The Big Picture

Cuckoo
is a unique horror film that blends humor and scares in a distinct vision.

Cuckoo
features exceptional performances from Hunter Schafer and Dan Stevens.
The film boasts excellent sound design and offers a balance between madness and mirth.

Every so often, there is a horror film that isn’t afraid to get a little weird and keep you from finding your balance. Audience expectations be damned, these works operate on their own wavelength, and you just have to go along for the ride. Writer-director Tilman Singer’s Cuckoo is this in glorious action, proving to be both plenty of fun in the ways genre lovers will expect, while also pushing into its own strange and silly directions. It has what would already work as a solid premise that it then twists and distorts to magnificent effect. There are already few movies that promise a showdown for the ages between great actors like Hunter Schafer and Dan Stevens, though this is only a fraction of what’s in store in Cuckoo. It’s a goofy, gory horror romp unlike anything you’ve ever seen. If you let the cast and its creator guide you into its distinct vision, it has the power to be one of the best and boldest horror films of the year.

Cuckoo (2024) A 17-year old girl is forced to move with her family to a resort where things are not what they seem.Release Date May 3, 2024 Director Tilman Singer Runtime 102 Minutes Writers Tilman Singer

What Is ‘Cuckoo’ About?
Unknowingly at the center of this impending chaos is the rebellious young Gretchen (Schafer) who is being whisked away from her home in America to the German Alps with her father Luis (Marton Csokas), her stepmother Beth (Jessica Henwick), and her half-sister Alma (Mila Lieu) in tow. It is there that they meet her father’s boss Mr. König (Stevens) who seems to be just always around and a little too close for comfort. None too pleased about the arrangement, Gretchen begins to work at the resort. The trouble is she starts hearing voices and, when biking home one night, notices something that is lurking in the woods that begins pursuing her with alarming speed in a wonderful chase sequence that ends with her only barely escaping. When she tries to raise these concerns with her father and other adults, everyone seems suspiciously unwilling to take her seriously. In one delightfully dark comedic moment of many in Cuckoo, Gretchen points out of exasperation at Mr. König, who Stevens plays perfectly as just a creepy little guy wandering around with a flute, only to go completely ignored once again. Left with limited options, she’ll have to figure out what is going on with nothing but her wits and a butterfly knife while increasingly protecting her half-sister who, in addition to being mute, seems to be of great interest to those with nefarious ends.

Any other details surrounding the specifics of this being or what is facing Gretchen are best experienced in the film as it’s truly a blast to see how Singer throws you into it all. The filmmaker behind 2018’s Luz is operating on another level here, ratcheting up the tension just as he isn’t afraid to tease out unexpected moments of humor. Some of this stems from how both Stevens and Schafer are operating in complete synchronicity with Singer’s vision, though it also comes down to the way everything is meticulously constructed. From the aforementioned bike sequence that relies on gradually playing around with shadows before bursting out into full speed to the way the film increasingly loops back in on itself with maddening intensity, it is confidently grounded in its own rules and still gleefully able to make you feel like your mind is melting. There is no moment Singer isn’t going for it as he achieves this feeling of everything being unhinged just as the filmmaking itself remains precise.

‘Cuckoo’ Cements Tilman Singer as a Horror Filmmaker to Watch
Image via Neon

Not only does Cuckoo itself look great, with great texture to the visuals that make its violent pleasures carry that much more of a punch, but the way these scenes are all staged by Singer proves to be spectacular. Whether it is when we see two characters taking part in an absurd stakeout before everything goes to hell or many of the scenes in the confined rooms where Gretchen must think quickly to escape, it’s top-tier horror filmmaking that it then builds off of to get weird. The way scenes will fold back in on themselves, trapping characters in a loop they can’t seem to escape, makes all of these moments that much more menacing.

Even in the moments where the film is spinning its wheels a bit, particularly in the middle, the direction it is all heading is still an intriguing one. Everything remains attuned to being both fully sincere in its scares while also being willing to poke fun at itself. The two elements go hand-in-hand as Cuckoo strikes a balance between madness and mirth. At the core of this is the sound design that takes everything up a notch. Hearing the all-consuming screams reverberating through the various scenes sends a chill up the spine just as you are completely enraptured by its lead performance. Schafer is truly at her most sensational and sharp.

Hunter Schafer Crushes It in ‘Cuckoo’
Image via Neon

While Schafer has been in plenty of projects before this, whether it is the series Euphoria, the recent The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, or the English version of the recent animated film Belle, this is her first time that she has led a live-action feature that is truly all her own. Not only does she more than rise to the occasion, but she expertly navigates the necessary variety of tones to make the film sing. Whether it is the comedic beats when Gretchen is trying to make sense of the bizarre events that are taking place around her or the increasingly tense ones towards the end as she must navigate the film’s effective climax where everything comes crashing down, Schafer never misses a single step.

It is not an easy part to play in Singer’s world, but she makes it look like it is. The film is by no means solely a showcase for just Schafer, as Stevens remains as uniquely sinister and silly as ever, though it proves she is more than up to the task to take on leading roles in unabashedly weird works like this. Cuckoo will most certainly not be for everyone, but for those looking for a horror film that draws you in just as it defies any of your expectations for where it is supposed to go, it’s hard to think of a trip this year you’ll find that is as bold and bonkers as this one. If you dare, all it takes is you to fully open your mind and ears to it.

Cuckoo (2024) REVIEWCuckoo is a horror film that is unabashedly weird with a duo of great performances from Hunter Schafer and Dan Stevens. ProsThe film is both goofy and gory, guiding you into a distinct vision that has the potential to be one of the best of the year.Dan Stevens is perfect as a creepy little guy who wanders around with a flute.Hunter Schafer is sensational, proving that she is more than capable of taking on more leading roles in movies.The film’s sound design is excellent, taking everything up a notch when it counts. ConsThe film can feel like it is spinning its wheels just a bit.

Cuckoo had its North American Premiere at the 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival. It comes to theaters in the U.S. starting May 3. Click below for showtimes.

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