I had no idea what was happening during much of the totally insane new horror movie Cuckoo, and that’s perfectly fine with me. I could tell writer-director Tilman Singer was delivering his weirder-than-all-hell imagery with a true, meticulous intention in mind, and I suspected it would all make sense in the end.
In the tradition of great puzzler movies (like the best of David Lynch), it did indeed make sense in the end. Well, most of it did; I think some of it is supposed to be weird for the sake of just being weird, and again, I’m all right with that.
Hunter Schafer (Euphoria) stars as Gretchen, an American arriving with her family at a strange resort in Germany run by Herr König (Dan Stevens, making a name for himself in horror movies lately). She gets a summer job at the resort and is chased by a strange woman on the way home from her first night shift. Just what is wrong with that woman is one of the film’s great mysteries, and it plays out until the very end.
Konig is a warm and happy host at first—albeit a little “off,” with a hint of unreliability. Stevens, after his turn in this year’s underrated vampire flick Abigail, is right at home in a horror movie; after his last two roles, I’m wondering how I can watch him in a happy comedy again. I’m seeing Stevens in a different light these days.
Schafer here enjoys a breakout performance, showing a real knack for letting her character justifiably unravel. Gretchen’s sister, Alma (Mila Lieu), starts having weird seizures, while Gretchen starts having strange moments where she is caught in time loops. No matter how wacky these situations get, Schafer provides a solid character study that keeps things centered.
Just what in the hell is going on in this movie? Find out for yourself by seeing it.
By the time Cuckoo ended, I had enjoyed something from a relatively new, promising auteur who managed to freak me out and puzzle me in a scary way for more than 100 minutes.
The post A true puzzler: ‘Cuckoo’ is a weird, scary, baffling ride appeared first on Reno News & Review.