With Season 3 of Euphoria still on the horizon, in 2024, Hunter Schafer made her mark on the big screen with a small role in Yorgos Lanthimos' Kinds of Kindness and a lead role in the horror film Cuckoo, which just landed on Hulu. In Cuckoo, written and directed by Tilman Singer, Schafer stars as Gretchen, a 17-year-old American girl forced to move to a German resort town with her father, stepmother, and sister after the death of her mother. Strange occurrences seem to follow her, and Gretchen tries to uncover the truth about the resort manager while grieving her mother and getting iced out by her father. Cuckoo does plenty to unsettle, confuse, and keep you guessing throughout, but the film's most important relationship—that between Gretchen and her mute half-sister Alma (Mila Lieu)—brings about one of its most powerful scenes and has almost nothing to do with horror.
What Is 'Cuckoo' About?
After the death of her mother, Gretchen is forced to relocate to a small resort town in the Bavarian Alps with her father, Luis (Marton Csokas), stepmother Beth (Jessica Henwick), and half-sister Alma, who moved there to help construct a new hotel with their friend and resort manager, Herr K?nig (Dan Stevens). Since the area is mostly empty during the warmer months, K?nig offers Gretchen a job at the front desk to keep her occupied, but strange things start happening almost immediately. While on the night shift, Gretchen sees a female guest vomiting and walking around the lobby in a daze. On her bike ride home, she's chased by a strange hooded woman and injures herself falling off her bike. Alma suffers mysterious seizures caused by a strange screeching noise and an overwhelming vibrating sensation that can be heard and felt periodically.
While no one listens to Gretchen's concerns, she soon teams up with Henry (Jan Bluthardt), a detective who witnessed these strange events firsthand when he was a guest at a hotel. K?nig is revealed to be the man behind it all, and the Hooded Woman who chased Gretchen that night is revealed to be an avian humanoid who, like the cuckoo bird, reproduces through brood parasitism, implanting its egg in a human host and allowing its offspring to be raised by its human parents until it returns to the resort to rejoin its real mother.
Gretchen and Alma Save Each Other at the End of 'Cuckoo'
Once Gretchen discovers Herr K?nig's nefarious plot, she's determined to rescue Alma from the hospital where she's being kept for observation. A shootout ensues between K?nig and Henry, who wants to kill Alma in order to eliminate the Hooded Woman's offspring. Gretchen threatens to stab Alma to keep K?nig at bay, but Alma, unsure who to trust, thinks Gretchen may also be out to hurt her and runs away. Gretchen follows and attempts to earn Alma's trust after spending most of the film keeping her sister at arm's length, resulting in one of the most emotional scenes in Cuckoo. Gretchen didn't see herself as part of the family and didn't even consider Alma to be her sister, resenting Alma because of what she represents—her father starting a new family and not paying attention to her anymore, prioritizing his new wife and daughter, and failing to offer Gretchen any emotional support after the death of her mother.
‘Cuckoo’ Ending Explained: Does Hunter Schafer Survive Dan Stevens’ Evil Plan?
Don't answer its calling.
Though Gretchen saw Alma as a nuisance, Alma looked up to Gretchen in the way a younger sister looks up to an elder sister, recognizing Gretchen's pain and wanting to see her happy. Throughout the film, Gretchen leaves voicemails for her mother to express her grief and frustration with her new living situation. When her father gives Gretchen the tapes containing some of her mother's old voicemails, she finds one from Alma, who used text-to-speech to ask Gretchen's mom to call her and cheer her up. After hearing her message, Gretchen starts to warm up to Alma and becomes wary of K?nig's intentions with her. Later, in her attempt to save Alma, Gretchen thanks her for reaching out to her mother, realizing that Alma truly cares about her and deserves a better sister she knows she can trust.
In all the hair-raising confusion of Cuckoo, this touching scene between Gretchen and Alma demonstrates Gretchen’s character growth, embracing her role as a sister. Previously, she expressed annoyance and frustration at Alma's mutism, but in her attempt to appeal to her, she does so in sign language, speaking Alma's language and proving she cares about her more than she lets on. And it works so well, largely thanks to the performance of Hunter Schafer, who really delivers during Cuckoo’s heavier moments when Gretchen navigates her ever-relatable grief.
Cuckoo is available to stream on Hulu in the United States.
Cuckoo
- Release Date
- August 9, 2024
- Runtime
- 102 Minutes
- Director
- Tilman Singer
WHERE TO WATCH
After moving to the German Alps with her father and his new family, Gretchen begins to experience disturbing events. As she uncovers the town's dark secrets, her father's enigmatic boss, Mr. König, reveals a sinister interest in her mute half-sister, Alma. Tilman Singer directs this psychological horror featuring Hunter Schafer and Dan Stevens?
- Main Genre
- Horror
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