Horror Thriller Shows What Can Happen When The Internet Goes Very Wrong

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / October 29, 2025 / The much talked-about film festival award-winning indie horror-thriller IT NEEDS EYES will showcase Halloween evening October 31 at the Manhattan AMT Theater.

Co-written and co-directed by Zack Ogle (We Got A Monkey's Paw, Death Has A Son) and Aaron Pagniano (We Got A Monkey's Paw, Sunset On the River Styx), IT NEEDS EYES follows teenager Rowan who goes to stay with her aunt in a northeastern beach town after suffering from a traumatic event. Instead of spending the summer outside, Rowan drowns out the noise with increasingly bizarre, often violent, internet content until she comes across a missing woman known only as Fish Tooth, whom she believes is calling out through the screen for help.

The film stars Raquel Lebish (Becoming Vera, Parable) as Rowan; Isadora Leiva (Death of a Fool, Pigskin) as Alex; and Lydia Fiore (High Deny, Ride the Wave) as Mella. Producer is Travis Parke Campbell, editors are Gregory Tuzin and Michael Osborne and Gregory De Iulio provided the original score. IT NEEDS EYES is an Insurgence Original executive produced by Insurgence CEO Messina.

Following its world premiere at Fantaspoa International Fantastic Film Festival in Brazil where the film played to a pair of sold-out screenings, IT NEEDS EYES went on Portland Horror Film Festival, winning the "Goule D'Or" Best Feature Film award, Best Lead Performer award for Raquel Lebish at Portland's celebrated Queer Screams Film Festival and most recently, the Best International Directors award from the Macabro International Film Festival in Mexico City

Zack Ogle (he/him) & Aaron Pagniano (they/them) are an award-winning writer-director duo best known for their short film We Got a Monkey's Paw. Meeting at Florida State University Film School, Zack & Aaron bonded over monster flicks and D&D, blossoming into a fruitful creative relationship. Accomplished as both a duo and as individual filmmakers; Zack is also known for his work on Netflix's Dead Boy Detectives as well as his film Death Has a Son; Aaron is known for their feature film Sunset on the River Styx and short film Transfer. The two filmmakers have a passion for telling queer stories, using genre to speak on the real monsters that haunt us in everyday life.

About Insurgence:

Founded in 2019 by global technology executive Niccolo Messina, Insurgence is breaking new ground in the production and distribution of independent films and documentary content. Since its inception, the independent entertainment studio has premiered over 150 original movies and 60 documentaries on its own YouTube channels, amassing more than 1 billion streams worldwide. Insurgence has also licensed select titles from its vast library to major digital streaming platforms worldwide, further demonstrating the company's successful production and distribution formula aimed at empowering emerging filmmakers and reshaping the traditional movie distribution landscape. Visit www.insurgence.co

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SOURCE: Insurgence