Cuckoo

For all the schlocky horror that’s been released in 2024, there sure have been some polished, well-made gems.

Joining the ranks of Longlegs, The First Omen, and The Watchers is the most creative of them all thus far, Tilman Singer’s Cuckoo — a memorable slice of modern folk horror that solidifies the German writer/director as a talent to watch.

It’s also one of those “go in as blind as possible” experiences and one whose specific charms won’t be spoiled here, though it’s safe to say that it gloriously continues Dan Stevens’ Year of Weird and makes a bona fide movie star out of Hunter Schafer (Euphoria).

With her Gretchen dragged along to the German mountains with her father (Márton Csókás), stepmother (Jessica Henwick), and stepsister (Mila Lieu) — all there at the behest of the inscrutible Herr König (Stevens) to help build a new resort — bizarre events begin to occur that are downplayed by the locals in classic Wicker Man fashion.

In addition to other unsettling sights, these happenings are accompanied by a temporary time-loop effect that’s one of the most impressive visual creations in recent memory. Akin to an even more insidious version of Samara climbing out of the TV in The RIng, these moments induce a paralysis in characters and viewers alike that’s fascinating to behold.

As is often the case with high-concept films, Cuckoo stumbles slightly in its borderline clunky reveal and inevitable exposition, but the information dump still mostly works and feels somewhat natural as it plays out. Certain character motivates and actions don’t add up nearly as nicely, but the payoffs are enormous and the gains along the way more than compensate for what’s improbably only Singer’s second feature.

Grade: B-plus. Rated R. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, the Fine Arts Theatre, and Regal Biltmore Grande.

(Photo: Felix Dickinson/Courtesy of Neon)