Disclaimer: This CUCKOO review contains plot spoilers.
CUCKOO is one of the best horror films of the year. Hunter Schafer displays a new level of range while performing in a truly horrific family drama. Whether running away from monsters or going toe-to-toe with a deeply unsettling German resort boss, Schafer more than proves her standing as an all-time-great Final Girl.
Just a Teenage Dirtbag, Baby
Gretchen (Schafer) is forced to move to the Bavarian Alps in Germany. She is introduced as being unfriendly and closed-off. There is a disconnect between her and her father, step-mother, and their young daughter Alma. Ultimately, this is the start of a transformative character arc.
One of CUCKOO‘s many strengths is Gretchen’s transformative character arc. She begins the story only caring for herself and trying to figure out how she can run away. Yet ultimately she learns to care for others and let them in. Empathy, compassion, and love become vital to her survival of the entire ordeal in the forest.
Something is Rotten in the State of Germany
Fresh off his villainous run in Abigail, Dan Stevens has served yet another unsettling performance. Herr König is Gretchen’s father’s boss. König is nothing but polite when he is introduced. He offers Gretchen a job at the front desk. He warns Gretchen about the dangers of being out after dark. It doesn’t take long before his true villainy is revealed.
König is a mad scientist of sorts. He invited Gretchen’s family with nefarious intentions. He and Gretchen’s father previously impregnated Gretchen’s step-mother with the offspring of a strange creature. This is why Alma is mute.
König speaks about women and girls as if they are nothing pawns for his experimentation. He mutates these women into birdlike monsters. He orchestrates their forced impregnation to make more of these creatures. His actions are deplorable. However, Stevens’ performance and unsettling mannerisms leave the more lasting impression.
A Stepfordian Tale
Much has been made of CUCKOO being a fresh, original idea in a Hollywood landscape overrun with IPs and franchises. However, CUCKOO also manages to feel classic and referential in its own way. As an ardent defender of The Stepford Wives (1975), I couldn’t help but note certain conceptual parallels between the two.
Both films focus on women that move to seemingly idyllic locations far removed from big city life. They increasingly sense that things are wrong but are gaslit by the people around them who claim that all is well. Little by little, the layers are peeled back until shocking revelations are brought to life. These stories reveal how villainous men are forcibly taking women and experimenting on them. This violation of bodily autonomy lends itself to numerous analyses using feminist theories.
Final Girl(s)
The most memorable part of CUCKOO is its finale. A terrifying hooded woman stalks Gretchen through a medical facility. König kills his loyal employees and attempts to destroy most of the evidence of his experiments. However, the emotional catharsis lies in Gretchen and Alma’s reconciliation.
Initially, Gretchen was stand-offish towards Alma. She even goes so far as to call her a “bitch”. The tides shift after Gretchen hears an incredibly heartfelt voicemail Alma left for Gretchen’s mother using a speech app. Gretchen realises that Alma is an innocent girl with a loving heart. Alma’s stranger-than-fiction origins don’t make her any less empathetic.
Gretchen’s willingness to experience more physical pain to sign to Alma using her injured arm moved me to tears. This is the pinnacle of Schafer’s dramatic acting in CUCKOO. Gretchen and Alma’s firm embrace to shield one another to safety is the most powerful imagery of the entire story. The ending leaves a clear impression of the power of sisterhood and humanity at its finest.
Watch my full CUCKOO review here:
Browse more of my reviews in print and video form. Support my work further on Patreon!