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Available at home
A teenager, Gretchen, moves to the German Alps and uncovers sinister secrets, haunted by visions of a pursuing woman.
Trailer
Why watch this film?
Chief Editor at Filmelier
After reluctantly moving to the German Alps with her father and his new family, Gretchen discovers that their new town hides sinister secrets, as she’s plagued by strange noises and frightening visions of a woman pursuing her.
"Cuckoo is best described as a terrifying feast of extravagance that stumbles over its own ambitions. The plot starts simply: a teenager, Gretchen (Euphoria's Hunter Schafer), must leave her home in the United States after her mother's death to move with her father, her young stepmother, and her half-sister to a resort in the German Alps. There, they are greeted by Herr König (Dan Stevens in an eccentric performance), who seems to be hiding a sinister operation behind his friendly facade. From there, director Tilman Singer aims high and loses a bit of control: there's a tangled plot involving cuckoo birds, motherhood, and the female guests of the resort. However, Singer's direction is highly effective technically, achieving a simply disturbing atmosphere with very well-executed jump scares. Beneath thick layers of somewhat convoluted and clumsily delivered exposition, Cuckoo is a clever—and unsettling—allegory about the imposition of conservative values in their most perverse form. It's a bit confusing, but deserves a chance."