Cuckoo Parent Guide

Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) can appreciate the natural beauty of the Bavarian Alps, but being forced to live in a remote resort doesn’t appeal to her. Moving in with her father, his new wife, Beth (Jessica Henwick), and their daughter Alma (Mila Lieu), wasn’t her idea, and living with them in the middle of nowhere only makes the situation worse. Piling on, the owner of the resort, Herr Konig (Dan Stevens) is definitely up to something – Gretchen just doesn’t know what. But she isn’t the only one who can hear the strange screams in the night, echoing out of the woods…

Somewhere between an X-Files episode and a David Cronenberg movie, Cuckoo is fogged in with a wonderfully dense atmosphere – and it’s not just the old horror classic of a “remote hotel in the mountains”, either. The film keeps you guessing, bouncing from one unsettling occurrence to another without providing any answers. This is, for my money, the best part of the movie. That spooky, mysterious, and unsettling vibe is really well managed.

As with most horror movies, I lose a little of the fun when the film starts explaining things, but Cuckoo is weird enough that this didn’t slow me down too much. A short runtime and solid pacing help, and so does an understated and sympathetic performance from Hunter Schafer.

Tight and terrifying though it may be, Cuckoo is, unfortunately, a pretty poor choice for family audiences. There’s some graphic violence throughout, including some grisly stabbings and a few shootings, nearly a dozen extreme profanities, teen tobacco and marijuana use, sexual content (without nudity). Apart from the violence, other negative issues aren’t graphic, but they cover a lot of ground.

Cuckoo is a little off-beat, and more than a little strange, but I think that’s what I found so endearing. The focus on atmosphere and character keeps the otherwise goofy aspects of the plot in balance. It really pulls you in, even as it keeps getting weirder – the mark of an interesting premise, if nothing else. If you like a horror/thriller off the beaten path, and can tolerate a whack of negative content, I think this is a decent horror flick – just not for the kids.