If I had a nickel for every 2024 horror movie that had the final girl team up with a little monster girl to defeat an evil bespectacled Dan Stevens with a funny accent, I'd have 2 nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird it happened twice.
Molly would be so baffled to know what Mommy & Daddy watch for a living. 😂 Molly is the personification (dogification?) of the DM channel: a sweetness that allows you to relax & enjoy horror movies ❤
22:04 I interpreted the dad’s character as “Wants to do the right thing on some level, but prioritizes everything else significantly above her”. I think it’s common for people to start out wanting to support a child in grief, but once that child handles it any less than perfectly they drop all pretenses. I lost my mom less than a year ago, and I’ve personally seen people start out sympathetic to my little sister (who’s Gretchen’s age), then immediately turn and act more like the dad once she shows understandable signs of grief. I thought when I watched it the dad was trying to say something like “Oh, I’m not sure if she’s ready” or “It’s too soon” to try and take the pressure off her, which would fit since he started the scene by coming in her room to (poorly) try and have a heart to heart. He also does express the bare minimum concern when he sees her hurt in the hospital, but clearly has other priorities. And once Gretchen tries to run away, it’s almost like he decides “Well, know that she’s messed up I can stop pretending like I care” (although I think that’s more of a subconscious thought than conscious) I think it’s a fairly realistic portrayal of the ways that adults fail children/young adults in grief. It’s easy to start out with shallow sympathy and “I know this must be hard but I’m here for you” and devolve into “You’re making things difficult” the moment the person going through grief is less than perfect
So not only do cuckoo birds lay their eggs in other birds nests, they also usually kick the other eggs off of the nest first. This is what I think they were making an allusion to with the sister eating the other baby in the womb, which would make it the parents’ “real” baby being killed.
There's also an implication with the title so that any audience members who know how cuckoos breed are primed to think Alma might try to kill Gretchen. The film does a bit of a Will They/Won't They but for killing Gretchen for a while. When Alma doesn't further hurt Gretchen the cuckoo mother has to step in to try instead.
I really enjoyed this movie. Even if it had some writing issues, I was just happy to see Hunter get to ball out and give out such an amazing performance
@@MotionPictureDude all the shots were so beautiful I was aghast in ghr theater, I think if it got to be a little longer and more fleshed out it would have helped it a ton
Pearls mom isn’t really bad per say she just wants her daughter to help her with the dad because he’s disabled plus pearl isn’t this victim she chose to be a murder just because she didn’t get to be this big star idk why I’m the only one who isn’t on pearls side
@@theclairewhymore hard and callous and eventually literally afraid of her daughter she knows to be a psychopath for presumably years before the movie, than actually cruel or abusive.
I feel bad I was alone in this film screening. But as someone who saw Abigail, Maxxxine, Longlegs, I Saw the TV Glow, Cuckoo and The Substance (yes, #1, might be in my top 5 now) in theaters this year (I rarely see movies in theater, I decided this year was take myself on movie dates year), ALL were fantastic and no regrets on going out to see. I still hold this one high and might be the easiest besides Abigail to share with others. It gave mature Goosebumps, not Fear Street, still way more Goosebumps energy. Young teen and child with parents and other adults they cant quite trust/depend on while mild creature feature elements take place.
The mom and dad in The Witch have to be up there in terms of bad horror parents, isolating their family because of the dad’s pride and then blaming all their misfortunes on their teenage daughter and calling her a witch.
the dad got infected with a bad case of guppy guts lol the man was such a pushover and took it out on his daughter because it gave him a sense of control, like a damn coward
@@danwilliams2551I think y’all need to rewatch that movie. Yes the dads pride is what puts them in danger but during the whole movie both parents LOVE their children. The dad sobs and eats dirt begging god to smite him and spare his family. I don’t think the parents are bad people they make mistakes and after 2/5 kids die the mothers decent into madness is fairly normal
I feel like if Dan Steven’s was an animal he’s be one of those animated rat characters who has slicked back fur (that’s both a compliment and a real thought I had in the middle of this movie)
@@neonradius yep, first thing I watched w him so I got lil tickled seeing him start just knocking out all these horror movies after! My kids & I watched a bts on it too where he had to learn how to walk on these sort of stilts and learn dancing. If anything, u should check it out to see how great I personally think he did & u could always just jump to his scenes if ur not liking the rest of the movie.
I almost just lost my SHIT at work when you said you guys are doing another guess the kill! I relisten to those episodes all the time, my favorite game you guys have done for sure. So stoked, can’t wait!
As someone who hasn’t watched the trailer I can say this movie WAS very creepy because I had no clue what to expect so the mystery of what is happening was eerie and suspenseful, and the bike/shadow part got me good cus it felt like something everyone thinks about once walking at night-what if a shadow popped up behind you!
I’m from Germany and when I watched the movie I and the friend I watched it with both thought we were in a dubbed showing because the German was so good.
About the stand off at the end: it’s established that both characters are HORRIBLE shots during the confrontation. I have to imagine that that was intentional so neither one of them would want to risk shooting both girls.
