Summary
2024 has been agreat year for horror moviesand the latest isCuckoo, a strange and dream-like feature from director Tilman Singer. Only his second film, Singer also wrote the film, which stars Hunter Schafer as Gretchen, an American teenager who is sent to live with her father and his new family as they move into a resort in the German Alps during the off season.
Gretchen, already desperate to return home, rebels against her father and stepmother, played by Jessica Henwick, even as Dan Stevens' Her Konig tries to make her assimilate to her new environment. What that entails is unclear, but strange things begin happening and Gretchen finds herself caught in a dangerously demented conspiracy.
Cuckoo Review: Dan Stevens & Hunter Schafer Shine In Neon’s Kooky New Horror Entry
Cuckoo’s atmospheric horror sometimes works against it, but stellar performances from Dan Stevens and Hunter Schafer ultimately make it a home run.
Cuckoohas earned positive notes from critics so far thanks to its twisted story, genre blending elements, and the performances of its lead cast.Screen Rantsat down with Schafer, Henwick, and Stevens to talk about the film, including Schafer’s first lead role, the origins of Herr Konig, and the relationship between Alma and Gretchen.
Hunter Schafer Loved Cuckoo’s Action-Heavy Role
But The Sisterhood Between Gretchen & Mila Is The Movie’s Emotional Core
Schafer may be best known forstarring inEuphoria,but the actor has begun to branch out. This year, she starred inHunger GamesprequelThe Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, butCuckoois her first lead role, and it allowed her to explore a new side of film: action.“It’s really fun, because it sort of gets you out of your head,“Schafer says of filming those scenes, which include car crashes, gun fights, and more.“You feel badass swinging a knife around.”
The stunts weren’t all for show, though. They were also integral to Schafer’s process on set.“Sometimes I get really heady on set, and you’re just in your body and reacting,“she says, continuing,“All the injuries were nice markers of the timeline because you never film in order. So it was always a nice reminder — heads busted, arms aren’t broken yet. [You] know where you are in the movie.”
It’s kind of like the heart of the film, watching them acknowledge and lean into the love that’s there.
Schafer found the emotional core elsewhere, though. Gretchen is initially cold to her half-sister Alma, who is mute and has unexplained medical issues, but their relationship is key toCuckoo.Alma is played Mila Lieu and Schafer had nothing but praise for the young star.“She was so sweet and so excited to be there,“Schafer says before expanding on Gretchen and Alma’s dynamic in the movie:“It’s kind of like the heart of the film, watching them acknowledge and lean into the love that’s there. Sisterhood is magical, and I’m glad it got to live between those two characters.”
Dan Stevens Explains The Origins Of His Sinister Character
The Doctor Is Inspired By German Folk Lore
Stevens is known for leaning in to his characters. This year alone, he has played a former police detective and King Kong’s veterinarian inAbigailandGodzilla X Kong: The New Empire.InCuckoo, his German character is sweetly sinister and a little bit psycho.“It was really a collaboration with Tilman coming up with this weird, impish character,“Stevens says.
“There’s a [Johann Wolfgang von] Goethe poem called Erlkönig, which is all about this weird fairy king that murders children in the Black Forest, which is just part of German culture,“he says, highlighting how his König compliments the woodsy surroundings and the dream-like atmosphere of the movie.“It’s really kind of baked into the fabric of their law, their fairy tales and stuff. So it was kind of playing on this weird sort of fairy tale character who’s not just like an out-and-out villain.”
Her Complicated Mother Character Is Mysterious & Elusive
Beth, Gretchen’s step-mother, may seem like the enemy at first. Her aloof behavior certainly doesn’t help, nor does her implying that Gretchen is to blame for much of the stress that seems to be bringing out Alma’s ailments. As the mother figure inCuckoo, though, Beth encompasses this mother/monster dynamic in her fierce protectiveness of Alma and her adversarial relationship with Gretchen. Henwick agrees, saying,“She is thematically on point.”
Beth’s complexity isn’t the only thing that drew Henwick toCuckoo. She was excited to work with Singer, saying,“He has such a voice and such a style. I think I would have said yes to anything he sent me honestly.“His first filmLuz, which was Singer’s film school thesis and is about a possession, is what sparked her interest in the director’s work:“I had seen his first film Luz, and was so blown away by how original it was, and how much he accomplished, considering it’s his student film [thesis].“WithCuckoo, it’s clear Singer has graduated to an even higher level in every way.
