‘Cuckoo’: A Twisted Tale Unfolds In The German Alps - Trailer

Jul 23

From Ryan Cordaro

NEON has been on a pretty crazy run with their releases for the past year and a half. I enjoyed both Ava DuVernay’s Origin and Michael Mann’s Ferrari, which were both released by the studio. They’ve also made waves in the indie scene with different movies like the Hulu exclusive Self Reliance, Stress Positions, and Babes. Where some of their biggest moments of the year so far are, though, come from horror. The Sydney Sweeney-starring Immaculate made headlines, and even though Handling the Undead did the opposite, it’s still well-liked by the people that did see it. Right now, though, it’s Longlegs that’s been giving NEON the most attention this year. There’s even a chance that it becomes the studio’s most successful movie, right up there with Parasite, Bong Joon-ho’s Best Picture-winner. Now, we have another horror movie that NEON is releasing, so there’s a chance that the momentum could just keep going.

Cuckoo follows Gretchen, a teenage girl, who leaves her home to live with her father and his new family in a resort in the German Alps. They’re greeted by Mr. König, her father's boss, who takes an interest in Gretchen's mute half-sister, Alma. Throughout the visit, Gretchen is plagued by strange noises and visions until she discovers a shocking secret that also concerns her own family. The film premiered back in February at the Berlin International Film Festival to good reviews, as well as holding screenings at South by Southwest and the Overlook Film Festival. I personally really enjoy the main cast in the other things I’ve seen, particularly the leads of the movie Hunter Schafer, Jessica Henwick, and Dan Stevens. Cuckoo also just looks like a fun horror movie, and most of the time, that’s all I really need.

Alongside Schafer (Kinds of Kindness, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes), Henwick (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, the upcoming Twilight of the Gods), and Stevens (Abigail, Downton Abbey), the cast includes Jan Bluthardt (Luz, Immaculata), Marton Csokas (Sleeping Dogs, The Amazing Spider-Man 2), Greta Fernández (A Thief’s Daughter, 30 Coins), and Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword).