A young father hold on reality crumbles following his wife’s death as a strange presence begins to stalk him from the shadowy recesses of the apartment he shares with his two young sons. This mysterious creature, known as “Crow”, seemingly brought to life from the pages of his work as an illustrator, becomes a very real part of all their lives, ultimately guiding them towards the new shape family must take.
USA Sundance Film Festival 
Berlin International Film Festival 
Belgium16 Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival 
Russia 
UK Belgium Russia UK USA
The Benedook? The Bababatch? The Babadict? The Cumberdook?
grief vs desperation. the cure, screamin’ jay hawkins & vic chesnutt. the crow and a demon and a man. this could have been a perfect film but is close enough to it. on all technical levels topnotch.
the insufficient dad in permanent self-doubts. he's opposing the cynical death dealer, his cynical death dealer. as you can't escape facing your death drive, better learn to dance with him.
visuals, needle drops - could have used a little more shape of certain characters (the importance of the mother figure, the therapist) but this seems to be nitpicking when this thunderstorm hits you.
loved this and am moderately shocked how badly this was received in Sundance, pushed to the side section in Berlin for PR uses only (and to have Cumberbatch rolling down the carpet), getting the stepmother treatment. fuck the official discourse, undisputed recommendation from me.
Grief and despair take on a physical, nightmarish form in THE THING WITH FEATHERS, Dylan Southern’s adaptation of Max Porter’s novel. While the grounded early sections of coping with sorrow resonated deeply, the fantastical heavy-handed metaphor felt less impactful as the film attempts to mix horror, comedy, and drama into something profound but with uneven results. Whenever it does work, it’s largely due to Benedict Cumberbatch’s emotionally compelling and vulnerable performance. I wanted so badly to fully connect with this film but the parts where I did were very affecting.
Babadict Cumberdook
👹 DOES DADDY WANT A CUDDLE 👹
Benedict Cumberbatch gives a powerhouse performance in THE THING WITH FEATHERS as a grieving widow with two young sons. Featuring a startling blend of eerie horror and gothic fairy tale, this audacious vision from director Dylan Southern manages to be both moving and terrifying.
This is well crafted and carefully done exploration of grief, specifically one in which you’re caretaking for others. It blends horror elements and features some genuinely creepy images but is more aptly psychological drama. I never connected deeply to the story but found many pieces of it rang true and overall the despairing tone and magical realism felt like the right choice however bizarre
why did they give the grief crow so much swag
it's peak, or should i say bea-
the sundance committee has requested this review remain incomplete
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
- A man's wife dies.
- He feels sad. His kids feel sad.
- A crow appears.
- I might be wrong, but I think the crow symbolizes his sadness.
- Just to be sure, the crow explains in a somber British voice that he is, in fact, the man's sadness and that we should feel sad too. Because nothing deepens grief like hearing it narrated back to you.
- The father cries. The children cry. The crow does not cry, but it does monologue extensively about the nature of crying.
- At one point, the dad tries to move on. The crow disagrees.
- The crow is an oversized man in black fabric who really gets Chekhov.
- The…
Amazing personification of grief, and how it can be both a healing and destructive force in a person’s life.
Birdman (or the unexpected virtue of grievance)
