Film Review: ‘Cuckoo’ is a Wild Horror Ride

It’s fun when a horror film gets progressively crazier. It’s even more fun when a character in said movie acknowledges the craziness. Cuckoo has an ace up its sleeve in that its protagonist calls out suspect behavior and strange moments. Between that and a real gonzo supporting performance, there are added bonuses here that takes a fun genre flick and makes it a memorably good time.

Cuckoo has some elements that work better than others, but the overall vibe is of a good weird time. When it’s firing on all cylinders, you’re completely open to whatever might happen next, and in fact, hoping for the most extreme outcomes. It’s a credit to the film that the odder things get, the more fun you’re having. In fact, the unpredictability works very much in its favor.

Seventeen year old Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) is none too pleased to be moving in with her father Luis (Márton Csókás) and his new family, after the death of her mother. She’s not close with his wife Beth (Jessica Henwick) or their young daughter Alma (Mimi Lieu), but more importantly, they’ve moved from America to a resort in the German Alps to work for the mysterious Herr König (Dan Stevens). Despite a very welcoming nature, there’s something off about him, even as he gets Gretchen a front desk job at his hotel. She’s going to find out just how off things are, too.

When night falls, there appears to be someone or something in the shadows. No one seems to notice it, which drives Gretchen up a wall. When her co-worker Trixie (Greta Fernández) asks her to cover the end of her shift, König is furious that Gretchen is planning to go home alone. She ignores him, but after an encounter with a terrifying hooded woman (Kalin Morrow), Gretchen has questions. The arrival of Henry Landau (Jan Bluthardt), who claims to be investigating the strange goings on doesn’t help, either. Once she finds out what’s actually going on, not only is Gretchen horrified, her life will be in grave danger. There’s a conspiracy afoot, one almost everyone in town seems to be in on.

Hunter Schafer and Dan Stevens are the highlights here. The former gets a strong central showcase on the big screen, after being a Euphoria standout, while the latter goes full Christoph Waltz in a crazy yet always entertaining performance. They end up in a battle of sorts throughout, which is a pleasure to watch. The supporting cast leaves much less of a mark, but talented performers like Márton Csókás and Jessica Henwick do what they can. The rest of the cast, besides the aforementioned Jan Bluthardt, Greta Fernández, Mimi Lieu, and Kalin Morrow, include Proschat Madani, Konrad Singer, and more.

Filmmaker Tilman Singer throws a lot at the wall, with plenty sticking. The central mystery works, but it’s Schafer’s indignation that no one else thinks anything is weird really sells it. Of course, Stevens going full Waltz doesn’t hurt, either. Singer isn’t shy about letting Cuckoo get weird, even if it ultimately has a fairly common denouement. Getting there is anything but. The pacing is a bit hit or miss, but the highs are high enough to cover over almost all of the lows. Singer’s writing and direction is full of ambition, while never forgetting about entertainment value.

This is more evidence that NEON is a home for horror. I wrote about that here, but between this and Longlegs (raved about here and here), the distributor has got the genre covered. At this point, when they have a fright flick primed for release, I’m excited. They have more than earned that treatment here in 2024.

Cuckoo gets points for originality and for letting Stevens go wild. The overall final product is good, though individual moments veer towards great. I’d watch Schafer and Stevens all day, so giving them something this unique and weird is a real feather in the film’s cap. If you’re in the mood for odd horror, this is a very strong new release!

SCORE: ★★★