Hunger Games’ Hunter Schafer stars in first teaser for new horror film Cuckoo

Euphoria star and trans trailblazer Hunter Schafer is making another big screen outing in upcoming horror film, Cuckoo – and the first teaser has just arrived.

Written and directed by Tilman Singer, Cuckoo stars Schafer, Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) and Jessica Henwick (Games Of Thrones) and is set to premiere at the 74^th Berlin International Film Festival on 16 February.

The spooky flick sees Schafer’s character, Gretchen, leave America to live with her father and his new family in an eery German Alps resort.

As per the film’s synopsis, the characters “arrive at their future residence,” where they are “greeted by Mr König, her father’s boss, who takes an inexplicable interest in Gretchen’s mute half-sister Alma.”

It continues: “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.”

In the tense new trailer, Schafer can be seen peering through an open front door, pre-emptively defending herself with a switchblade amidst the creepy silence.

In November 2023, Schafer opened up about her highest-profile role to date in Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.

Based on Suzanne Collins’ prequel to her best-selling YA dystopian trilogy, the instalment traces a young Coriolanus Snow, played by Tom Blyth, as he spirals into villainy. The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is set 64 years before Coriolanus appears as the tyrannical president, hell-bent on destroying Katniss Everdeen.

“On the surface, the books are [set in] a dystopian sci-fi world [but] there’s something deeply human about the issues [the characters are] facing,” Schafer told PinkNews in an exclusive interview. “It’s universal in a really crazy way.”

“That’s one of the achievements of this series. They’re able to deliver a human and universal message through a distinct and unique world.”

Of bringing trans representation to the Hunger Games franchise: Schafer said: “I don’t want to sensationalise it too much because at the end of the day I’m an actress.

“This is what I do, so the trans element is really cool, but I’m just living for the fact that I get to do my art, work on my craft and that I’m getting these crazy opportunities. It’s really special.”

• Nov 29 2023

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