, like, “Oh, no, what if I don’t get there? Because it is such an abnormal space, how do you fake adrenaline?” I find that I’m really big on preparation work, so that when I get to set I can know I’ve done all the work and whatever is going to happen is going to happen. It’s always a little scary to ask if you’re going to make it believable for the audience.
Shawn Ashmore: It’s definitely a fear for me. Not a fear like anger or terror, but that fear is so hard to replicate. It’s hard to make fear feel real. I think that’s challenging. What I love about working in this space is just what you said. It’s heightened. You get to push a character to the limits, and I think we get to explore things that, for the most, are not acceptable in our daily lives, right? We’re all pretty buttoned down. We’re expected to have our shit together most of the time, and maybe we can be open and vulnerable with the people we’re close to, but even to fully unleash, and whether that’s rage or terror or extreme sadness or grief…I find it enjoyable and enlightening to be given the license to do that.
Like Ashley was saying, “Can I get there if I need to break down?” And in this film there are moments where I have to literally break down and sob and cry, and probably go through the worst grief a person can possibly go through. Can I do that in the 10 minutes they need me to? This is an independent film. We have a huge day. We have 10-15 minutes to nail this close up. Can I do that? Can I get there? It’s scary. There’s a forced nature, but I like that in a certain way. And when you achieve that, it feels incredible. It’s like a high that comes from that.
Ashley Greene: Yeah, it’s a psychological game, right? It allows to you ask what you would do? What could you do? And to your point, I think you learn restraint with these films too. I think there’s sometimes an instinct that it needs to be all heightened, but then you think back and people really do go through these gambit of emotions. It’s really fun to create a certain effect for these characters.
Is it almost cathartic in a way? Do you find there’s a sense of release when playing these characters, because there’s the ability to outpour so much emotion?
Ashley Greene: Yeah, for sure. I always say when I’m working on these things it’s like I’m in therapy. I’m in talk-therapy with myself, or whoever I’m working with, because I think you’re just going through your life and connections and these characters’ worlds. The way I work is that I create this whole backstory for these characters. The first time you read a script is when you get such an honest response. You wonder how you connect. It’s such a release.
Shawn Ashmore: For me, after shooting the climax of a movie, whether it’s a big confrontation scene or an emotional breakdown, a heavier film, if you nail that and you feel like you gave your all and you’re emotionally spent, it’s exhausting and it’s taxing. When you’re driving home and you feel fucking great about it, there’s this high you’re on after coming home from a great day’s work, especially when you’re required to perform at the highest level you can. You feel successful in that. But there’s also the unexpected nature of it, too. I have no idea what Ashley is going to do in a scene, because there’s not a ton of rehearsal or time to talk about it, and sometimes you’re just showing up and it becomes a game for that day. Sometimes it doesn’t work the way you want it to. I’ve definitely come home from scenes feeling frustrated with the work that I did, or feeling I just never full found it, so when you hit your stride, and when your scene partner is with you, it’s the best feeling in the world. It’s so amazing.
I feel like you both hit your stride here. On the topic of the film’s subject, did the two of you discuss where you stood on the spectrum regarding being a skeptic or a believer?
Shawn Ashmore: We didn’t. I don’t think we ever talked about that.
Ashley Greene: I feel like in the moment it doesn’t matter how I feel about it. My character believes in this and is living this and is experiencing this. It’s like just looking at a character and you try and do it with the least amount of judgement as possible. If I believe the same thing, fantastic. If I don’t, then it doesn’t necessarily matter, right? I need to find the way to connect with whatever this character is going through.
Shawn Ashmore: Yeah, 100%. Now that we’re talking about this, I do happen to be a believer. I’ve had two very strange, let’s call them ghost stories. One of them was at a hotel in Romania. I was shooting a movie there and the hotel was 1000% haunted. Everybody that was there on the crew, and there a bunch of younger actors, we each had unexplainable events happen in different rooms. In my room, there was somebody walking around my bed every night. I deduced that it was probably like a housekeeper that was just doing their job. My pillows would fluff. The glasses would clank. I’d hear feet shuffling around my best every single night. There was nowhere to go. I wanted to move rooms.
I remember one night we were all hanging out in someone’s hotel room, having a few drinks and listening to music, and I said in passing, maybe after two weeks of us being there, I was like, “Has anybody had any weird experiences in the hotel?” And it was like in a movie when the record scratches, like, everybody said yes. Everyone had a story. There’s not enough time to explain all the stories, but they were all different, and mine was actually quite light compared to some of the other experiences. So I’ve had strange experiences that I can’t explain. Maybe I’m not 100% sold, but I’m also not a skeptic.
Ashley Greene: I’m the same, like, we are not alone. I had an experience at The Sutton (Place hotel). I just did another movie, in this genre too, and my co-star was like, “Oh, yeah I had this experience at the Sutton.” I’m thinking the Sutton is haunted, right?
Shawn Ashmore: I haven’t stayed at the Sutton for years, but I’ve never had any weird experiences there. But that’s not so say. Next time, I’m going to ask what room I should not stay in.
Well, however it goes, enjoy the Sutton, don’t enjoy the Sutton…but thank you both so much for taking the time.
Shawn Ashmore: (Laughs) I appreciate that.
It Feeds is now screening in select theatres and available on VOD in the United States. It will be released in the United Kingdom and Ireland on May 18th, 2025.
