Hey, sometimes you learn a thing or two in movies. Cuckoo It's an apt title for NEON's new, angsty horror film out this week, and let's not forget that it's also the name of a particularly interesting species of bird – one with a unique way of life that draws a pertinent parallel to the central plot at hand in this wild new feature from German director Tilman Singer (almondsStarring Hunter Schafer (trance) and Dan Stevens (Legion), Cuckoo This film takes us to Europe for a unique experience of isolation, examining the sometimes controversial sacrifices people make in order to create a beautiful family of their own.
If you're disappointed by the very limited screen time Schaffer gets in Yorgos Lanthimos' latest disturbing film, Kindness typesThen apply now to showcase your talent. The rising star cements her status as a leading lady in Hollywood in this amazing experience that Cuckoo. Warning: This movie is not for the faint of heart, and your partner may avoid you for choosing this as your next date night movie.For the rest of us, NEON has proven here that after the success of leggyAnd her success story continues.
Prepare for the turbulent aftermath of slow burning.
Cuckoo
4/5
Seventeen-year-old Gretchen reluctantly leaves America to live with her father at a resort in the German Alps. Plagued by strange voices and bloody visions, she soon discovers a shocking secret about her family.
- release date
- August 9, 2024
- exit
- Tillman Singer
- Runtime
- 1 hour and 42 minutes
- The book
- Tillman Singer
- The studio
- Fantasy Garden, Neon, Waypoint Entertainment
- Hunter Schafer is scary, Dan Stevens is funny, and the supporting cast is great.
- Polished filmmaking keeps you glued to the movie until the insane horror begins.
- A relentlessly disturbing film with a thought-provoking ending that may be confusing.
- Jessica Henwick is underutilized here, and the final act could have been more exciting.
Future-minded films have taken on a more retro, vintage look based on the subject matter in question – and to dramatic effect. Similarly, Cuckoo Set in the past, as vaguely indicated by the cassette players and other old paraphernalia our main character Gretchen (Schaffer) carries around, the film is appropriately shot on 35mm film, with those rich, classic tones completing the scene. The direction and cinematography draw you in until you finally reach the horror.
The film follows Gretchen's unwilling journey from the United States to the German Alps with her estranged father Louis (Marton Csokas) and his young wife Beth (Jessica Henwick), after Gretchen's life with her beloved mother is a thing of the past. Now her maternal relationship is limited to the voicemails Gretchen leaves on her mother's answering machine back in the States.
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But life in the Alps doesn’t have to mean living in a big, isolated house. Louis has moved his growing family to a sort of resort whose eccentric boss is Mr. Koenig (Stevens). Louis and Beth already have a young daughter, Alma (Mila Leo), who is Gretchen’s blood half-sister. But Gretchen doesn’t want to bond, and it has nothing to do with the fact that Alma is mute. It’s just the principle of it, and her mother-in-law Beth is pregnant with a second child on the way, which only adds to Gretchen’s sense of awkwardness.
Speaking of awkward, Koenig is probably one of the nosy bosses you'll ever encounter, especially around the Lewis and Gretchen families in particular; It's like neighbors. Rosemary's Baby On steroidsStevens seems strange and strangely funny. His presence is disturbing in ways that Gretchen can't yet explain, but those ways slowly take shape as the resort begins to welcome strange and suspicious guests…
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Beware the hooded woman and the excellent supporting cast.
Then, the atmosphere of horror begins to rise dramatically throughout the property, as Gretchen eventually becomes paralyzed. Strange hallucinations that seem to slow down and stop time for her.She falls in love with a beautiful guest named Ed (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey) who starts a game of cat and mouse, but when they try to avoid the drug, Gretchen mysteriously ends up at the local hospital for reasons she can't understand. Her boss, Koenig, seems to be around every corner, Cuckoo It manages to raise the level of mystery and excitement at every turn.
It helps that the European cast here is top-notch, as are the top-paid stars. Hats off to Jean Bluthardt as local detective Henry, for example, as he forms a warm bond with Gretchen when she starts ranting about the strange happenings around the resort.
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Jessica Henwick doesn't get enough attention but Marton Csokas is exceptional
Interestingly, Jessica Henwick gets top billing in this massive ensemble — a classic Hollywood move for her star power, Which surprisingly has a very limited role.This does not mean that she is not fully committed to her role as a mother in distress, although the most important step is that she CuckooMarvel marketers are capitalizing on her star power through past big-budget projects tied to Marvel and others.
The highlight of this film – besides Schafer and Stevens, of course – is actor Marton Csokas, whose villainous past stole the show in films like XXX and bourne supremacyBut here, the talented actor is given a more vulnerable and sensitive character to deal with, an aging father trying to give the whole family thing a second chance. It's a nice change of pace for Csokas.
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Cuckoo is a journey that can be confusing but you have to think in the end
This is just one example of how Cuckoo He finds ways in every beat of the story to surprise you and keep you guessing, just when you think you've got the madness under control. As such, Cuckoo He is a relentless drug. In how he uncovers the strange, supernatural-like forces at work as part of Koenig's horrific secret master plan, which we won't reveal here. Beware of the “hooded woman” hiding on the property, played with nightmarish passion by Calen Moreau, who will haunt you long after the film ends.
On that note, if the curtain comes down and you find yourself hesitant about the whole thing at first, we've found that The more I think Cuckoo (And maybe even check out the story on some online forums), its turbulent plot may grow on you even more..From neon, Cuckoo The film will be released in theaters on August 9.
