I had no idea what was happening during most of the totally insane new horror movie cuckooand that’s totally fine with me. I could tell that writer-director Tilman Singer delivered his incredibly off-kilter images with a real, careful intention in mind, and I suspected that it would all make sense in the end.
In the tradition of great mystery movies (like the best of David Lynch), it actually made sense in the end. At least most of it did. I think some of it is just meant to be weird, and that’s fine with me too.
Hunter Schafer (euphoria) plays Gretchen, an American who arrives with her family at a strange resort in Germany run by Mr. Koenig (Dan Stevens, who has recently made a name for himself in horror films). She gets a summer job at the resort and is followed by a strange woman on her way home from her first night shift. What exactly is going on with this woman is one of the film’s great mysteries and is revealed until the very end.
Konig is initially a warm and cheerful host – if a little “absent” and with a touch of unreliability. Stevens, after his performance in this underrated vampire film Abigailfeels right at home in a horror film; after his last two roles, I wonder how I can see him in a light-hearted comedy again. I see Stevens in a different light today.
Schafer pulls off a standout performance here, showing a real talent for letting her character legitimately fall apart. Gretchen’s sister Alma (Mila Lieu) starts having strange fits, while Gretchen experiences odd moments where she’s caught in time loops. No matter how crazy these situations get, Schafer delivers a solid character study that keeps things focused.
What the hell is going on in this movie? Find out for yourself by watching it.
At that time cuckoo ended, I had enjoyed something from a relatively new, promising author who managed to confuse and scare me in a creepy way for over 100 minutes.
cuckoo is playing in cinemas across the valley.
