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Spoilers ahead for the plot and ending ofCuckoo.
Under most circumstances, a trip to the Alps sounds like a dreamy vacation.
But what the hell was going on with that bonkers ending?
The hybrid womens sirenlike calls trap victims within earshot in a time loop, rendering them helpless.
Still, there are some fascinating themes and insights to pluck from this flighty plot.
Lets try and unpack them one by one.
What is Cuckoo actually about?At first,Cuckoofeels like a grief allegory.
Over and over,Cuckooshows us how isolated Gretchen feels with her fathers family.
Alma, meanwhile, commands all of Luiss attention when mysterious seizures land her in the hospital.
We know early on that theres something strange and probably supernatural about the hooded blonde woman.
From there, the film starts playing with new themes like bodily autonomy and nature versus nurture.
So, this hotel is overrun by bird-women who are basically laying their eggs inside of women?Yep!
The bird-women hybrids at this freaky place do the same thing with Konigs help.
He just really loves these homo cuckooridai, I guess!
How do these laying ceremonies work?
We never actually see how it works from there.
Wait, what kind of goo?
Make of that what you will.
How does this place even find guests?
Also, didnt he lure her into this prison by offering to drive her to the train station?
Wouldnt that have seemed suspicious, given his whole sketchy vibe?Right?
And Gretchens dad is in on all of this?It seems that way!
Yeah, speaking of which didnt that detective, Henry, shoot him?
Why was she the only one of these women wearing goggles?
What do they do?No clue, but they look cool.
Also, why do all of the bird-women wear those blonde wigs?
Are they insecure?Again, I wish I knew.
In goggle ladys case, shes bald underneath.
goggle lady, and looked at her with an expression of recognition.
She also yells Moms dead to Konig toward the end, which felt like conspicuously odd phrasing.
But its really unclear.
Why wouldnt she just have Alma do that before they left the closet?That would have been smarter!
But it all worked out in the end.