'Cuckoo' Is a Real Horror Trip With One of the Most Unique Plots in Recent Memory

By Sara Clements | Film | August 10, 2024 |

By Sara Clements | Film | August 10, 2024 |

Cuckoo is the kind of horror film whose opening minutes have its audience questioning what they just witnessed, immediately building intrigue with bubbling questions that you can’t wait to be answered. But does Cuckoo actually answer these questions? There’s no doubt that the Luz director, Tilman Singer, once again creates a real horror trip with one of the most unique plots in recent memory, but its results will leave you scratching your head.

Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) would rather be anywhere else. After the recent passing of her mother, the teen finds herself dragged to the Bavarian Alps. With her dad, Luis (Marton Csokas), and his new family in tow - wife Beth (Jessica Henwick) and daughter Alma (Mila Lieu) - their stay at a mountain resort is going to be anything but a vacation. This is especially so with the constant presence of the resort manager, Herr König (Dan Stevens). While Gretchen just wants to be left alone to grieve, everyone else wants her occupied and out of their hair, so Herr König offers her a job as a receptionist. But there’s one important rule: Don’t work at night. It’s immediately apparent why the resort manager would be so adamant about this, as the resort soon reveals itself to be a strange place. You can feel Gretchen’s discomfort being there with her encounters with weird guests, some immediately vomiting as they enter. Birds go crazy at all hours, dogs growl at the woods, and a piercing scream can be heard through the trees. This scream affects those who hear it in an almost hypnotic way. It’s disorientating and often causes time to repeat itself.

Gretchen wishes to go back home to the United States from the very beginning of this trip but as the mysterious happenings around the resort increase, this desire is fueled even more. The terror finds her out of stubbornness, though. After all of ​​Herr König’s warnings, she works late into the night and bikes home, finding herself pursued by a screeching disfigured woman. Narrowly escaping this attack, she takes shelter in a nearby hospital. Local police seem to think this was just a prank and her father doesn’t believe anything Gretchen says. In fact, as the screams begin to affect her step-sister, Alma, her father and her step-mother believe it’s all Gretchen’s fault. The only person who will listen to her is a detective named Henry, and they team up to unravel what’s going on.

Cuckoo recruits a tremendous cast, led by the standout work of Schafer and Stevens. Shafer has been on everyone’s radar for her outstanding performance in Euphoria. If you haven’t watched the show, you’ll understand the hype from watching her here. The film has some surprising emotional beats thanks to her as she conveys Gretchen’s pain over losing her mother, often leaving her voicemails expressing how lonely she is now. And with a father who seems not to care about her, it creates a dynamic that’s difficult to watch and a heartbreaking performance from Shafer. Stevens on the other hand is having the time of his life serving cunt as the eccentric and sinister Herr König. Stevens has become a genre staple with impressive performances in films like The Guest, The Rental, and I’m Your Man, and he’s brilliant once again her.

Shot on 35 mm film, Cuckoo excels at creating the perfect visuals to compliment its impeccable, creepy atmosphere. Despite being a head-scratcher, it’s engaging throughout with many intense moments that elevate its unease. The confusion surrounding the truth of this mystery will no doubt frustrate many and trying to put logic to it here risks spoiling the whole thing, but despite this, it’s no doubt one of the most unique final girl horror films in recent memory.