Rosamund Pike is set to star in and produce Feed, a new body horror film directed by Leslye Headland, the filmmaker behind Star Wars: The Acolyte. Written by Daniella Isaacs, the film centres on a mother whose pursuit of online fame for her daughter takes a disturbing turn. Exploring social media obsession, self-improvement culture and the pressures of modern motherhood, the project brings contemporary influencer ambitions into the territory of body horror.
According to the official logline, Feed follows a desperate mother who discovers an obscure collagen supplement that promises to turn her tween gymnast daughter into an influencer star. The fame and success they seek arrive quickly, but as the girl begins going viral, she undergoes a monstrous transformation. Pike will play Erin, the mother at the centre of the story, whose determination to secure her daughter’s place in the digital world sets the events in motion.
The premise places the pursuit of online popularity alongside the physical and psychological pressures experienced by young people growing up in an increasingly image-conscious environment. Erin believes that securing her daughter’s success on social media will give her a measure of protection against the uncertainties of the world. However, the attention and visibility that initially appear to offer opportunities soon become connected to something far more disturbing. The daughter’s transformation turns the family’s pursuit of digital fame into a body horror nightmare, bringing the consequences of their ambitions into the physical world.
Pike has described Erin as a “Momfluencer” whose ambitions are shaped by her belief that online success can provide security for her daughter. In a statement, the actor said she had long wanted to make a film examining society’s obsession with social media and self-improvement, alongside the desire for fame without necessarily possessing a particularly notable skill. She also referred to the “monstrosity of modern motherhood” as one of the ideas explored by the project.
The actor further described Feed as an examination of the different forms of appetite driving its characters and the world they inhabit. These include online communities, a social media landscape that monetises youth and beauty, and a mother’s desire to see her daughter succeed. The story also considers the young girl’s own hunger for fame, independence and influence, particularly within her relationship with her mother. This creates a central tension between a parent attempting to shape her child’s future and a young person developing ambitions of her own.
By placing these competing desires within a body horror framework, the film connects familiar anxieties about social media and appearance with a more unsettling physical transformation. Its focus is not limited to the mother’s pursuit of online recognition. The daughter’s growing visibility and her own relationship with fame are also important to the story, creating a mother-daughter dynamic in which ambition, control and the desire for independence intersect.
Headland will direct Isaacs’ screenplay and has praised it as “audacious, disturbing and deeply human”. She also described Pike as one of the boldest actors working today and said she was excited to collaborate with both Pike and Isaacs. The project marks Headland’s return to feature-film directing after Sleeping with Other People (2015). Her other credits include co-creating the Netflix series Russian Doll and creating the Disney+ series Star Wars: The Acolyte.
Feed is inspired by the 2022 Finnish horror film Hatching, directed by Hanna Bergholm. That film follows a young competitive gymnast whose life changes after she discovers an unusual egg. Using body horror, Hatching explores the pressures placed on a child by an image-conscious parent and the consequences of expectations surrounding appearance and performance. Feed approaches related themes through a different premise centred on influencer culture and a collagen supplement. Its connection to Hatching lies in the unsettling mother-daughter relationship and its examination of parental pressure, rather than a direct adaptation of the earlier film.
Pike will also produce the project through her Primitive Streak banner. The other producers are Shelley Browning for Magnolia Entertainment, Steven Schneider for Spooky Pictures, Ara Keshishian and Petr Jakl for ZQ Entertainment, and Sam Ritzenberg for Agile Films. ZQ Entertainment has financed the development of the screenplay. The production brings together companies and producers with Pike taking on responsibilities both in front of and behind the camera.
The project is now preparing to enter the international market. The Veterans will handle international sales, while CAA Media Finance will oversee sales in the United States. Both companies are set to begin presenting the film to potential buyers at the American Film Market, with sales scheduled to launch the following week. The AFM presentation will introduce the project to international buyers as it moves towards securing distribution arrangements.
With Pike taking on the lead role as well as a producing position, and Headland directing Isaacs’ screenplay, Feed brings together a creative team exploring the darker side of online fame and parental ambition. Its premise connects the commercialisation of youth and beauty with the expectations placed on children by their parents, using a monstrous physical transformation to examine the consequences of those pressures. Inspired by the themes of Hatching but built around the contemporary world of influencer culture, the film places anxieties about visibility, appearance, childhood and modern motherhood at the centre of its body horror story. Its presentation to buyers at the American Film Market marks the next stage in the project’s development.