Let’s just get this out of the way right now — I’m cuckoo for CUCKOO. While I, of course, appreciate a good elevated genre film bursting with metaphors and emotional gut punches, I deeply adore a film that isn’t afraid to just get fucking weird. Directed and written by Tilman Singer, CUCKOO is a euphoric piece of horror escapism that embraces the absurd and runs wild with classic genre tropes.
Recently making its Montreal Premiere at the 2024 Fantasia International Film Festival, CUCKOO stars Hunter Schafer (EUPHORIA) as Gretchen, a too-cool-for-school 17-year-old bass player who begrudgingly moves to an isolated German resort with her dad, stepmom and young stepsister, Alma. Having recently lost her mom, Gretchen struggles to adjust to her new living situation and competes with Alma for her father’s affection. In addition to that, eerie sonic screeches instigate odd behavior amongst the guests and cause unexplained timeslips. Before long, Hunter discovers that her family’s presence at the resort is no accident and that the handsome proprietor harbors a whole nest of dark and deadly secrets.
Even though I wasn’t a huge fan of Tilman’s previous film LUZ, CUCKOO quickly won me over with its rich, Wes Anderson-like color palette and vintage European postcard vibes. Drenched with sumptuous eye candy, the midcentury architecture, curated production design, stunning landscapes, and overlapping technologies create an unnerving timestamp ambiguity. While visually reminiscent of films like A CURE FOR WELLNESS, SUSPIRIA, THE SHINING, or even Michael Venus’ SLEEP (2020), Gretchen and her undeniable cool girl vibes ground the film in a more believable reality.
As Gretchen, Schafer delivers a pitch-perfect performance as a disaffected but intelligent, sensitive teen. After taking a metaphorical backseat to Alma and suffering relentless attacks by a mysterious woman who looks like she just escaped Grey Gardens, Gretchen reacts surprisingly rationally, given the circumstances. Heck, she even enjoys a brief romantic connection with a hot babe from France and steps up for her stepsister when needed. Even as the plot spirals into a bizarre whirlwind, Gretchen keeps her wits and butterfly knife close. Never crossing over into superhero territory, Gretchen’s abilities and reactions make her a final girl we can all believe in.
On the flip side, Dan Stevens (THE GUEST) plays Herr König, the attractive but unarguably creepy resort owner who simply refuses to pronounce Gretchen’s name correctly. Stevens leans into König’s awkwardness and overly pleasant demeanor, creating a diabolically quirky Bond-like villain that is a sheer joy to behold. Yet, perhaps the most intriguing aspect of König’s glaringly conspicuous wickedness is his obsession with cuckoo birds and their brood parasite behavior.
Now, seeing how the film title is CUCKOO, this info isn’t a spoiler. Ok, but what the heck is a brood parasite, and what does it have to do with this film? Great question. And it’s a question that Singer only kinda sorta, not really answers. Brood parasites are champion delegators in laying their eggs in nests belonging to other birds and letting those birds raise their young and do all the heavy parent lifting. Weird, right? Apparently, Singer also thought it strange because he decided to build an entire film around this idea.
As a fan of Giallo films and filmmakers like Lynch, Cronenberg, etc., I love and admire a filmmaker who isn’t afraid to get weird with a story simply for weirdness’s sake. And let there be no mistake about it: CUCKOO is weird. Yet, Singer's greatest trick is executing other critical elements so well that one almost doesn’t care that the story has more than a few burning questions that never get answered. Killer sound design and music, intriguing side characters, methodical pacing, and simple but effective scares propel the film right past silly things like reason. While this approach is bound to ruffle a few feathers (sorry, I had to), it will inevitably endear itself to those who appreciate the more peculiar things in life.
An unlikely tale of two sisters, CUCKOO is an undeniably odd little duck of a film. However, that’s also what makes it so damn fun. Bolstered by strong performances across the board, CUCKOO remains just grounded enough to keep the sheer peculiarity and ambiguity of the plot from flying the coop entirely. In an era where so many films seem to inject heavy emotional subtext or plots in some desperate attempt to come off as poignant, CUCKOO gleefully basks in its eccentricity with no ulterior motive.
The 2024 Fantasia International Film Festival runs July 18 to August 4 in Montreal, Quebec, principally at the Concordia Hall and J.A. de Sève cinemas, with additional screenings at the Cinémathèque québécoise and Cinéma du Musée. For more information, please visit the Fantasia website here.
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