Cuckoo – Fantasia International Film Festival 2024 – Film Review
Cuckoo is one of those films that you have to see to believe and was, therefore, on our watchlist for the Fantasia International Film Festival! Playing on the horror-thriller suspenseful genre, its central premise involves a teenage girl, Gretchen – excellently portrayed by Hunter Schafer, uprooting her life in the US to join her father and his new family in a remote, isolated location within the German Alps. All of which, already sets the scene for terror à la established horror tropes. Given that Cuckoo has been financed by Neon, audiences will also anticipate a particular style of genre film which Cuckoo initially fulfils but frustratingly the film leans in to its own absurdity too heavily, in later sequences, thus creating a void in the audience’s appetite. But, there’s no denying Cuckoo’s originality.
It could be argued that Cuckoo tries too hard to cover a multitude of genres within its quirkiness. On a surface level, the film operates as an insight in to Gretchen’s assimilation within Germany, from having to learn more German and adjust to different customs and cultures as well as learning the rituals of living within her father’s household. The familial aspects and meeting her father’s new boss, Mr König, a creepily charming Dan Stevens, provide the film’s substance and that sense of inertia. This is also combined with the loss and displacement experienced by Gretchen, who leaves voicemails for her mother when feeling emotionally overwhelmed by her change in circumstances.
Schafer’s depiction of Gretchen emphasises her vulnerability and confusion, which will evoke sympathy as audiences reminisce about the trials and tribulations of adolescence, particularly as a teenage girl. Yet, there is that effective development of unease, from the outset, ratcheted up by the use of silence, shadows and the fragmentation of images of Gretchen’s body as she seeks to assert her privacy within her new home, whilst practising guitar or embarking on other teenage activities.
However, Cuckoo absorbs these notions of teenage angst and amplifies them with the oddities on display by others visiting the resort. To curb Gretchen’s boredom, she is tasked by Mr König with a summer job and thus the film changes tack. Cuckoo eschews convention by successfully highlighting a pervading sense of paranoia, experienced by Gretchen at night, but the film remains determined not to subscribe to uninspired jump scares, which audiences will appreciate. Instead, Tilman Singer’s direction exploits the terrifying concept of Gretchen being a young woman working alone by night to the fullest degree! There are long angles and shadows combined with eerie noises ratcheting up that psychological sense of dread and horror. Singer’s approach will play with audiences’ minds who may be accustomed to the device of unexplained noises utilised within many horror films. Cuckoo differs in this sense as the audience believes that it has been privy to a source of some of the noises. Yet, Singer proves that he has the tools to unsettle continuously as he also creates that sound reverberation to discombobulate the audience.
As observers, it is also unsettling and increasingly relevant to witness the casual dismissal of Gretchen’s reports, of being pursued at night, with the levels of gaslighting on display due to her age and gender. Schafer convinces as the terrified Gretchen; Singer crafts a sinister and mysterious tale exploring the conflicting motives of adults with Gretchen embedded in the middle trying to make sense of it all whilst facing surreal and real-life terrors when further secrets are unveiled.
Singer keeps the revelations close to his chest with the clues exposed in a drip feed method across the film’s runtime to present a truth that is stranger than fiction in a game where trust is paramount. Cuckoo, when it embraces its full absurd nature, with several bird references throughout providing Easter eggs, has few un-intended laughs but struggles tonally and is unable to connect elements introduced with under-developed supporting characters.
Ultimately, the film presents more questions than it can resolve! Credit must be given, however, to Singer’s decision to be unpredictable by meshing elements of nature versus nurture, weird science and the final girl concept but Cuckoo’s ambitious aims result in an incohesive build up to its amusing denouement. Still, Schafer is the film’s anchor with her impressive performance and Stevens is proving to be the understated horror supporting man after his engaging turn in Abigail and scene stealing performance in Godzilla x Kong.
Cuckoo may be a creepy but oddly captivating film, which will keep audiences on the edge of their seats. It is an entertaining watch that should be applauded for its excellent sound quality and commitment to an alternative storyline despite its flaws. Above all, there is no doubt that Singer’s Cuckoo is likely to become a cult favourite for genre fans.
