Cuckoo is a thrilling and terrifying ride in the horror genre that blends calming visuals with looming dread. The film, written and directed by Tilman Singer, recently had its Montreal premiere at the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival. With a stunning cast and a narrative, I could spend days dissecting and analyzing, this entry by Singer has become one of my favorites of 2024.
Plot of ‘Cuckoo’
The last thing teenager Gretchen (Hunter Schafer, EUPHORIA) wants is to be taken from her divorced mother’s home in the States and dragged halfway around the world by her father and his new wife. Yet she winds up with Luis (Marton Csokas, THE EQUALIZER), Beth (Jessica Henwick, THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS), and Beth’s mute preteen daughter Alma (Mila Lieu, DODGER) in the Bavarian Alps, where her dad and stepmom are redesigning a local resort.
They’re working for Herr König (Dan Stevens, ABIGAIL), an odd bird who initially comes across as friendly, and gives Gretchen a desk job at his hotel. From her first night on the job, however, unsettling things begin to happen to and around her, particularly random attacks by a freakish, screaming woman—yet Gretchen has no idea just how bizarre and dangerous things are going to get.
The Nature of Horror in ‘Cuckoo’
Cuckoo brought a uniquely modernized aesthetic to the screen, developing a visual love child between A Cure for Wellness and The Shining. The tones and colors kept the energy at a baseline that fluctuated with Gretchen’s experiences. There was a deformity in the stillness and silence within multiple scenes. It became hard to look away, but something consistently tugged at the nerves.
Visually, this was a horror film with a familiar aesthetic. It brought comfort through recognition and devoured the looming fear that anything could be around the corner. Moments of purely horrific distortion would arrive with calculated precision that I adore and respect. Yes, it’s odd to utter “adore” when discussing horror. However, with well-done horror films, there’s always a level of adoration for the attention to detail and visual splendor.
The visuals wouldn’t release attention, but neither would the spectacular acting. Stevens gave a bone-chilling performance that offered a seducing sense of comfort amidst the unease. Hunter didn’t initially win me over, but she dominated the screen for most of the film. Her performance beautifully portrays the depth of grief and the horror that can add to the loss or questioning of sanity.
The story of Cuckoo slowly builds, but it has a focus that it maintains throughout. For some portions of the film, the narrative becomes a tad too complex and builds onto confusing explanations that weren’t necessary. However, the themes in the film are fantastic and explore family trauma, hysteria, reproductive expectations, and autonomy. I had a blast watching this film and it brought out the side of me obsessed with deeper themes regarding gender in horror.
Cuckoo takes you on a journey where dots continue to connect in interesting ways. Characters like _ are not just flawed for the sake of being flawed; their trauma and experiences influence their behavior. Grief and trauma can become overdone in horror these days, but this film had a refreshing and cohesive take on it all that allows audiences to take it how they wish to. Cuckoo was a gorgeous emotional gut punch of a horror film, filled expertly with body horror & suspense. I love a fucked-up horror film with kickass sound mixing and music. The film arrives in theaters on August 9th with tickets currently available for pre-order.
‘Cuckoo’ Review:
5/5
