Death of a Yellow Bird – Movie Review | Fantastic Fest (4/5)

DEATH OF A YELLOW BIRD is world-premiering at Fantastic Fest, and this slowburn horror has plenty to offer for a wide audience. Ari Millen stars and delivers a powerful portrait of a man facing his own death and traumatic past. I am so happy to see him in a leading role here. Read our full Death of a Yellow Bird movie review here!

DEATH OF A YELLOW BIRD is getting its world premiere at Fantastic Fest 2026. This is very much a horror movie and a different kind of ghost story, but it reminded me of two other movies. Not in the sense that this feels like a copy or repeat, but rather that it has elements of two other horror movies I really enjoyed. I’ll get back to those two movies later.

For now, let me just say that this slow-burn horror movie hit a lot of my horror sweet spots. In fact, don’t let the slower pace fool you into thinking you can experience a jump scare. Personally, I was caught off guard several times, and I do not recommend holding any kind of open container while watching it. If you do, try to be careful and ready. Otherwise, you’ll have snacks or your drink all over you. Just a friendly warning.

Continue reading our Death of a Yellow Bird movie review below.

Ari Millen going solo

After seeing Ari Millen in Ice Cream Man, where I felt his talents were grossly underutilized, I am so very happy to see him in Death of a Yellow Bird. In this movie, he gets to use so many sides of his talents, and he is on screen in virtually every scene. At the very least, the story never stops being about his character.

When we meet him, he is not in a good place. We will soon discover that he has just refused further treatment for his terminal illness. Not that he’s told his wife yet.

Instead, he has taken off and gone to his childhood home in the woods. I mean, he did tell his wife, but only that he needed a little break to relax, so she stays home with their son. She did pack him lots of warm sweaters and some slippers. And yes, they are bunny slippers, and now I want some for myself, but that’s neither here nor there.

Once he arrives at his childhood home, he starts experiencing some strange things. At first, it seems to be a combination of dreams and possible exhaustion. But when he finds the family’s long-lost VHS camera, things start to escalate. Something appears to communicate with him when he records new videos.

But who is it? And what do they want?!

The power of trauma

Ari Millen’s character clearly has some unfinished business, and it would appear someone is trying to confront him with this. He is now in the place where both his dad and his brother, Danny, died. His mom is still alive, but suffers severely from dementia, so whenever he talks on the phone with her, she speaks about both Danny and her husband, as if they’re still alive.

Also, as a result, she cannot understand (or rather, remember) that her last surviving son is now very actively dying. It’s almost a blessing in disguise, as his conversations with her are lighthearted and loving. Of course, they are also frustrating. He has no choice but to accept her worldview, or their conversations are impossible.

Overall, this terminally ill man wants to find answers and needs to be alone, but his wife does get increasingly frustrated with his lack of communication. And really, it is all about seeing Ari Millen work through some kind of trauma that he isn’t fully aware of.

The two movies that Death of a Yellow Bird reminded me of are one brand new and one that has been much talked about. Let’s begin with the latter, which is Undertone. That familiar feeling makes perfect sense, as the writer-director of Death of a Yellow Bird was a producer on Undertone. The other is Posthumous, which I watched just this past week as it’s also at Fantastic Fest, so it’s very fresh in my mind.

While Undertone is all about sounds and what you may hear in the back of a recording, Posthumous is about messages on VHS tapes. I’m sure you can see why I was reminded of both of these movies, while I must admit that Death of a Yellow Bird is a whole other thing.

In a good way!

Death of a Yellow Bird gets World Premiere at Fantastic Fest

The writer and director of Death of a Yellow Bird is Cody Calahan (The Oak Room, Let Her Out, Vicious Fun). As already mentioned, he was a producer on A24’s Undertone, which I love. I watched it during the 2025 Fantasia Film Festival. Later, it became a horror phenomenon with its wider release. This almost put too much pressure on it. I still love the movie, and I was happy to see this 2026 release utilize sound to create horror again.

Both Undertone and Death of a Yellow Bird are slow-burn horror, but while the former got very dark, I feel this one deals more with resolving trauma. Also, I got actual goosebumps as the story evolved and all was revealed. That is always a good sign. Not least when combined with me jumping in my seat, as it means the horror movie is hitting so many sweet spots.

On paper, Cody Calahan’s horror movie may appear to lean into the good ol’ trope setting of a “cabin in the woods”, but it delivers something much deeper. Yes, it’s about grief and even sacrifice, as the main character is a dying man. But it’s also about the beauty of life, love, and family. If reading this makes you think it’s not also scary and intense, then I suggest you go back and read the first part of this review again.

This movie managed to both terrify me and make me truly feel what the characters go through. And there is a very obvious reason why this movie felt so personal and cut so deep.

An extremely personal horror movie

Of course, there are also two key elements to the origin of this movie: Cody Calahan was not present for the death of his own mother, as he could not stand being in the hospital any longer, and then she passed while he was gone. But that’s just one part of it. The other has to do with the star of Death of a Yellow Bird.

You see, Ari Millen (The Oak Room, Vicious Fun) is a childhood friend of filmmaker Cody Calahan, and the two have collaborated many times over the years.

So, when Ari Millen reached out to Cody Calahan with the awful news that he had been diagnosed with cancer and given less-than-great odds, he wanted to be there for him. Ari Millen wanted to do something creative, which resulted in Death of a Yellow Bird. Filmmaker Cody Calahan was able to deal with his own regrets, while it also served as a vehicle for Ari Millen to focus on something other than his own regrets and fears about his cancer.

Now, if this isn’t a powerful and relevant reason for making a horror movie about grief, loss, trauma, and facing it all head-on to get better, then I do not know what is.

Death of a Yellow Bird world premieres at Fantastic Fest 2026. I truly hope it will be picked up to reach a much wider audience.

Details

Director: Cody Calahan
Writer: Cody Calahan
Cast: Ari Millen, Peter Outerbridge, Kassandra Santos, Malka Kaufman, Chance Orion Wood, Benjamin Sivcevic