When is a horror movie more than just the sum of its parts? That's the great debate behind this episode of Uncertified, where Matt Donato and Matthew Monagle break down Cuckoo, NEON's new horror film that refuses to align with any of our genre expectations. Is it a horror movie that succeeds despite its fragmented ambition? Or are its various twists and turns part of what makes it great? You'll have to listen to the episode to see where we land.
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Not much has gone right for Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) in the last few years. After her father remarried, Gretchen was saddled with a new sibling she doesn’t like and a relocation to the German Alps that puts her far away from her friends. But family tension is only the beginning of her problems – now a resident of the resort run by the enigmatic Herr König (Dan Stevens), Gretchen soon finds herself stalked by a woman who the resort staff pretend does not exist. The newest film from Luz director Tilman Singer, Cuckoo is a modern twist on folk horror that is hard to embrace and even harder to forget.
In this short excerpt from the episode, Matt Monagle explains why Hunter Schafer stands out in her leading performance:
"[Hunter Schafer] is the perfect vehicle for what [Tilman Singer] is doing because she is providing this youth in revolt energy that allows her to react with fear to the scary moments. But there are also these moments throughout where she basically calls bullshit on what's happening around her. It's such a refreshing turn for the character. I think everybody can remember the scene in the trailer, where Dan Stevens says, 'You were supposed to be here.' She gestures and says, 'That's a fucking weird thing to say.' That's the energy [her] character brings to the movie. There are a lot of heavy ideas happening. Hunter Schafer's Gretchen is the one that's responsible for being like, this fucking is weird, and it sucks, and I'm out."
The Cuckoo episode of the Certified Forgotten podcast is now available to stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or the podcast platform of your choice.
