Cuckoo (2024)
Directed by: Tilman Singer
Premise: An American family relocates to the German Alps to oversee the construction of a new hotel. The family’s eldest daughter (Hunter Schafer) suspects that the hotel conceals a sinister secret.
What Works: Cuckoo presents a novel idea with a great deal of style. The opening premise sees an American family move to the German Alps and Cuckoo initially plays as a familiar outsider story with the protagonist struggling to fit in and gradually discovering a terrible secret. However, that terrible secret proves to be quite unusual in the manner of the television show The Outer Limits or the monster-themed episodes of The X-Files. The performances are quite good especially among the supporting cast. The pitch of many of the performances is slightly and appropriately askew in a fashion similar to 1973’s The Wicker Man. The demeanor of the supporting characters creates a contrast with Hunter Schafer’s character. She’s going through a tough time and is emotionally honest and raw in a way that contrasts with everyone else who seems to be hiding an agenda. That difference sets Schafer’s character apart and contributes to an atmosphere of isolation and paranoia. Cuckoo has terrific style. The picture has a distressing vibe that’s created through the camerawork and the sound. The filmmakers select interesting angles and frame subjects in ways that create tension. The soundtrack creates an aural ambiance and includes unusual sound effects that are jolting.
What Doesn’t: Cuckoo doesn’t entirely make sense. Some of the confusion is deliberate. The story has a lot of different parts with various characters and their agendas. Much of it doesn’t quite come together. Viewers generally get satisfaction from stories in the unity of the drama; subplots and themes gradually piece together as the story goes on. The various narrative strands and ideas of Cuckoo never coalesce. In a few sequences the characters encounter a time loop and reexperience the same event in multiple variations. The time loops are not explained; it’s not clear if all the characters are having this same experience nor is it evident why it’s happening and how it relates to the other phenomena. The family drama is divorced from everything else that’s happening. The mother of Schafer’s character has died and the daughter is working through grief while also coping with the move and a rocky relationship with her father and step-mother. The grief and parental tensions don’t really go anywhere.
Bottom Line: Cuckoo is a well-made horror picture and it succeeds at creating an atmosphere of dread. The story is a bit messy but that messiness also contributes to the film’s vibe.
Episode: #1009 (August 18, 2024)