Cuckoo's Top 6 Unsolved Questions

Introduction

Gretchen (Hunter Schafer from HBO's "Euphoria"), who is traveling to the German Alps with her father and stepmother, learns that the resort town where they are staying harbors evil secrets when she starts to hear weird noises and sees terrifying images of a lady chasing her. Gretchen soon learns of a plot involving the resort's owner's strange experiments that go back many generations.

Cuckoo, Hunter Schafer's latest Neon horror film, leaves viewers with many unsolved mysteries. Schafer plays Gretchen, a young American woman who, after the death of her mother, travels to the German Alps with her father, stepmother, and stepsister. Gretchen learns of sinister and enigmatic events involving Herr König (Dan Stevens), her father's boss, in the resort town where she is living. He is involved in saving the lives of dangerous, nameless animals and is using local humans to produce more of them, as the Cuckoo ending reveals.

In the film's conclusion, Gretchen and her stepsister Alma (Mila Lieu) escape a lethal situation, leaving the Hooded Woman (Kalin Morrow), König, and the former detective Henry (Jan Bouchard) dead in their wake. The film raises a number of unanswered issues regarding the lore of its universe, even in spite of its dramatic conclusion. The friendship between Gretchen and Alma serves as the main plot point, but director Tilman Singer also crafts a compelling world that is worth talking about outside of the movie's revelations.

The Creatures: What Are They?

Following Cuckoo, the most unanswered question is probably the general dearth of knowledge about the true nature of the creatures. They appear to be normal humans at first appearance, and they breed with regular people. The Hooded Woman doesn't stand out visually until she takes off her sunglasses, revealing her terrifying eyes and features. In addition, the aliens' abilities appear to be inspired by cuckoo birds, which supports the main metaphor of the movie that König finds fascinating.

The animals have the ability to disorient their human targets by emitting loud screeches. At the end, Gretchen and Alma close their ears to prevent being stunned in response to this. Therefore, it is crucial to query their species. König wants to protect them in part because they are said to be old and endangered. They might be some kind of demonic entity, given the Hooded Woman's eyes, although this was purposefully kept as an obscurity. They might possibly be an old-fashioned human-avian hybrid.

What is the duration of König's operation?

Even though König has been dealing with these animals for a while, the duration of his procedure begs additional questions. Alma could be about 10 years old, and he intended for her to become one of the animals. If König has been in business for more than ten years, it begs the issue of how he has managed to operate in this location when there are deadly animals roaming around. He employs police officers, but they can't be the only ones who would have learned about this.

Furthermore, it's conceivable that many more women have been impregnated and are involved in this if König has been working on it for decades. Alma is one of the other animals depicted in the film, but they are just abandoned in the world without any attempts to manage them. Since König and the other scientists are dead, the remaining animals pose a serious risk to this region if they are allowed to go amok. Additionally, there was the mysterious vomiting, which probably caused some people to worry about what was going on at the resort.

What Made the Creatures Attack Only at Night?

König tries to persuade Gretchen to ride home with him earlier in the movie while she and Trixie are working at the resort. Although there is a fleeting suggestion in the film that he harbors some predatory feelings for her, it soon becomes clear that his only reason for making the offer is sincere fear of the creatures attacking her. König gets to the resort quickly after she hangs up on him and takes her bike home, knowing that she will soon be in danger before the Hooded Woman pursues her.

König's decision to not staff his resort at night is also briefly debated. There is no reason to believe that the monsters can only emerge at night, but it does appear that König is doing his experiments in the cottage and does not want any possible witnesses to be around. They are not incapable, since the film depicts them running around during the day. Regarding the Hooded Woman, it doesn't really make sense, but it can just be that König is monitoring her sleeping habits.

What Does Alma Take Away From The End?

Gretchen and Alma can safely leave the hospital after defeating König and the Hooded Woman, which eliminates the primary threats. But there are still a lot of uncertainties regarding what happened. This includes the fact that Alma is one of the homicidal creatures and is being returned to a normal life. It's still unclear, but the inference is that Gretchen's sisterly affection will help her control her desires.

Gretchen's entrance set off Alma's seizures and creature powers. Gretchen threatens her by upsetting her ecology and cutting at her, much like Alma did when she killed her sibling in the womb. It's puzzling now that she's leaving unharmed, even though this makes for an intriguing cinematic analogy. She may no longer feel intimidated by Gretchen because they are in love, but she still has the capacity to lose control and act violently in response to perceived dangers in the future.

What Causes the Time Loop Effect?

One of the most intriguing features of Cuckoo that appears to be solely for aesthetic reasons is the time loop effect. The effect is produced by the creature's screams, however they are unaffected by the time loop and are free to move while their victim is stunned. This is demonstrated later in the movie when Gretchen is imprisoned and allowed to perish at König's facility. In that regard, the time loop serves just as a cinematic device to show the victim's response to the shrill scream.

It remains a source of misunderstanding despite all of that. Depending on the situation, the time loop seems to have varied effects, and different characters can recognize when they are in the loop and escape. The effects wear off over time, and depending on the individual, characters either create a defense mechanism or put in earplugs. Though it is unclear and erratic throughout Cuckoo, the film presents it from the perspective of one of the characters in the scene.

How Much Did Luis Get Into It?

Perhaps the most perplexing figure in the film is Luis, Gretchen's father. Since he works with König, he is the parent who seems to be somewhat devoted to him throughout the movie, and it is hinted that he might be aware of the darker goings-on. When Gretchen phones her father, Henry responds that they "don't know who they can trust," and there is no clear indication of what he knows. However, there is no follow-up or confirmation of the issue.

To further complicate things, König appears to turn Luis off twice in the movie, but this is never mentioned again. Luis finds it annoying because König makes jokes with Beth when they initially arrive. Luis advises Gretchen not to accept König's employment offer, but he never provides a why. In addition to being the "Worst Father" winner, he is also the most perplexing character in Cuckoo for no apparent reason.