Cuckoo – Film Review
by Fran Winston

Director – Tilman Singer
Writer – Tilman Singer
Stars – Hunter Schafer, Jan Bluthardt, Marton Csokas

In cinemas August 23

Watching Dan Stevens as dashing Lord Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey no one could have imagined he would become something of a “scream king”. The actor seems to have a penchant for the horror genre.

He also seems to relish playing the suspicious and somewhat sleazy character like Herr König in this offering.

He is overseeing the development of a new hotel in the Alps which is where Gretchen (Schafer) moves with her father, stepmother and mute half-sister Alma (Lieu). Her father is working on the project, and she immediately starts witnessing strange occurrences. Alma also starts suffering seizures triggered by a mysterious reverberating shriek. Meanwhile, a mysterious hooded woman seems to be stalking Gretchen.

As she delves into the occurrences with the help of the only person who believes her, a detective called Henry (Bluthardt), she begins to discover that the incidents may have a more sinister grounding beyond human comprehension.

I won’t spoil the twist, but I did find it a bit convoluted and silly although it was executed very well. However, the gravitas of the performances – especially Stevens and Schafer – stylish cinematography and using old school techniques like jump scares to create tension help detract from this.

At its heart, this is a B movie, but it plays like a main feature and refuses to lean into this which is probably part of what makes it so engaging. It isn’t reinventing the horror movie, but it fully commits to its idea and executes it well. It also uses many familiar horror tropes which are tried and tested and should satisfy fans of the genre.

This won’t become a horror classic, but it is solid enough to make you want to keep watching – even if only to find out what the hell is going on. Enjoyable but somewhat disposable this will satisfy those who just want some popcorn and throwaway chills.