Dan Stevens shines in new horror film, Cuckoo

It’s been a big year for Dan Stevens at the movies. In March, we saw him in the latest film in the Monsterverse, Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire. In April, he was oozing charm as part of the ensemble cast for the vampire drama Abigail. Now, he’s back again in a new terrifying tale.

Cuckoo, which opened wide on Friday, comes from Tilman Singer. It’s set in the Bavarian Alps in Germany, where Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) is being forced to move with her father (Marton Csokas), stepmother (Jessica Henwick), and half-sister Alma (Mila Lieu). Gretchen, an American, just lost her mother and now is being pulled away from her home and set with a family she doesn’t know—and doesn’t seem to care to get to know.

They arrive at a resort, run by Herr Konig (Stevens), who is looking to expand his holdings with a second resort. He’s tapped Gretchen’s father to design it, but he wasn’t counting on her joining the family. Still, he reaches out and offers her a job manning the front desk at the original resort. Gretchen takes the job, looking to earn enough money to leave.

What she finds is a series of strange events involving guests and a mysterious woman in the area. As Gretchen begins to poke around, she discovers Konig isn’t what he claims to be either, and stumbles on to a mystery that impacts her family. Can she sort it out in time?

Is Cuckoo worth the watch?

The film has a strong look and a mysterious premise. The trailer draws you in with an interesting look and feel. But is the story worth it? That’s what ultimately sells a film.

In this case, the crux of the mystery doesn’t feel fully fleshed out. There’s a wild third act but it left me with more questions than answers. That’s a shame because there are some good performances. I enjoyed Stevens quite a bit and I thought Schafer did a nice job in the lead role.

There are some nice shots and sequences here, too. Singer does a nice job building the mood for the story. It’s just the story itself that doesn’t always work.

The pieces are in place for something interesting and at times this film is fun. It didn’t all come together for me in the end, but it definitely showcases another fun performance from Stevens.

Cuckoo is now playing nationwide.