Cuckoo

I went to the "Secret Screaming" screening of "Cuckoo" last night, though I was pretty confident, based on the fact it's already out in the US, that this would be the film that Cineworld were going to show. My feelings about the film remain mixed, even having taken a night to ruminate on it.

Following the death of her mother, Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) moves with her father Luis (Marton Csokas), Stepmother Beth (Jessica Henwick) and Stepsister Alma (Mila Lieu) to a cabin resort in the German Alps. The family are there to design an expansion to the complex, at the request of Herr Konig (Dan Stevens), the owner of the resort. Konig offers Gretchen a job working at the hotel's reception, but on the strict understanding that she must not work the late shift, and definitely won't cycle home through the woods at night.

Just because it's an easier place to start, I will say that I don't think I found "Cuckoo" particularly scary. There's an excellently framed set piece near the start of the film - that was unfortunately mostly featured in the trailer, and a couple of body horror moments that work, but it's really more of a thriller than a genuine horror film.

I will say that I imagine that a fair proportion of people will be shaken off by the film. It's not particularly accessible, being wilfully stylish and trippy and taking a while to get to its explanations - though if you stick with it, they are coming. Dan Stevens, always amazing, is back again (for this, my third film of his this year) and he's having a great time as the eccentric Herr Konig. Schafer (also, ironically in a third film of the year for me) carries the movie though, she's in every scene and manages to keep you onside despite her character doing some questionable things. She has some more dramatic scenes as the film progresses and her emotional (and physical) suffering is well done.

I suppose the best I can do is say that I don't regret watching "Cuckoo", which has enough scenes and moments to make up for the slightly unsatisfying whole. I'll never need to watch it again though.

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.

Cuckoo is a movie in a genre I love, and in a subgenre I frequently enjoy. I also regularly love complex movies that keep you guessing. I also love really weird movies. To say "this movie is not for me" would be inaccurate. Yet I pretty much hated it.

As the movie went along, I understood less and less. I couldn't fully grasp what was happening. I kept telling myself to be patient, and maybe it will pay off. But nope. There is nothing satisfying if you wait it out. And there are tons of unanswered questions and things that make no sense.

But the biggest failure is the inability to make me care about the characters or story at all. During the climax, I repeatedly thought, "I don't care." I just wanted it to end so I could go home.

There are some creepy moments. I'm a fan of actors Dan Stevens and Jessica Henwick, but they aren't given much to do. And in the end, I had a terrible time with this movie.

(1 viewing, opening night 8/8/2024)

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,