Cuckoo

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)

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.

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.

Okay. Sorry in advance for the rant.

Great buildup. Eerie atmosphere. An unusual isolated location. A compelling mystery. Imagery that's creepy in an uncanny way. Some interesting ideas. A visual style (and a couple other elements) that reminded me (positively) of A Cure for Wellness.

However, while something like the slasher genre can afford to have a number of unlikable characters due to their large casts and the fact that the majority of them are meant to be unsympathetic in order to grant a sense of catharsis when they're killed horribly, focused thrillers with one lead that you're supposed to be rooting for don't benefit from the same allowance. In Cuckoo, Gretchen has literally nothing to recommend her. Until a point halfway through the movie (which isn't hidden but she treats like any other so you kind of forget about it despite it completely changing her motivations), she's unfailingly moody, rude, incompetent, stupid, ungrateful, selfish, reckless, arrogant, lazy, awkward, aggressive, dishonest, entitled, and insincere, and despite all that, she's indescribably boring, ensuring that one couldn't care less what happens to her because she fails to display even a single positive personality trait. I actually had to triple-check to make sure it wasn't the same writer as Dark, the paragon of creating uninteresting, unlikable characters. Though Schafer's acting doesn't do her any favors either.

Besides that, there's sloppy, repetitive exposition and some glaring scientific/logical problems if you think about the plentiful explanations they provide for more than 5 seconds. I only finished it because Dan Stevens' charm, combined with the aforementioned elements, made it watchable, but jeez it was a slog.

Would not recommend.

My wife and I watched the German film 🇩🇪 Cuckoo (2024) in theaters last night. The story follows a young American woman who is forced to move in with her father, stepmother, and stepsister at a resort in the mountains of Germany. As she struggles to find her place in this new environment, she takes a job at the resort to pass the time while searching for her own direction. However, her new life takes a dark turn when a strange police officer starts lurking around the premises, and a mysterious woman tries to kill her at night. Her parents think she's losing her mind-but is she?

Written and directed by Tilman Singer (Luz), Cuckoo stars Hunter Schafer (Euphoria), Dan Stevens (The Guest), Márton Csókás (The Amazing Spider-Man 2), Jan Bluthardt (Luz), Jessica Henwick (Glass Onion), and Greta Fernández (The Next Skin).

This movie had so much potential. The concept is original, unique, and well set up. Hunter Schafer is a phenomenal actress (she's fantastic in Euphoria as well). She delivers a perfect performance, capturing the desperation and isolation of her character from beginning to end. The subplots involving the mother and stepsister are smartly executed, and the type of "monster" that haunts this film is both fun and unique. The twist and reveal of the "cuckoo" element are brilliant and well-written, much smarter than I anticipated. However, when it comes to the "big finale," the film becomes predictable and ultimately disappointing. The ending falls flat and feels like a bit of a letdown.

In conclusion, Cuckoo is a unique and worthwhile addition to the horror genre, but it doesn't fully reach its potential. I would score this film a 7/10.