This movie is suitably cuckoo. And not very good.
If there’s one thing Cuckoo has going for it, it’s the weirdness factor. The latest horror to hit theatres this week is a mind-bending thriller that tries to deliver a mix of horror and mystery with a fantastical plot, but it really struggles to stand out as anything but an underwhelming, under-developed offering.
The story centers on 17-year-old Gretchen. She reluctantly leaves her American home to live with her father, who has just moved into a resort in the German Alps with his new family. Arriving at their future residence, they are greeted by the weird Mr. König, her father’s boss, who takes an inexplicable interest in Gretchen’s half-sister Alma, who also happens to be mute.
There’s definitely something up with this seemingly paradisaic vacation spot, and Gretchen sets out to investigate what’s really going on here. As she does, she finds herself plagued with visions and strange noises, culminating in some shocking revelations.
On paper, Cuckoo isn’t that bad in terms of the ideas it presents. Unfortunately, it slips into way too many horror tropes and predictable turns along the way, eventually walking a weird line where the plot itself is bonkers and feels more like a campy horror, but the tone is played so seriously that it almost feels like a parody.
The explanations we get are loose and bogged with big exposition dumps late on, but are nowhere near detailed enough to actually make for a satisfying watch. I’m being careful not to reveal spoilers here, because there’s some pretty bizarre and weird turns, but the film devolves into senseless frenzy more than a cohesive rollercoaster ride of thrills, and there really aren’t that many scary moments either.
In fact, apart from one tense moment featuring Gretchen riding her bike and trying to escape something, most of the film is content with showing its hand early on and trying to wrap its story around the oddities and mystery, rather than teasing something more sinister lurking around the corner. Sometimes the biggest fear is what we don’t see (as evidenced by Shyamalan’s Signs until the final act) and this is something that would have helped Cuckoo a lot.
It’s a shame to be honest because the acting is actually pretty good all round. Hunter Schafer in particular really carries this film as the lead, while Dan Stevens does a great job depicting the unnerving König.
Thematically, Cuckoo leans into ideas of identity, family and reproduction, along with the notion of kids flying “out of the nest” away from their parents. All of these are conveyed nicely on both ends of the spectrum, with both the absolute worst (a car accident with Gretchen) and best (the final act of the movie) on display. Again, I’m being careful not to spoil anything but thematically, Cuckoo has its heart in the right place.
However, this is one of those movies where it both over-explains itself into a hole, and under-develops its ideas to the point of leaving you with way too many questions when the final credits roll. This unfortunately leads to an unsatisfying conclusion to wrap everything up. It’s not a bad film if you go in and “don’t think too hard” but given Cuckoo is played so seriously, and really leans into its thematic weight, that almost feels like a contradiction to what director and writer Tilman Singer is trying to do here.
In the end, Cuckoo is a messy and flawed horror. It gets brownie points for originality and the performances, but the lack of sheer horror and poor plotting all round hold this back from being a better title. It’s okay for a one-time watch but don’t expect anything showstopping to come from this.
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Verdict - 5/10
5/10