Cuckoo (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – A 17-year old girl is forced to move with her family to a resort where things are not what they seem.

My Take – We all have heard this story before: a female protagonist comes to a new mysterious, foreign location, uncovers a vast conspiracy sheltered within the place, and soon, they’re out to get her to protect/serve their secret.

For his follow-up to his 2018 debut, Luz, German writer-director Tilman Singer uses the familiar outline and adds his own evocative and utterly strange style to create an imperfect throwback delight. While the narrative at times feels incoherent, the interesting atmosphere and the bizarre twisty, giallo-inspired, semi-body horror mystery offers enough genuine fun moments.

Yes, I think the film could have benefitted from some tinkering in its last act, I nonetheless enjoyed the film for the mere fact that it is wholly original in more ways than one.

There is a good chance that a fair proportion of people will be shaken off by the film. It’s not particularly accessible, being willfully stylish and trippy, and takes a while to get to its explanations. Yet, I would recommend it to those bold audiences looking for something off the beaten path of both standard cinema fare and horror fare.

The story follows the 17-year-old American Gretchen (Hunter Schafer), who still grieving the recent loss of her mother is forced to move to a resort town in the Bavarian Alps, along with her father Luis (Marton Csokas), his much younger English wife Beth (Jessica Henwick), and their mute daughter Alma (Mila Lieu).

A couple of years ago, the two had honeymooned at the lavish resort and subsequently conceived Alma. Now, the couple, both architects, have been solicited by the resort’s owner, the overly pleasant Herr König (Dan Stevens) to build him a new resort. Thus, their project leaves them, and now Gretchen, with an indefinite stay in Germany.

With nothing to do except circulate her bad attitude throughout their expansive new home, Gretchen is offered a paid job by König to work the front desk at his resort. On her first day, König forbids Gretchen from ever working at night.

So, inevitably swapping shifts one night with her coworker Trixie (Greta Fernández), Gretchen discovers why König might not have wanted her riding her bike home alone in the dark. Particularly, after being chased by a mysterious, malevolent screeching blond woman. A pursuit that lands Gretchen in the nearby hospital with a head injury.

Of course, the escalation that follows has a familiar rhythm but director Singer takes more of an effort to really focus on the art of it, delivering eye-catching sequences like the bicycle chase which is truly an inventive standout.

Here, as a filmmaker Singer displays an audacious commitment to the mood and atmosphere, weaving a narrative that is perplexing and hauntingly immersive. Script-wise, the film works best is in its ability to keep the audience in a state of limbo and intrigue.

While I did not find the film particularly frightening, the strange cloaked mystery woman who serves as the chief antagonist here has some effective and bizarre appearances, and her overall getup feels like something straight out of a giallo feature.

On the flip side, the film follows its own logic without reservation, and the outcome might be too much for certain tastes. Like how certain sequences employ the use of time loops, which in the long run go unexplained.

But while one may not entirely understand exactly what is going on, there’s no denying how it makes you feel: rattled, unsettled, psychically imprinted with unforgettable images and sensations, which is how every good piece of horror should leave its audience.

As others have noted, I also do think the film nearly goes off the deep end in the last act. As director Singer goes for big emotional kickers about the importance of belonging and family but still can’t quite cobble together an explanation that hangs together.

Performance wise, Hunter Schafer makes for a likable lead. The always enjoyable Dan Stevens goes full-throttle weird with a German accent. Jan Bluthardt is also great as a detective that ultimately ends up teaming up with Gretchen.

In supporting roles, Marton Csokas, Jessica Henwick, Greta Fernandez, Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey and Lars Mikkelsen are solid. On the whole, ‘Cuckoo’ is an enjoyable incoherent horror romp that is as unique as it is unsettling.