Hunter Schafer's "Cuckoo" And The Evolution of The Final Girl

Hunter Schafer in Tilman Singer's Cuckoo.

For years the trope of the “Final Girl” has been simple; sexy, cis, and often sexually immature. It’s a way of subtly signaling to the public, that this is how women should behave. This is how they have value. This is how they make it out of the horror movie alive. In recent years, with films like The Cabin In The Woods and Ready Or Not, we’ve seen that image flipped on its head. What if the final girl wasn’t a virgin? What if the final girl wasn’t as naive as she seemed? I had the absolute delight of seeing the premiere of Cuckoo, a horror film written and directed by German Filmmaker Tilman Singer, starring Hunter Schafer, at SXSW earlier this year, and if this film is any indication as to where the “Final Girl” trope is headed, we’re in for a treat. 

Cuckoo follows Schafer’s character, Gretchen, as she moves in with her father and his family (wife and young daughter) lodging at a resort in the German Alps. When strange happenings and concerning noises plague the awkward reunion, Gretchen is given no choice but to uncover a mystery that impacts the resort and, to her surprise, her own family. I just have to say, this film is absolutely phenomenal. I remember before the premiere, one of the SXSW workers introduced it as “an instant classic”. My mind immediately went to films like Midsommar or Parasite, and I couldn’t help the skepticism I felt. Yeah, right. She was paid to say that. 

Nearly two hours later and yeah…she was right. 

Cuckoo is an instant thriller classic. Unique in its story and storytelling, Cuckoo takes some of the most irritating tropes in horror and flips them on its head. Why doesn’t the protagonist just leave? (Spoiler alert, she tries to!) And don’t even get me started on the whole “let’s just split up” trope, Cuckoo has a pretty smart way of writing around that one. Perhaps the most impressive part of Cuckoo is the way it modernizes the “Final Girl” trope. The term dates back to 1987 and was originally coined by Professor Carol J. Clover in her article titled “Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film”. In it, Clover equates the depiction of the Slasher film killer and the “Final Girl” as almost sexual. 

The Killer, who is typically male, uses a phallic-like instrument to exert his dominance. The interesting observation Clover makes is that, as opposed to the other femmes in the film, the “Final Girl” is almost devoid of sexuality. She can sometimes have a gender-neutral name. Unlike the other women in the film, she isn’t seen dating anyone and acts quite virtuous, avoiding vices like smoking or drugs. Harolding seemingly guy-like attributes. A different take from Cabin In The Woods, Clover suggests that those original “Final Girls” were allowed to survive simply because they were less…feminine. 

While Gretchen isn’t a girly girl by any means, she is a different take on the trope. Most “Final Girls” are the perfect All-American dream girl, and at least in every iteration I’ve seen, have been cis. Gretchen already changes this in that throughout the film, she’s obviously queer, and hiring Trans actress Hunter Schafer solidifies this. 

Aside from that, Gretchen isn’t exactly portrayed as innocent, and certainly not devoid of sexuality. While she’s stoic, this is mostly due to the uncomfortable nature of her stay. She’s quite literally out of her element, but she still finds time to have a crush on a gorgeous girl in town. There’s this way earlier iterations of the “Final Girl” are painted where she’s either painfully naive and virtuous, or incredibly cerebral. Everyone else died, but the smart nerdy one just has to live. This portrayal, however complimentary it may seem, can feel equally as limiting to female viewers. 

Like a Disney Channel Original movie. You have the Blonde mean girl, and the brunette nerd with glasses and a golden heart. But this isn’t Camp Rock and Cuckoo knows it. Personally, what I appreciated most about the film is that Gretchen is portrayed simply as a girl. A girl in a wickedly crazy situation. There’s a scene where Gretchen is working at the resort's front desk. She’s staying later than usual, despite being advised not to, when suddenly a writhing and twitching woman enters. She’s moaning and looking terrifying in the dark of night, and what does Gretchen do? 

She leaves.

She doesn’t stay and investigate because jinkies she just has to solve the mystery. Nope, she dips out of there, grabs her bike, and starts peddling home. It’s refreshing to have a horror movie where you’re not yelling at the protagonist to leave. Gretchen is smart, just not in the way we’re used to seeing in horror movies. It feels new. And this, to a horror lover like me, is exciting. 

So, personality-wise Gretchen is a breath of fresh air. She’s not naive, she’s not devoid of sexuality, and she seems to have her own agency. Her motivations expand beyond just the scary situation, and as we learn more about her family dynamic, we get to know why she is the way she is. In other words, this film cared enough about the type of person Gretchen was to even make her a person. But all of this could have been squandered, as it has many times before, by Gretchen’s wardrobe choices. 

We’ve all seen an incredible heroine ruined because she just has to be wearing a tight pushup bra and booty shorts, even in the most precarious of situations. And listen, I’m all for showing skin but this rarely ever correlates to the character's wants or wishes. It’s more of a way to objectify the actress while patting themselves on the back for creating such a “tragic” character. In that way, anything you do in terms of backstory or motivations cancels itself out. What does it matter if she has this beautiful narrative arc if all you care about is exploiting the character in every scene? 

Thankfully, Cuckoo did not do this. Gretchen is queer, and Gretchen also dresses fairly queer. She looks like a total badass by the end, and so much of this is because the filmmakers cared enough about Gretchen as a person to ask themselves, what would she wear? Filmmakers, specifically of higher budget productions, should take note. 

Cuckoo was an all-around stunner of a film. A wild ride filled with scares and intrigue, it’s a unique mystery to join Gretchen in solving. It’s also great representation of the modern “Final Girl”. A continuation of this evolution we’ve been seeing for years. For a while, films leaned aggressively into the satirical aspects of the “Final Girl” tropes, à la Cabin In The Woods. It’s interesting to see what a “Final Girl” looks like once the dust has settled. Singer’s “Final Girl” shows agency, intelligence, and the incredible ability to be the heroine without being sexualized. I’m curious as to where the “Final Girl” will go next, but if Cuckoo is any indication, we’re certainly on the right track. 

Watch Cuckoo in Theaters right now!