The Thing That Ate The Birds, Sophie Mair, Dan Gitsham.jpg

THE THING THAT ATE THE BIRDS

DIRECTED BY DAN GITSHAM AND SOPHIE MAIR
UK // 2021
12 MINS

Head Gamekeeper Abel discovers the Thing that is eating his Grouse and brings the horror back home to his already crumbling relationship with his wife.

Reflective Encounters

“Immediately horror-oriented, The Thing That Ate The Birds questions the more organic notion of human bestiality. Immersed in a raw, borderless natural setting, where the vast landscapes of North Yorkshire's valleys and forests stretch endlessly, the characters find themselves paradoxically trapped by the vastness... and by what inhabits it. Very quickly, we find refuge inside, in the warm cocoon of the house which breaks with the outside world and its infinite expanse, both suffocating and synonymous of freedom and all kind of unknown possibilities.

This is where the night leads us, the world of the invisible, where close-up shots only give a few clues as to what what is going on, until the final confrontation. Director/writer duo Dan Gitsham and Sophie Mair take advantage of the astonishing surroundings to push the audience into feeling both lost and trapped. They also leave us with many questions in mind: who is this beast? Was it a real threat for the humans?  Are the humans facing the beast, or are they facing the consequences of their own actions?”

— Florian Fernandez