Tilman Singer’s latest feature, Cuckoo, has been steadily working its way around the festival circuit. After debuting earlier this year at Berlin, Cuckoo has gone on to screen at SXSW, Overlook Festival, and Raindance to name just a few. After months on the circuit, the film received its last screening ahead of the US and UK cinema release at Canada’s Fantasia International Film Festival.
Whereas Singer’s previous movie, Luz, was a small-scale affair, Cuckoo sees the director level up in terms of scope and cast. Cuckoo stars Euphoria’s Hunter Schafer as Gretchen, a teenager who is forced to move to the German alps with her estranged father, after the death of her mother. Her father, Luis (Marton Csokas), and his new wife, Beth (Jessica Henwick), are working on opening a resort. Gretchen and her younger sister Alma (Mila Lieu) are being taken along for the ride. Upon arrival they are greeted by Herr König (Dan Stevens) who takes Gretchen under his wing, but warns her of the dangers of being out at night. Gretchen fails to heed his warnings and finds herself stalked by a mysterious hooded figure.
Although Cuckoo has been on the festival circuit for months, little information on the subject matter within the film has been leaked. In today’s era of immediate spoilers it is an incredible feat for Singer’s film to have retained its secrets, and as such we shall not share too much about the plot. One thing to note however, is that Cuckoo is unlike other films in the market, and trying to guess where it is going is near impossible. Singer has created a movie that is forever evolving, the writer and director teasing elements of paranoia and conspiracy, as nothing in Gretchen’s new setting looks or feels entirely safe.
Primarily known as part of ensemble show, Euphoria, Schafer proves that they are capable of holding a film solo. Cuckoo is told almost entirely from Gretchen’s vantage point and as such Schafer is on screen for the bulk of the film. Singer doesn’t take it easy on his lead either, with Schafer thrown through the gauntlet, and Gretchen amassing injury after injury due to various causes. Although Schafer proves to be a safe pair of hands, it is Dan Stevens who once more steals the show. After eye-catching and wacky performances in 2024’s Abigail, and Godzilla x Kong, in Cuckoo Stevens is once more having a ton of fun. As Herr König, Stevens lays on a thick, hammy German accent, coupling it with an instantly creepy demeanour to create another contender for film weirdo of the year.
The chaos unfolding on screen is accompanied by a guttural bass heavy score. Its inclusion provides the heartbeat and orchestrates some great moments of tension. The bass also acts as an extension of Gretchen who herself is a bass guitarist. Sound is a key element of Cuckoo and this bassy score clashes well with high-pitched trilling. From a visual standpoint, Singer introduces some effective shimmer sequences. These moments appear to signify key sequences; shimmering, juddering images is a clever flourish.
As inventive as Cuckoo is with its narrative, it suffers a little from too many elements. Plot points begun in the first half are forgotten, and there is a final act swerve that goes against everything seen before. This switch makes certain character decisions difficult to fully buy into. The pacing is a little off too. With Singer intent on creating red herrings as to the true nature of Cuckoo, too much time is spent building up narrative elements that lead to nowhere and serve only to bloat the run time. The final act is drawn out and one can’t help but feel that a shorter, tighter version, would play better. As it stands, Cuckoo offers a great evolution of Tilman Singer’s work. Singer has a distinctive voice and unique ideas, with Cuckoo a noteworthy stepping stone to even bigger and more insane movies.
Cuckoo
Summary
Unashamedly unique, Cuckoo’s inner secrets will provide some of 2024’s greatest WTF moments.
Cuckoo was reviewed at Fantasia 2024. Cuckoo arrives in UK cinemas from Friday 23rd August 2024.
