Today post is a movie a little bit strange that left me with mix feelings but here we go with the crazy movie called Cuckoo, if you watch this movie with no prior knowledge of the events that were about to unfold then you are in for a treat, this is the type of movie I would prefer to jump in blind. Directed by German director Tilman Singer and he has earlier directed the movie "Luz" which was released in the year 2018, not so welcome and it look into the same range of crazyness. But critics mention online many were eager to see what he would come up with next, he comes back with such an attracting title as Cuckoo, in Latin America there is this similar word that means Boogeyman although it was not related to the movie but still into the supernatural theme. The film starts with a young women acting in a very strange manner and running away from her home, as the movie starts to unfold you have the impression that this is not going to be a conventional horror movie and right from the start the environment tells you there is something wrong. It has this sort of foreign horror movie, sort of body horror with a bit of mystery going on, the lighting generate this effect of suspense. The main character, Gretchen, role played by Hunter Schafer is a girl who has recently lost her mom and finds herself in this strange environment in the Bavarian Alps with her dad and her dad’s new wife and the new wife’s daughter who doesn’t speak, she does not consider her step mom reason why I don't refer to her like that. The atmosphere is quite unsettling, the cast is known and ambiguous for me and the story line is rather chaotic, though in a way that does not make the plot less interesting, at least kept me wondering whats next. The events that occur in the hotel are bizarre, guests are vomiting in the lobby and Gretchen is chased by a woman with red eyes screaming. It is a movie that is not afraid to be silly and that is something that works in its favor, it is also a common problem with any film that attempts to cover so much ground like mixing genres. The plot might be a bit confusing and the conclusion left lots of questions so its not a movie for everyone; it raises more questions than it answers, there is something entertaining about the disorder.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12349832/
- Platform: AppleTV+
The Setting and Characters
I’d like to focus on the setting and the characters first, because they are the ones that define the mood of this movie. Next thing you know we are in the Bavarian Alps with Gretchen our angst ridden teenage heroine who is sent to live with her father Luis, his new wife Beth and her daughter Alma, not a typical family structure which can be seen in most of the films. Gretchen is still grieving for her mother who died recently and now she is in this unknown country with a family she met only a few times. The resort that they are staying at is owned by Herr Konig played by Dan Stevens and he has this handsome but creepy appearance. He is the type of a character who makes you nervous, you never know if he is the hero or the villain.The resort itself is almost a character in the movie, its a creepy and surreal environment it gives you the vibe that something supernatural is about to happen but once you come back to reality understand its just a crappy place to be. There are guests vomiting, there are time lapses and Alma has a seizure, the place does a great job at lifting the characters and makes the audience even more unconformable, entertainment depending on the type you looking for is all about generating feelings.
Gretchen has a rather complicated family life as she is not on good terms with her family, she has a lot of hatred towards her stepmother and half sister and feels like she does not belong to her own family. Her father Luis, is cold and indifferent and does not care about Gretchen or her feelings as he is more interested in the new life he is building for himself, it is the story of a young girl who feels neglected and ignored by her family, with a horror touch. The supporting characters does a great job at building up the suspense in the story, for start there is Trixie who is Gretchen’s colleague at the resort and who covers for her one night and the two of them get into a rather scary situation, then there is Henry who is a police investigator and appears to be quite informed about whats going on around the place, he has this covert investigation that is going on and he drags Gretchen into it which only makes the plot even more complicated, trying to grasp too much.
All the characters have their problems and they are all suspicious of each other and this creates tension between them. It is a film where no one is as he or she seems to be and everyone has something to do with the crime, a situation of pointing fingers every where you go. The acting is good with Hunter Schafer doing a good job at portraying Gretchen’s character, both her anger and her vulnerability with the lead actor Dan Stevens has given a great performance in my opinion, I know many wont like this story and its because its different, very niche.
Audience Reactions: What They Liked and Didn't Like
After watching the movie I knew not many would like it so I turn to online reviews from average audience on classic sites like IMDB and RTT, the opinions are very divided between the audience and far more from the critics. On the one hand you have people who were quite interested of the movie’s approach to horror. They enjoyed the film’s with what some describe as "giallo aesthetic" a classic Italian horror film, the sense of tension and the suspense that is maintained throughout the movie. For many people one of the best performed characters was Gretchen played by Hunter Schafer and Dan Stevens received a lot of acclaim for his role as Konig.Not all the audience was ready for this awkward roller coaster experience, some of the viewers complained that the story was chaotic and there were many questions left unanswered, but I think this is an intentional trend to give something to talk about to the audience after the movie is over. Good part of the comments mention how people were left disappointed at the end of the movie as it did not offer the conclusion they were expecting. Some people also complained that the movie was slow at times and didn’t live up to the horror genre that it was promoting, another trend of 2024 were horror is moving away from gory and scare jumps, often the word horror goes attach to gore and supernatural, when that doesn't happen people tend to dislike the movie.
Themes and Symbolism
There is nothing complicated about the themes that the movie can touch on, its very clear that we have a family that has been set apart due to circumstances, this is a movie about change and who we are. Gretchen is a character who is on a journey of growth as she has to come to terms with the changes in her life and the death of her mother, some of the aspects of transformation are also describe in the supernatural aspects of the film, especially through the symbol of the cuckoo bird.There is also symbolism in the visual aspect of the film including the color and lighting that gives the film a rather supernatural feel wit the resort itself been an embodiment of this conflict as the setting is gloomy and the events that transpire are rather spooky, which is in line with the inner conflict of the protagonist. The architecture of the resort and the design of the film also contribute to the overall creepiness of the movie with its confusing hallways and dark corners representing the unknown, the sound effects are also worth mentioning as there is the use of irritating sounds and screams that help build the tension, a movie that has a lot of attention to details to create the perfect environment.
The Ending, Why so Unsatisfying?
By the ending of the movie Cuckoo has finally figure out what could be the connection between Alma and the mysterious red eye women and her connection with the rest of the children that she has "infected" to make them just like her with certain abilities but Gretchen manage to keep her away form Alma and even put her down and end her attacks and targeting that have been going on for years.
The ending is very ambiguous as it left a lot of questions specially the ending of Dr Koning and Henry, we are clear that Gretchen takes care of the Women with red eyes but where does she come from? what is her connection with Dr Koning? how did he find out about her?, on top of all this questions on the last scene Dr Koning and Henry started shooting at each other until two rounds are fired and no body comes out of the room while Gretchen and Alma are trying to escape, none of the two men are seen again so the question is both are dead or alive?
At the end the movie is going to leaf a part of the audience unsatisfied due to lack of closure, a very similar case with certain movies from 2024 the most recent for me was "Longlegs" where lots of questions are left open again but nothing that would throw away the performance of the movie itself, reasons why I believe this is becoming a trend between directors to keep people interested and even the door open for a sequel in certain special cases.
Its true that the movie is not perfect, it has a some what convoluted plot and the ending unsatisfying, it is still a pretty entertaining movie that I might watch again, probably to scare my wife. It’s a film that doesn’t give much away and maintains suspense throughout the duration of the film without giving away the plot twist until the closing scene even though it does not provide that much closure.
I would consider it a good one time watch for most people with the possibility in the future to watch it again, although it would be hard depending where you from since the setting and the name of the movie is not so common or attractive to many people, I still think that the attention to details of the sounds, music, lighting and so rounding made one of the best parts of this movie.
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