Cuckoo

I had high hopes for this movie. It starts off pretty well, slow paced, setting the isolated stage in a good way, odd characters and an eerie setting. I liked it. Then it started getting creepier and creepier and it felt like I was in for something good and different, and I was. Just not consistently the way I hoped for as it only lasted up to a certain point, and then it dropped the ball. Suddenly it felt like the movie didn't know what it wanted to be, as it went in different moods and directions.

It did try to get back on the creepy track here and there, but it was not enough. The illusion of a really creepy and eerie setting was over, and the rest was a rather bland mix of pointless motions which had me simply waiting for the end of the movie so I could go and do something else. It's a shame, I wanted it to keep on the way it initially did. That would have set it apart from other horror movies, but alas no, it wasn't meant to be. It just had to try to add some action into the mix, and not in a good way. The whole premise was explained and I lost interest in it.

One of the rules when making creepy and unsettling stories; do not explain! Do not! That ruins everything. I don't want to know what the monster or horror is, I want my mind to try to fill in the blanks. I don't want it explained to me. I can take the fact that I don't know what I just saw is, that makes the effect that much greater. The thing about not knowing what the evil really is, not knowing where it came from, that's a great part of the horror it represents. The fear of the unknown is as old as all living things and should not be ruined when making these movies. Once you explain it, it's over. How copywriters and directors misses this point again and again in movie after movie is completely beyond me. If you can avoid it, don't show the monster, but if you do, make sure it gets maximum effect and not for shock value. Ever since Alien there's not a monster in any movie that tops that one, so don't go over the top trying to beat it, because you won't succeed. In this one the monster worked, it was creepy as hell, even though we got to see it so it was well done in this circumstance, until they explained it. Do not ever explain the monster!

Just like the movie Smile, which also showed a great initial promise, this movie simply faded away into just another horror movie that explains a really good and mysterious premise and then ruins it because of it, that couldn't keep itself together, and so became just another easily forgotten movie. It is indeed a real shame as it showed such promise from start.

Perhaps the director will learn from his mistakes and do better next time.

Disappointment. It's made with such a serious tone, but the things that are happening are so silly and stupid that the whole theatre was laughing. If the director made it a campy horror movie, it would be fine but you can feel that Tilman Singer had absurdly high artistic vision for this. That movie really has an identity crisis - it wants to be a horror, family drama and some weird action movie but it's just unintentionally funny. The script is stupid and has weird twist that isn't fully explained, so the audience didn't really understood what's going on and WHY is that whole thing happening.

However when it comes to positives, it has interesting visual choices. I also adore that weird, surreal atmosphere and acting perfomances by Hunter Schafer and Dan Stevens. And overall, that movie was fun to watch even if the comedy in that movie was unintentional.

Is it worth watching in cinema? No.

Is it worth watching at home? Yeah, if ur looking for fun, dumb horror movie,

Saw it at Berlinale - Hunter Schafer is good and we, on a emotional level, really believe everything she is asked to do by the director. Her performance ankers this movie, there isn't much to complain about on her part. The main reason why this movie does not work is the main antagonist - from the first time we see him he comes of as strange, not in a creepy or uncanny way which this movie would have needed but like he didn't belong into this movie. The character is obviously supposed to be off-putting and mysterious with an eccentric touch but apart from the latter his performance fails to convey this. The plot gets more and more obscure with time, and it is clear a somewhat logical ending will not be possible. Which a movie does not necessarily need by the way! But it tries to string it together and that does not work, it becomes laughable at times and misses it's mark. Not to mention the irrational choices made by the other family members. Maybe the way it tries to explain itself is what ultimately breaks it. The multiple tonal shifts and pace changes as it gets closer to the credits result in losing emotional connection, but I can see how they could work for some viewers. A performance that really worked besides Schafers is her young sister. The cinematography is good. It may get you with some jump scares but if you are familiar with the genre you will see most of them coming.

"Cuckoo" follows teenaged Gretchen who begrudgingly moves to the German Alps where her father has been hired to design a new resort for proprietor Herr König. Once there, Gretchen takes a job running the reception area of the current (and decaying) resort lobby. After a series of odd occurrences, she finds herself being pursued by a strange cloaked woman.

I went into this film with tempered expectations, despite the fact that the trailers intrigued me, and I am happy to say that "Cuckoo" was a pleasant--albeit imperfect--surprise. Tonally and atmosphere-wise, writer/director Tilman Singer strikes gold. The Bavarian Alps locations are breathtakingly captured, and the set pieces (specifically the dusty, retro hotel lobby and bungalows scattered at the forested foot of a mountain) feel like a cross between "Twin Peaks" and Dario Argento's "Phenomena".

Script-wise, where "Cuckoo" works best is in its ability to keep the audience in a state of limbo and intrigue. The formula here is familiar: Protagonist comes to a new location; things are not as they seem. However, the parameters of utter strangeness that this story is stretched to really makes it completely unique and unlike anything I've ever seen. As it progresses, it veers into science fiction territory, and in moments reminded me of something like 1981's "Strange Behavior", a film about a teenager uncovering a strange plot in his small Midwestern town. "Cuckoo" similarly follows its own logic without reservation, and the outcome might be too much for certain tastes. As others have noted, I do think the film nearly goes off the deep end in the last act, as the plot threads established early on do not feel as though they fully coalesce.

While I did not find the film particularly scary, the strange cloaked mystery woman who serves as the chief antagonist here has some effective and bizarre appearances, and her overall getup (trench coat, boats, sunglasses) feels like something straight out of a giallo. Performances here are uniformly solid, with Hunter Schafer playing the rebellious but likable lead, and Dan Stevens as the strange resort owner. Jan Bluthardt is also great as a detective that ultimately ends up teaming up with Gretchen, and the two develop a quasi-buddy kinship. There is in general a consistent sense of humor throughout the film that most of these actors have the opportunity to tap into, and which makes the proceedings especially fun.

All in all, while I think the film could have benefitted from some tinkering in its last act, I nonetheless enjoyed "Cuckoo" for the mere fact that it is wholly original in more ways than one. The atmosphere and performances only give the film more bang for its buck, and the utterly strange places the story goes were more than enough to keep me intrigued. If you're hankering for a strange trip into the Alps, look no further. 7/10.

Few nice ideas are falling apart with really bad scenario at the end. The movie wants to be a horror, but at the end it becomes kinda bad and silly action movie. With a bad acting, non logic actions and hilarious staging.

I really live the ideas of creatures. Instead of fierys from debut picture of "Watchers", "Cuckoo" really has something new to offer.

And it evolving really good until 75% of the movie when everything starts to fall apart. Seems like screen writer did not know what to do with all of the beautiful concept he made.

Never let the movie break into different genres when you don't know what to do Mr. Screenwriter.