The Thing with Feathers
Briarcliff Entertainment | Release Date: November 28, 2025 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
48
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
13
Negative:
2

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganJan 31, 2025
There’s much that is brilliant here, although the loss of nuance in translation from page to screen reduces a potent brew of emotions to more literally-depicted stages and consequences of pure, overwhelming, overwrought grief. Read full review
70
Paste MagazineMatt DonatoFeb 3, 2025
The Thing with Feathers can be a rich and somewhat bizarre experience about processing trauma, accepting death, and moving on. Read full review
70
LooperAudrey FoxJan 31, 2025
If at times a little belabored. With an all-in performance from Benedict Cumberbatch and a unique visual style, "The Thing With Feathers" is an inescapably compelling drama — even if its concept is perhaps a bit more interesting than its execution. Read full review
60
The Irish TimesTara BradyNov 21, 2025
It’s tricky material, but what the script loses by making an actual monster it gains in small, poignant details. Read full review
60
EmpireJamie GrahamNov 21, 2025
Dylan Southern’s film lacks the complexity of Max Porter’s book. But there are strong scenes, and Cumberbatch delivers a performance to crow about. Read full review
60
Screen RantPatrice WitherspoonFeb 3, 2025
With certainty, Cumberbatch put his all into this role. So, if for nothing else, it’s worth it to see him. Read full review
58
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodJan 31, 2025
Despite a committed performance from Benedict Cumberbatch, the end result truly doesn’t coalesce either from an artistic or cinematic perspective. Read full review
50
The New York TimesLisa KennedyDec 3, 2025
Cumberbatch gives himself fully to the task of abjection, plunging us into the shadows and chaos of Dad’s life. But the movie neglects to make Mum’s presence palpable — and that is a loss. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriJan 31, 2025
It’s one of the best, most alive and inventive performances [Cumberbatch] has given. Unfortunately, the film is even more confused than the character. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyJan 31, 2025
Despite its shadowy visuals and insidious soundscape, it’s neither frightening enough to play like full-fledged horror, nor complex or curious enough to pack much weight as psychological drama. Read full review
50
The Daily BeastNick SchagerJan 27, 2025
An excruciatingly literal affair, not to mention a repetitive one, spinning in circles to dizzying, and ever-diminishing, ends. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawNov 20, 2025
Quite simply: when the crow is off the screen, the drama starts to be involving and affecting. Once the crow is there, the film looks self-conscious. Read full review
40
Little White LiesStaff (Not Credited)Nov 13, 2025
There’s a few decent performances in the mix (the kids especially), and Cumberbatch goes all-in (and then some) on the concept, but otherwise this flails as saccharine self-help cinema without any real sense of authentic human behaviour. Read full review
40
IGNSiddhant AdlakhaFeb 5, 2025
Benedict Cumberbatch gives it his all in The Thing with Feathers, but the horror movie lives up to neither his performance, nor its own heavy-handed metaphor of a bullying crow-creature representing grief. Read full review
40
VarietyOwen GleibermanJan 31, 2025
The whole thing is oppressive and, in an odd way, not very interesting. Read full review
40
The GuardianBenjamin LeeJan 31, 2025
What’s crucially missing is detail, both in the characters themselves and the weight of what they’re going through. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyNov 26, 2025
Southern wields the tropes in a stylistically over-determined way–jump-scares and all–which cheapens the delicate and poetic narrative. Read full review
38
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiJan 27, 2025
Exploring pain in novel ways in film is a good thing. Next time, though, pick a different novel. Read full review
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