THE THING WITH FEATHERS, Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Sets Fall Release

The Thing With Feathers, the highly anticipated debut narrative feature from writer-director Dylan Southern, has received a wide theatrical release for October 31, 2025, from Briarcliff Entertainment. 

The film, which world-premiered at the Sundance Film Festival before making its international debut at the Berlin International Film Festival, is a bold, genre-bending adaptation of Max Porter’s acclaimed novella Grief Is the Thing With Feathers. It stars two-time Academy Award nominee Benedict Cumberbatch, alongside newcomers Richard Boxall and Henry Boxall.

Left to raise two young sons after the unexpected death of his wife, DAD’s life begins to unravel. Grief is messy and chaotic enough as it is, but when it takes the form of an unhinged and unwanted houseguest – CROW – taunting him from the shadows, things start to spiral out of control...but maybe that's exactly what Dad needs. 

In adapting the critically acclaimed book, Southern sought to preserve its poetic, fragmented, tonally adventurous storytelling, translating it to the screen through a heightened visual style that blends naturalism with the fantastic. In doing so he has created a film that playfully pushes the envelope - combining elements of psychological horror with heartrending emotional drama. The result is a hauntingly immersive and singular experience. 

The film is produced by Andrea Cornwell of Lobo Films (Love Lies Bleeding), and Leah Clarke and Adam Ackland of SunnyMarch Productions (We Live in Time, The Mauritanian), with backing from Film4 and the BFI (awarding National Lottery funding), in association with Align, Uncommon Creative Studio, mk2 Films, and Rank and File, co-produced with Film I Vast and Filmgate Films.