Cuckoo – Review

Release Date – 23rd August 2024, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 43 minutes, Director – Tilman Singer

After encountering strange figures and screeches in the night, Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) discovers a sinister side to the quiet alpine resort her parents (Marton Csokas, Jessica Henwick) have been invited to.

The German alpine resort in which Cuckoo takes place in feels like an area trapped in another time. The 60s style décor and architecture is matched by the colour palette which is emphasised by the cinematography. Pair it with the fact that the resort is almost void of guests, and has very minimal staff, and it feels as if the area is recovering from being subjected to nuclear radiation. Perhaps this explains some of the strange goings on which teenage Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) encounters when her family are invited to stay, with her coming along at the last minute in the wake of her mother’s death.

Father Luis (Marton Csokas), distant step-mother Beth (Jessica Henwick) and mute step-sister Alma (Mila Lieu) are all greeted warmly by resort owner Herr Konig (Dan Stevens). Apparently invited so that Luis and Beth can work on developing a new resort for him, Gretchen seems to be almost instantly mistrusting of Konig. The same goes for the audience as Stevens creates an immediately skin-crawling figure. Everything isn’t as it seems might not apply to this film as the creepiness is already clear as soon as he appears on screen and begins to speak, his presence in a scene puts you on edge, wondering what he’s hiding or planning.

Is he behind the strange screeching noises which appear to shake the surroundings, seemingly reversing time for a few seconds, or is it the covered-up figures running through the night, one attacking Gretchen on her way back home from working late at the resort’s reception – having been told not to do so. As Gretchen explores more the fear factor effectively comes through in what we don’t know. It’s clear that something is going on, at not point is there ambiguity or a question as to if everything is in her head, part of the fear factor is how no one appears to believe her, and indeed the state of the resort, its fully functioning on-site hospital, and the overall abandoned aesthetic.

Jump scares aren’t the priority here, there’s only one over the 103-minute run-time and it’s very effective, instead building up the creepiness is the focus as Gretchen tries to uncover what might be happening behind the scenes at the resort, and why her family were really invited. As the investigation grows there are answers, although not quite enough when it comes to the third act. Just a bit more context would help to lift the climactic events a bit more, and stop the film from almost becoming tangled in itself. While we get some answers it feels as if some context is left out that would provide a more satisfying set of conclusions, and a general basis for what has come beforehand.

It creates an unevenness to the closing stages which while still providing something enjoyable, especially in the deadly confrontations which move more towards the centre as the end point gets closer. Even as she gets increasingly beaten-up and bandaged with each attack and encounter she faces you buy into Gretchen’s determination thanks to Schafer’s leading turn, her performance is part of what helps move the third act along and holds engagement amongst the mild dissatisfaction of not getting certain answers which could heighten the threat at hand.

Yet, for a good portion of the run-time, as Gretchen is investigating, occasionally with help from one or two of the few other faces at the resort, there’s a good deal to enjoy and be creeped out by the lingering sense of threat in the air – one which changes and turns into a much more upfront threat in the latter stages where the film makes something of a shift. It doesn’t derail things, and there’s still a lot to like and feel effective horror from beforehand, particularly thanks to Schafer’s central performance, and the fear-inducing presence of Stevens’ character, but if it provided a few more answers when needed then Cuckoo could be a much more solid horror from start to finish.

For the most part Cuckoo’s aesthetics and performances make for a creepy set of events with plenty of tension and fear factor, however things are let down in a third act which somewhat shifts threat and would be more effective with more contextual answers.