MOVIE REVIEW: CUCKOO (R)

Tilman Singer’s “Cuckoo” is a wildly entertaining, often unpredictable, undeniably atmospheric, and fittingly engrossing (especially in the first half) slice of mystery-laced horror. It’s the kind of film that will have you jumping one second and scratching your head the next because for all of the wonderful scares, under-your-skin tone, and appropriately placed humor, “Cuckoo” is one of those movies that also thrives on a certain level of ambiguity. This is to say that it doesn’t necessarily give you all of the answers you may be seeking but it doesn’t matter because the mood, the creep factor, and the descent into complete and utter weirdness make the journey worth it. It should also be noted that “Cuckoo” might be the most appropriate film title of the year, horror or otherwise.

In “Cuckoo,” slightly bitter 17-year-old Gretchen (Hunter Schafer of “Euphoria”) is irked at the very notion of being plucked from her American surroundings and whisked off to a German resort by her newly married father, stepmother, and young stepsister. That said, she hasn’t much of a choice in the matter, so she opts to make the best of a crappy situation. Upon arriving at said resort, things go from weird to weirder after a strange set of circumstances lead Grethen and her family to the realization that there might be more to this resort than meets the eye. And not at all in the way viewers might be expecting.

I probably should have prefaced this review by suggesting you not read specifics about this movie as the less you know about “Cuckoo” going in, the better. Some might even argue that the official trailer for this film (easily one of my favorite trailers of the year) is something you might want to avoid. To that, I say those marketing geniuses at Neon have followed up a fantastic “Longlegs” advertising campaign (one that’s led the Osgood Perkins-helmed thriller to be the most talked about slice of horror of the year) with yet another.  In the end, where “Cuckoo” is concerned, you’d be best advised leaving your idea of what the movie might be behind, kicking back, and simply having a good time.

A tenacious Schafer does an admirable job carrying this film on her shoulders. “Cuckoo” is, after all, told mostly from her perspective and this young actress is able to convey anger, sadness, confusion, mystery, and toughness in equal measure and through it all, she still manages to display a spunky sense of humor. Likewise, “Cuckoo” features a capable supporting cast including Martin Csokas, Jessica Henwick, and Mila Lieu.

Of course, no “Cuckoo” review would be complete without heaping praise upon Dan Stevens whose work here is incredibly entertaining. As an eccentric German resort owner, Stevens hits all the right notes, and he deserves bonus points for bringing a devilish and playful sense of oddball humor to the proceedings. With his wonderful work in “Abigail,” “Godzilla X Kong,” and now “Cuckoo,” Stevens might just be the genre movie MVP of 2024.

“Cuckoo” is an interesting brand of horror and as such, it isn’t going to be for everyone. Again, it certainly doesn’t spell everything out and that, no doubt, will frustrate some viewers. Ultimately, though, I liked that it kept me guessing and I straight up loved that it ended up being something substantially different from the kind of movie I initially thought it would be. In that regard, there are aspects of the structure and pacing here that reminded me a little of the 2022 horror hit, “Barbarian” but for my money, “Cuckoo” is the stronger film. It may not hit the mark at every single turn, and I don’t know that the second half quite lived up to the set up but overall, I greatly enjoyed it.