Let鈥檚 get one thing out of the way first: I did not entirely understand everything that happens in 鈥淐uckoo," a new indie horror .
This could be more of a me problem than with the storytelling, but there are a lot of strange things happening at this particular Alpine resort. It's run by a bespectacled German hotelier named Herr K枚nig, played with an off-kilter menace by
Some of the occurrences are underexplained, others underexplored. Herr K枚nig seems particularly worried about things that happen after dark, but not so much about guests wandering into the reception and general store in a wobbly stupor and vomit. Are they drunk? Sick? Should someone help them? All we get is: 鈥淚t happens.鈥� The hospital, too, is eerily empty. Sonic vibrations often ripple through the land, causing scenes to repeat until reaching a violent crescendo. And no one seems to listen to or care about anything 17-year-old Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) has to say, no matter how banged up she gets. The quick escalation of her injuries, and the widening disinterest of her father, approaches comedy.
Ambiguity can be wonderful for mystery and worldbuilding; It can also be frustrating. And more often than not, detailed explanations just make everything lamer. 鈥� 鈥� dips into all of the above. Even so, it is undeniably fascinating, original and even occasionally fun, in a very twisted and deranged way in which laughter is your involuntary response to something horrifying. In her captivating lead performance, Schafer really goes through it, both physically and emotionally.
It also features Stevens sporting tiny, rimless glasses with sinisterly scandi-cool monochrome outfits, and a screaming ghoul with Hitchcockian glamour in a hooded trench and white-framed oval sunnies. Rarely is it a bad idea for a horror film to lean into style, and 鈥淐uckoo鈥� fully commits.
鈥淐uckoo鈥� is the brainchild of German director Tilman Singer, but credit also goes to Singer鈥檚 predecessors: The works of and Dario Argento among them. Gretchen is a reluctant resident in the idyllic, modern home with her detached father (Martin Csokas), stepmother (Jessica Henwick) and mute half-sister Alma (Mila Lieu). She leaves increasingly desperate messages on her mother鈥檚 answering machine in America.
It鈥檚 certainly an exaggerated but apt portrait of a new family where the remnants of the old are treated like a nuisance. When Alma starts having seizures during the vibrations, which no one but Gretchen seems to remember or acknowledge, the parents鈥� attention turns fully to the young girl. They can barely be bothered to care about Gretchen's miraculous survival of a horrifying car wreck; Alma is in the same hospital because of the episodes.
As with many horrors, the big reveals were, for this critic, a little underwhelming 鈥� a strained attempt at a unifying theory for this weird place that doesn鈥檛 add much ultimately. And yet the emotional connection to Gretchen and her complex relationship with Alma does pay off in unexpected ways.
Also, Stevens deserves special acknowledgement for his contributions to 鈥淐uckoo.鈥� This is a man who could have easily languished in blandly handsome leading man roles and instead is becoming one of our great character actors. He is regularly the best and most memorable part of whatever he鈥檚 in just by his sheer commitment to going there, whether it鈥檚 his Hawaiian shirt wearing titan veterinarian in 鈥淕odzilla x Kong,鈥� his Russian pop star in 鈥淓urovision鈥� or any number of his deranged horror characters. He and Schafer, always a compelling presence, make 鈥淐uckoo鈥� very much worth it. They exist far too comfortably in this dreamy, nightmarish world dreamt up by Singer that is well worth a watch.
鈥淐uckoo,鈥� a Neon release in theaters Friday, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for 鈥渓anguage, brief teen drug use, bloody images, violence.鈥� Running time: 102 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
