Cuckoo review (900TH POST!)

CUCKOO: 

INDIE HORROR FILM LIVES UP TO ITS NAME! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

NEON

Hunter Schafer in Cuckoo

 

            Hunter Schafer (Euphoria, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Kinds of Kindness) goes cuckoo but not for Cocoa Puffs in…well, Cuckoo,  the new psychological horror film from Tilman Singer (Luz). This film definitely got my attention when I first saw the trailer because it looked goddamn nuts! 

            Well, after punishing myself with Borderlands which seemed like the movie people would want me to talk about that weekend it was finally time to go Cuckoo and Holy Shit! I don’t even know where to start with this movie because it’s freaking insane and really hard to describe after the first viewing, but I’ll try my best…the key word here is try. 

            The film follows Gretchen (Schafer), a teenage girl moving from the United States to live with her father (Martin Csokas-The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Bourne Supremacy, Chevalier) in the German Alps. But Gretchen becomes disturbed by strange occurrences as her father’s boss (Dan Stevens-Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, The Boy and the Heron, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire) embroils her family in a sinister plot. 

            The film also stars Jessica Henwick (Game of Thrones, The Matrix Resurrections, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery) as Beth, Greta Fernández (Fiction, The Burning Cold, Teresa) as Trixie, and Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey (The Sea Wall, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword) as Ed. 

            Overall, Cuckoo might very well be the craziest film I’ve seen all year which is saying a lot having already watched Love Lies Bleeding and I Saw the TV Glow. It’s so crazy I’m not even sure I fully understood it as I’m writing this review so it might warrant multiple viewings to get the whole story and themes which I am perfectly fine with doing because this was certainly not a boring sit. 

            The film kept my interest all the way through and constantly had me wondering where it was going while also trying to piece things together. I think these are the best kinds of horror films where there’s no clear answers to what’s really happening and leaves a lot to the imagination. 

            There are some genuinely creepy scenes in the movie specifically from the horrific things Gretchen is seeing that nobody else seems to see. However, because a lot of the film’s effect comes from shock and surprise I won’t be going into details about any of the scares, just go watch the movie. 

            I’m not super familiar with Hunter Schafer and most of what I’ve seen of her were supporting roles, but I thought she was great as the lead for the movie. Her character sort of has this snarky attitude but you understand why she’s like that with her being very far removed from home and her estranged relationship with her father and his new girlfriend and that she starts to question why her family is trusting a slimy-looking man who’s obviously hiding something from them and you do end up rooting for her as she’s uncovering the truth behind these nightmares she’s seeing. 

            Dan Stevens is also a lot of fun as this wormy, enigmatic hotel owner who gives Schafer’s Gretchen a front desk job. You can pretty much figure out easily that his character is not a man to be trusted but Stevens just rolls with it and delivers a charismatic yet sometimes unsettling performance. 

            I haven’t seen Luz before, but writer-director Tilman Singer does a remarkable job bringing this outlandish and completely bonkers premise to the screen and making it work. The production design and cinematography sort of has this sometimes pretty, sometimes foreboding atmosphere that really capture the feeling of an unknown place and from beginning to end you can feel Singer’s passion and dedication to his craft here and I look forward to seeing more from him in the future. 

            This film probably won’t win everyone over as there are a lot of artistic merits and the plot is just so outlandish and weird that I could see someone not fully getting into it. Regardless of what your thoughts are, it will certainly lead to some interesting conversations in the lobby after the film ends. 

            For me, this was a blood-drenched blast of chaos in the best way, add on top of that a brilliant Hunter Schafer performance, and Tilman Singer in his zone and you got a horror film that will make you go Cuckoo! My head hurts!