Cook review: ‘Cuckoo’ takes flight with delirious horror
“Cuckoo” is absolutely bonkers horror fun.
Although it’s a much different kind of story, it resembles “Malignant” insofar as its tone of sheer nuttiness increases as the story unfolds.
First, let me tell you a little about cuckoos, which are real birds and not just little gizmos that help tell time in cuckoo clocks. They are “brood parasites,” meaning they don’t raise their own young – they lay eggs in other birds’ nests.
That’s a concept that runs through German filmmaker Tilman Singer’s movie.
We meet 17-year-old Gretchen (an excellent Hunter Schafer, “Kinds of Kindness”) as she’s traveling with her father, step-sister and step-mother to a Bavarian Alps resort. She is troubled and tries to isolate herself with her music.
Her younger sibling Alma (Mila Lieu) is ill. She seems to be the focus of the resort’s oddball owner Herr Konig (Dan Stevens, “Downton Abbey”) who lurks around every corner.
The woods near the resort are dark, and an eerie sound emanates from them at times.
Gretchen seeks a strange woman following her, but no one believes her.
Stevens is an absolute hoot as the resort owner whose every move and gesture is just … off. Schafer is great as the teenager who sometimes appears to be the only thinking person on hand. The whole ensemble is commendable, as is Singer’s direction that keeps everything just a little off-kilter for the viewer.
As to what is really going on near the resort, I’m not about to tell you. You’ll have to get through the body fluids, strangely pulsating bodies, gunfire, and Gretchen’s series of injuries to unravel the mystery.
If you like “Malignant,” or the “Quiet Place” films that combine horror with science fiction, you will enjoy seeing how this trippy, creepy tale hatches.
3 ? stars
Rated: R for gore, foul language, and bizarre content.
Running time: One hour and 42 minutes.
In theaters.
Watch the trailer here.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com.
