Hunter Schafer Goes ‘Cuckoo’: Talks Queerness in Horror and the Glamour of Being Covered in Blood

Ever since the masses were introduced to her in HBO’s "Euphoria," the star of Hunter Schafer has continued to rise as s she has appeared in the high-profile blockbuster "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" as well as high-brow cinema like "Kinds of Kindness" directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things). She will also star opposite Micaela Coel and Anne Hathaway in David Lowery’s (The Green Knight) upcoming epic melodrama Mother Mary and is currently in production on Blade Runner 2099 miniseries. But on August 9, we see Schafer bloody scared in the horror pic "Cuckoo."

Written and directed by Tilman Singer, Schafer plays Gretchen, a 17-year-old who reluctantly leaves her American home to live with her father Luis (Marton Csokas) at a resort in the German Alps with his second wife Beth (Jessica Henwick), and their mute, 8-year-old daughter, Alma (Mila Lieu). Her father’s boss Mr. König (Dan Stevens) takes an odd interest mute half-sister Alma. As things unravel, Gretchen begins to feel something isn’t right in this vacation paradise as she is plagued by strange noises, bloody visions — and shocking family secrets.

“I fell in love with the 'Cuckoo' and Hillman’s world-building and the way he directs and everything,” Schafer said in a recent interview with GLAAD’s Anthony Allen Ramos. “I’ve been saying this, but like I would have played any character in this movie. I just wanted to be a part of it.” She says she was thankful for the role and refers to Gretchen as the “eye of the storm”.

The character of Gretchen is the polar opposite of the glamorous spotlight that is usually on Schafer when she is posing on the red carpet or modeling as the face of Prada and Mugler. She admits that she likes to present “a very clean and nice facade to the world” to the world most of the time. "Cuckoo" presented a welcomed change for her.

“I prefer no makeup, very [casual],” she said. “It was nice because it was less time in the makeup chair and everything but I also find, in a f*cked up way, glamour [in it]… when I was a kid and got a nosebleed, I’d always want to take a picture with the nosebleed… there’s something very glamorous about being covered in blood and wielding a knife and running around.”

Horror is often a genre where queer characters exist without any forced identity politics. For "Cuckoo," the character of Gretchen happens to be a queer woman and at one point, we do get a peek into her world. “That’s what’s in the script,” Schafer pointed out, adding that it’s exciting because audiences that don’t engage queer people often have the opportunity to peek into Gretchen’s world.

“It’s [as] important as it’s ever been,” said Schafer in regards to LGBTQ representation and the importance of showing up during this time in American history. “I feel particularly for queer and trans people, over the past decade or two, we’ve seen some big strides [in] representation.” She said that it’s important to stay engaged. “I encourage thinking for yourself and not necessarily just submitting to social pressures but really thinking about how you feel about things and acting from there.”

"Cuckoo" opens in theaters nationwide on August 9.