"The adolescent must be trained..."
We first heard about Luz director Tilman Singer's second feature, Cuckoo, last year, and NEON has finally released some footage from the movie via a very creepy teaser trailer.
Up-and-coming Euphoria actress Hunter Schafer, who recently had a supporting role in Lionsgate's prequel The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, stars as a teenager named Gretchen who goes to stay with her estranged father and his new family in the German Alps, where she discovers some very sinister, possibly supernatural occurrences that may be connected to her own family.
The teaser doesn't show much, but we do see Schafer's character walk into a room and pull out what appears to be some kind of flick knife, as a disquieting score builds to a bone-chilling scream. Then, right at the end, we get a quick glimpse of a hooded figure (creature?) shrieking into the camera.
What's going on here? We have no idea! The synopsis below does outline the basic premise, but it's clear that the movie will be keeping its biggest secrets under wraps for as long as possible, and we have zero complaints about this approach.
Check out the teaser at the link below, and let us know what you think in the comments section.
Reluctantly, 17-year-old Gretchen leaves her American home to live with her father, who has just moved into a resort in the German Alps with his new family. Arriving at their future residence, they are greeted by Mr. König, her father's boss, who takes an inexplicable interest in Gretchen's mute half-sister Alma. Something doesn't seem right in this tranquil vacation paradise. Gretchen is plagued by strange noises and bloody visions until she discovers a shocking secret that also concerns her own family.
Cuckoo was written and directed by Singer, and produced by Markus Halberschmidt, Josh Rosenbaum, Maria Tsigka, Ken Kao, and Thor Bradwell.
The movie also stars Dan Stevens as Mr. König, Jessica Henwick as Beth, Jan Bluthardt as Henry, Marton Csokas as Luis, Greta Fernández as Trixie, Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey as Ed, Konrad Singer as Erik, Proschat Madani as Dr. Bonomo, and Kalin Morrow as The Hooded Woman.
The film will have its world premiere at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival later this month, before getting a release in select US theaters starting May 3rd, 2024.