Skip to main content

Cuckoo (2024)

 

Cuckoo is about a teenager who has to survive a family retreat to Germany where stuff just isn't what it looks like.

Writer/director Tilman Singer does a great job of out-of-the-gate writing as this is his second film. There are some issues but they're really few and far between. The main problem with the film wasn't even his fault. All of the scary scenes were in the trailer. It's a problem with many horror films nowadays. Singer also makes a few directorial problems with when to focus the camera on the main character.

Speaking of the main character, Hunter Schafer carries the film and sells the final girl but also the root-worthy heroine. I know she's not known for this but she has a video game that's coming out by the legendary Hideo Kojima that after seeing this film has really made me believe in her acting ability.

Legion himself, Dan Stevens plays the main villain. While not the monster, he plays the conduit that adds tension and mystery to the film. His filmography is all over the place with some good and some over the top. Here, I have no complaints.

Let's get this out of the way, by the half way point of the film you'll have a theory. That theory will be correct and I'm sure plenty of content-hungry YouTubers will post a "Cuckoo explained" video. Don't bother, your theory is correct. The film has some good terror, a slow start, and some cut-worthy scenes. Result: B+

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Roma (2018)

Roma  is about the life of an upper-class family living in Mexico seen through the eyes of a servant in the 1970s. Written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón . Cuarón was born in Mexico and has even said that this film depicts a lot of his childhood. It certainly has a feel like Y Tu Mama Tambien. More average moviegoers might recognize his name from the movie Gravity where he won his first Oscar. He also did the underappreciated Children of Men. The cast is mostly unknowns. The main character is named Cleo and is played by Yalitza Aparicio . She is wonderful and stoic. She is reserved in her emotions to make them more impactful when they do rise to the surface. Her character has to put up with a lot of shit, literally. Her life goes from bad to worse throughout the movie. At the end of the movie, you'll be attached to this maid. The first part is hard to watch because it's just setting up future moments. At the time it just feels like you're watching a ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Smile 2 (2024)

  Smile 2  is the sequel to the 2022 horror film where a demon terrorizes you for seven days after you witness a brutal death. Parker Finn  is back to write and direct the film because of how well it did at the box office. These movies are cheap to make but I think this time around word of mouth won't put butts into seats. The formula is there and he does well to direct the film but the lack of scares really hurt the film for horror fans who will be disappointed. Naomi Scott  plays the main character Skye, but you might not recognize her since she looks so different than she did when she played Jasmine in the Disney live-action adaptation of Aladdin . She was better in Power Rangers  to be fair. Her acting has improved drastically since those two though. The film suffers from poor writing. It shows all the scary bits in the trailer and lingers on scenes that horror fans don't really pay to see. Also, there is a ton of product placement. Result: B-
Post a Comment
Read more

White Men Can't Jump (2023)

White Men Can't Jump  is a remake of the 1992 film, this time with a more modern story. There are two screenplay writers on this film, Kenya Barris and Doug Hall .   Barris and Hall  are known for Black-ish so take that for what you will. Barris also did Coming 2 America and is much more prolific .   Ron Shelton was brought on to help keep the bones of the original there. The writing isn't horrible but it isn't anything special. The director is Calmatic who isn't really known for movies as he's a music video director having done that Old Town Road song. There were some scenes I would have reshot but overall decent job. After seeing The Blackening  earlier this year I was going to compare Sinqua Walls then and now. He's much better in this film as Kamal. He is also given a lot more to work with in this film with the beautiful  Teyana Taylor playing his wife. She's great and believable.  Jack Harlow is dating Laura Harrier,  and playing the titula...
Post a Comment
Read more