A 17-year-old girl is forced to move with her family to a resort where things are not what they seem.A 17-year-old girl is forced to move with her family to a resort where things are not what they seem.A 17-year-old girl is forced to move with her family to a resort where things are not what they seem.
- Awards
- 1 win & 5 nominations
Marton Csokas
- Luis
- (as Márton Csókás)
Astrid Bergès-Frisbey
- Ed
- (as Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOriginally scheduled to release on May 3, but it was delayed to August 9, for undisclosed reasons.
Featured review
A pleasantly strange surprise
"Cuckoo" follows teenaged Gretchen who begrudgingly moves to the German Alps where her father has been hired to design a new resort for proprietor Herr König. Once there, Gretchen takes a job running the reception area of the current (and decaying) resort lobby. After a series of odd occurrences, she finds herself being pursued by a strange cloaked woman.
I went into this film with tempered expectations, despite the fact that the trailers intrigued me, and I am happy to say that "Cuckoo" was a pleasant--albeit imperfect--surprise. Tonally and atmosphere-wise, writer/director Tilman Singer strikes gold. The Bavarian Alps locations are breathtakingly captured, and the set pieces (specifically the dusty, retro hotel lobby and bungalows scattered at the forested foot of a mountain) recall the feel of works like "Twin Peaks" or Dario Argento's "Phenomena".
Script-wise, where "Cuckoo" works best is in its ability to keep the audience in a state of limbo and intrigue. The formula here is familiar: Protagonist comes to a new location; things are not as they seem. However, the parameters of utter strangeness that this story is stretched to really makes it completely unique and unlike anything I've ever seen. As it progresses, it veers into science fiction territory, and in moments reminded me of something like 1981's "Strange Behavior", a film about a teenager uncovering a strange plot in his small Midwestern town. "Cuckoo" similarly follows its own logic without reservation, and the outcome might be too much for certain tastes. As others have noted, I do think the film nearly goes off the deep end in the last act, as the plot threads established early on do not feel as though they fully coalesce.
While I did not find the film particularly scary, the strange cloaked mystery woman who serves as the chief antagonist here has some effective and bizarre appearances, and her overall getup (trench coat, boats, sunglasses) feels like something straight out of a giallo. Performances here are uniformly solid, with Hunter Schafer playing the rebellious but likable lead, and Dan Stevens as the strange resort owner. Jan Bluthardt is also great as a detective that ultimately ends up teaming up with Gretchen, and the two develop a quasi-buddy kinship. There is in general a consistent sense of humor throughout the film that most of these actors have the opportunity to tap into, and which makes the proceedings especially fun.
All in all, while I think the film could have benefitted from some tinkering in its last act, I nonetheless enjoyed "Cuckoo" for the mere fact that it is wholly original in more ways than one. The atmosphere and performances only give the film more bang for its buck, and the utterly strange places the story goes were more than enough to keep me intrigued. If you're hankering for a strange trip into the Alps, look no further. 7/10.
I went into this film with tempered expectations, despite the fact that the trailers intrigued me, and I am happy to say that "Cuckoo" was a pleasant--albeit imperfect--surprise. Tonally and atmosphere-wise, writer/director Tilman Singer strikes gold. The Bavarian Alps locations are breathtakingly captured, and the set pieces (specifically the dusty, retro hotel lobby and bungalows scattered at the forested foot of a mountain) recall the feel of works like "Twin Peaks" or Dario Argento's "Phenomena".
Script-wise, where "Cuckoo" works best is in its ability to keep the audience in a state of limbo and intrigue. The formula here is familiar: Protagonist comes to a new location; things are not as they seem. However, the parameters of utter strangeness that this story is stretched to really makes it completely unique and unlike anything I've ever seen. As it progresses, it veers into science fiction territory, and in moments reminded me of something like 1981's "Strange Behavior", a film about a teenager uncovering a strange plot in his small Midwestern town. "Cuckoo" similarly follows its own logic without reservation, and the outcome might be too much for certain tastes. As others have noted, I do think the film nearly goes off the deep end in the last act, as the plot threads established early on do not feel as though they fully coalesce.
While I did not find the film particularly scary, the strange cloaked mystery woman who serves as the chief antagonist here has some effective and bizarre appearances, and her overall getup (trench coat, boats, sunglasses) feels like something straight out of a giallo. Performances here are uniformly solid, with Hunter Schafer playing the rebellious but likable lead, and Dan Stevens as the strange resort owner. Jan Bluthardt is also great as a detective that ultimately ends up teaming up with Gretchen, and the two develop a quasi-buddy kinship. There is in general a consistent sense of humor throughout the film that most of these actors have the opportunity to tap into, and which makes the proceedings especially fun.
All in all, while I think the film could have benefitted from some tinkering in its last act, I nonetheless enjoyed "Cuckoo" for the mere fact that it is wholly original in more ways than one. The atmosphere and performances only give the film more bang for its buck, and the utterly strange places the story goes were more than enough to keep me intrigued. If you're hankering for a strange trip into the Alps, look no further. 7/10.
helpful•53
- drownsoda90
- Aug 9, 2024
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Кукушка
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $3,012,500
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,012,500
- Aug 11, 2024
- Gross worldwide
- $3,012,500
- Runtime1 hour 42 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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![Hunter Schafer in Cuckoo (2024)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZWQ3NjAyZWUtMzMxMS00MzE1LTlkNDMtZGNjNGY2MzBkNjQ3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkxNjUyNQ@@._V1_QL75_UY133_CR1,0,90,133_.jpg)