When seventeen-year-old Gretchen’s (Hunter Schafer) mother dies she is forced to live with her father (Marton Csokas) just as he is moving his new family to a resort in the Bavarian Alps. But neither the owner of the resort, Herr Konig (Dan Stevens) nor the resort itself are exactly what they seem. 

Cuckoo is a peculiar horror movie and one that I really enjoyed. The fact that it keeps its plot as a mystery for such a long time and that it features another genius performance from the hugely underrated Dan Stevens goes a long way to explain why I had so much fun. So what can I actually tell you about it without spoiling the fun? 

In the opening scenes of Cuckoo we see the following events. Firstly we see a young girl run out of her home into the night after hearing some strange noises. Secondly we are introduced to Gretchen and her new family. Her step-sister Alma (Mila Lieu) is mute, whilst her step-mother Beth (Jessica Henwick) and father Luis have been hired to build more chalets at the resort they had their honeymoon. The owner of the resort Herr Konig is absolutely delighted they are there and is particularly interested in Alma. Gretchen reluctantly accepts a job at the resort but Konig insists she only does the early shifts and is never out after dark. Oh and those strange noises keep reappearing! 

As far as plot goes I will leave it there. Because part of the joy is the peculiarity of those opening minutes slowly being explained and drawing together. 

Meanwhile Schafer delivers some real emotional impact in regard to the upheaval and grief that her character is facing and Stevens delivers a deranged character performance to challenge his already brilliant appearances in Godzilla vs Kong and Abigail this year. 

As for horror aficionados, this is not a gory feature or something filled with jump scares. What it is, is an effective mystery thriller that is both incredibly inventive and a little crazy. 

Writer/director Tilman Singer should be someone to watch if he can continue to be as inventive and as accomplished in delivering his vision to the screen. And that title? Genius.