The Thing with Feathers

The crow (designed by Nicola Hicks) has a long, curved neck and an almost comical silhouette. Its claws stick out like spikes, reminiscent of the Babadook, a perhaps deliberate but unfortunate comparison. The two films share much in common, but “The Babadook” succeeds where “The Thing with Feathers” does not. “The Babadook” was a terrifying film in its surface details while also being a brilliant metaphor for living with mental illness. Why the Babadook arrived at the house and why it won’t leave adds to the film’s symbolic weight. In “The Thing with Feathers,” it’s not clear why a crow chooses to haunt the family. Why not a cat/dog/moose? Why, specifically, a crow? The dad’s book isn’t about crows. The crow, then, is random.