Cuckoo | |
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Directed by | Tilman Singer |
Written by | Tilman Singer |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Paul Faltz |
Edited by |
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Music by | Simon Waskow |
Production companies | |
Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 103 minutes [2] |
Countries |
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Language | English |
Cuckoo is a 2024 horror-thriller film written and directed by Tilman Singer. The film stars Hunter Schafer, Jan Bluthardt, Marton Csokas, Jessica Henwick, and Dan Stevens. It follows a teenager who moves to live with her father in the German Alps but becomes disturbed by strange occurrences, as her father's boss embroils her family in a sinister plot.
Cuckoo had its world premiere at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival on February 16, 2024, and is scheduled to be released in Germany on August 8, 2024, and in the United States on the following day.
It was reported in August 2021 that Tilman Singer would be writing and directing his second film for Neon, with Hunter Schafer, John Malkovich, Gemma Chan, and Sofia Boutella set to star. [1] In July 2022, Dan Stevens, Jessica Henwick, Marton Csokas, and Greta Fernández joined the cast, while Malkovich and Chan dropped out due to "timing issues". [3]
Cuckoo is a co-production with Germany's Fiction Park and the United States' Waypoint Entertainment. [3] Principal photography took place in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, over a span of 35 days from May to July 2022 and was shot on 35mm film. [4] [5]
Cuckoo had its world premiere at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival in the Berlinale Specials section on February 16. [6] It also screened at South by Southwest on March 14 and at the Overlook Film Festival on April 4. [7] [8] It opened at London's Raindance Film Festival on June 19 as part of the festival's special focus on Germany. [9] The film screened at the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 30, 2024. [10]
The film is scheduled to be released in Germany by Weltkino Filmverleih on August 8, 2024. [11] The film was originally set to be released in the United States by Neon on May 3, 2024, [12] but the release date was pushed back to August 9, 2024. [13] It is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom by Universal Pictures on August 23, 2024. [2]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 81% of 36 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.4/10. [14] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 58 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [15]
Schafer and Stevens' performances were praised. [16] [17] [18] BJ Colangelo of Slashfilm wrote, "Schafer's strong-willed, straight-shooting, absolutely sensational performance is the anchor in this chaotic storm. ... Schafer commands every scene." [17] Adam Solomons of IndieWire called Schafer's performance "impressive" but gave the film a C- grade, writing, "The biggest crime of Cuckoo is that it won't lean into being a B-movie, something it might've been good at. The performances — especially Stevens' — are silly and sincere, and the action competent enough for Cuckoo to have worked as pure pulp. But this film takes itself too seriously and pokes fun at its own silliness, a fatal combination". [18] RogerEbert.com's Robert Daniels also praised Stevens, noting, "Every choice Stevens makes as Mr. König doubles as a lampoon and a threat, as equally hilarious and sadistic." [16] Jessica Kiang of Variety called the film "an energetically outlandish fusion of stylish atmospherics, old-school reproductive horror and pro-flickknife advertorial". [19]
The Hollywood Reporter 's David Rooney ended his review with, "It's ultimately too silly to be truly chilling, but with Neon behind it, Cuckoo might just be cuckoo enough to draw some cult attention". [20]
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