Cuckoo

The second movie in my double feature at the Broadway last night was Cuckoo.  It is a bit confusing but it is definitely unnerving.  After the death of her mother, seventeen-year-old Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) unexpectedly joins her father Luis (Marton Csokas), stepmother Beth (Jessica Henwick), and half-sister Alma (Mila Lieu) in the Bavarian Alps.  They have been invited by the enigmatic Herr Konig (Dan Stevens) to stay at his isolated resort while Luis and Beth create the plans for his next development but Gretchen is almost overcome with grief and wants to leave.  Konig takes an unusually proprietary interest in Gretchen but, even more unsettling, she is plagued by mysterious shrieking noises and is stalked by a hooded figure which results in several severe injuries.  The only one who believes her version of events is a detective named Henry (Jan Bluthardt) but he may not be entirely trustworthy.  Eventually, Gretchen discovers a sinister plot that is now targeting her family and she cannot be allowed to interfere.  There is an almost unbearable atmosphere of tension created by disturbing sound design, disorienting visuals, scary set pieces, and a committed performance from Schafer who portrays her character's growing paranoia, and physical deterioration, very well.  Everyone in my audience had a palpable reaction to a scene where Gretchen seems to be chased by someone or some thing while riding a bicycle late at night (I almost screamed out loud).  Stevens is hilariously creepy (he is having quite a year playing over the top characters) and the scenes between Konig and Gretchen are incredibly menacing.  However, this reminded me a lot of Longlegs in that it features a highly original premise with a feeling of dread that is painstakingly crafted in the first two acts only to lose focus as the central mystery is revealed.  The convoluted exposition actually left me with more questions than answers.  Even though this is another movie that comes undone in the third act, I can't say that I didn't enjoy seeing this with a large crowd and I would recommend it.