THE THING WITH FEATHERS
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, David Thewlis, Richard Boxall, and Henry Boxall
Director: Dylan Southern
QUENTIN
I admit my thoughts on The Thing with Feathers may be a little biased because my mother passed away earlier this year, but this unsubtle metaphor about grief and loss worked for me despite some pretty notable flaws. To be fair, it’s easy to overlook said flaws when Benedict Cumberbatch gives such an emotional performance. That said, the film is a tonal mishmash, jumping from emotionally heavy drama to jump-scare horror to even unintentional comedy at the drop of a hat. This could easily undercut the story for some people, but for me and my personal context, I found it to be rather cathartic.
KATIE
Grief is the Thing with Feathers is a book that’s very close to my heart, so I went into The Thing with Feathers feeling very defensive over the story. Thankfully, Dylan Southern’s adaptation takes a wonderfully honest approach to the source material, not over-explaining the presence of the Crow, voiced perfectly by David Thewlis, and remaining true to the fragmented narrative of the book. Crow has a costume design that’s nightmarish but also theatrical, and I loved the use of drawing to portray Crow’s effect on Dad, played brilliantly by a grief-stricken Benedict Cumberbatch. Overall, it’s beautifully gruesome and very affecting.
This film was reviewed by Quentin as part of Bitesize Breakdown's coverage of the 2025 Zurich Film Festival.