With the quick pivot on the national political stage from President Joe Biden to Vice President Kamala Harris, fresh criticisms were of course to be expected. Perhaps they’d target her record, her policies, or her leadership style. But her laugh? Really, her laugh is what people come out swinging with? Perhaps it should have been expected in a world where women can never quite get it right. Smile. Don’t smile. Laugh. You laugh too much. And this summer, we don’t even have the salve of an unexpectedly tear-wrenching monologue from America Ferrera about why it’s just so damn hard to be a woman. Thankfully, though, we do have a fresh new take on womanhood, sisterhood, and motherhood in the unexpectedly satisfying yet wacky horror film, Cuckoo.
In Cuckoo, we are introduced to Gretchen, a brooding, grief-stricken teen played by a frumped-up Hunter Schafer, who just lost her mother and is forced to trail along with her father, his new wife, and their daughter as they move to the rural mountains of Germany. While the family’s goal is to learn about the business of running a resort, Gretchen would rather be anywhere else, and begins plotting her escape. As she bides her time working at the resort’s front desk, she starts to notice something’s off – the doors have to be locked by 10 PM, young female guests seem to become easily confused and sick, and even her half-sister begins showing concerning symptoms. As she digs deeper, Gretchen has to learn who to trust, what exactly is happening, and ultimately, how to escape a danger lurking just over her shoulder.
Delicately weaving a vintage 80s vibe through music, practical effects, and style, together with modern themes of reproductive rights, freedom, and identity ripped from today’s headlines, writer/director Tilman Singer delivers something truly new and otherworldly in Cuckoo. The first film to bravely broach this balance since It Follows, Cuckoo keeps you guessing from the start. While I do regret that the marketing team teased some of the film’s most effective scares in the trailer, Cuckoo maintains a tense, mysterious, and hair-raising feel throughout, even tossing in moments of humor to boot.
While Schafer convincingly shows depth and range from gritty to vulnerable, and a standout performance by Dan Stevens as a resort owner whose icy blue eyes won’t be the only thing to make your blood run cold in this film, it’s Cuckoo’s sound production that really shines. From eerie, ominous bird calls to jump-scares of screeching terror, it’s been some time since a horror film explores the full range of audio tools this effectively.
Not without its flaws, Cuckoo’s plot borders on cheesy and frankly sometimes jumps off the cliff of the absurd. But if you submit yourself to the wild world of Singer’s mind and set practical reality aside, you may just enjoy a fun surprise in this sneaky summer scary movie that even offers a bit of inspiration to every woman willing to fight like hell for their freedom.
SpecialK Verdict: See Cuckoo in a theater with the highest quality surround sound you can find. Open-minded horror fans will find themselves pleasantly surprised, and women may especially leave feeling a little stronger and standing a little taller.
Cuckoo opens in theaters Friday, August 9.
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