I love me some bird horror, but I think that finnish horror movie, Hatching (2022), did something a lil bit cooler with almost the same concept. As you guys mentioned how there is no body horror, I watched Cuckoo waiting for some avian monster, but...
I'm German and I thought that this was an interesting modern take on the folklore of the "Wechselbalg", the changeling. Especially in the Alpine regions there are tons of stories around these as babies and sometimes as adults. Inventing an all female species instead of elves or trolls switching the children is a nice idea. So for me that movie was kind of a folk horror film and I would be interested in more of these but not necessarily from the same director.
If I remember correctly, the hands rubbing the legs thing is clarified during the attack in the lovers nest. I believe Gretchen's coworker does the same thing and it peels her underwear down to prepare herself for the goop. It doesn't work on Gretchen because she's always wearing jeans.
Yooo I was stoked when you guys mentioned Jordan Peele because this film to me seemed a lot like one of his films. The way the “wtf” elements and mystery unfold, the vibe and even some cinematography totally feel like something Peele would make.
I watched Cuckoo last night specifically so I could watch this episode of the podcast. And I'm so glad I did, and I enjoyed getting some clarifications from you two. I felt like I got all the broad plot points, but the details were muddy. All of the talk of the trailer made me realize I hadn't seen the trailer. Because that bike scene jump scare of the mother behind her made me scream. I was not prepared, and I don't usually react like that, even to jump scares. I'm usually curling in on myself when things get scary. But that was the only part that got to me. One random thing I really liked was the choice to use that orange-y color for the blood. It reminded me of something out of the 70s, and it stood out against the pretty muted color palette. I just love knowing that at some point in this production there was a long conversation about the color of the blood. To segue into how excited I am for you to talk about The Substance, I think sometimes people don't know what body horror is. Whether it's the extremes of knowing it's more than just Cronenberg monstrosities, or thinking that's just all there is. There's a lot, but Cuckoo isn't it. it's doing something else, and that's good.
@@ryllo2886 the script is pretty bland, and the direction is listless. I find most of the other characters underbaked, but Gretchen is more idiosyncratic. Schafer capitalizes on that and anchors the film with a protagonist the audience wants to engage with and see succeed. She turns a film I’d probably tune out / turn off, into a fun but flawed popcorn flick. So ya, from ⭐️⭐️ to ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I'm so glad you covered this movie! Big fan of the podcast too. I think what clinched this movie for me was the ending scene (SPOILERS) - between Gretchen and her sister. The emotion got to me, especially with how sincere Hunter Schaffer played it and describing to her sister that her "mom got her message". It was enough to get me to watch it again.
Worst horror parents is going to be interesting, since it's such a trope. Every parent in Derry, Maine, with special emphasis on Bev's dad and Eddie's mom. Ethan Hawke in Sinister. Max's dad and the Wheeler mom in Stranger Things. Step-father Guy Woodhouse in Rosemary's Baby.
I also like the idea of a game based around the silhouettes, the principles of animation type game identifying the horror icons based on their silhouettes or shadows
Excited that Chelsea gets to play next week as well. I love Chelsea's games she makes but sometimes I just want to see both her and James slowly go crazy while playing.
I adored CUCKOO. It was one of those movies to me where even if things didn’t connect for me, the atmosphere of the movie was just so perfect, it was enough for me to not care about certain things.
Omg the Substance was fucking excellent. I can't WAIT to hear you guys talk about it let's fuckin GOOOOOOOOO Not only will I still care in two weeks, but I will be thinking about and re-watching that movie forever
Haven't seen it, but the flash of "mandatory heteronormativity" on the article that Chelsea mentions seems a pretty clear theme with Gretchen being into ladies. There's the idea that women can be gay when they're young, but then they have to grow up and properly Be Adult and Have Babies, because they need to continue the bloodline! So the idea of Gretchen possibly being goohanded in order to continue this creature's species, and also, Bad Dad... there certainly seems to be a thread there. ALSO MOTHERFUCKIN WISHMASTER. I love Wishmaster. Looking forward to that.
Bad Horror Mom: The mom in Hatching (2022) - which is also a great movie that might be worth covering. The mom being a terrible mom is a major theme of that movie, but I can't be more specific about why I think she's such a strong contender without major spoilers!
I would LOVE to have an Inifnity Pool podcast if your still taking suggestions for October. I'm seeing The Substance this weekend after everyone is gushing over it, I can't wait!
If I may: For more Dan Stevens doing a German accent, check out Maria Schrader's *excellent* 2021 film I'M YOUR MAN, where he plays an android designed to serve as a human romantic companion. Expectedly, he's great. The rest of the film is, too!
I would agree with you guys. Cuckoo is a good horror movie, but it's not great. If anything, I hope Hunter Schafer gets a Dead Meat Award nomination for her performance.
I think Alma is some sort of human cuckoo chimera where the cuckoo baby killed the human in the womb like cuckoo birds do, but instead of actually killing it they fused
this was my interpretation, too! that's why she possessed so much humanity, like leaving that voicemail for Gretchen's mom and saving Gretchen at the end
Glad Chelsea mentioned the lebensborn, I had a similar thought. I saw a good documentary on it here on youtube, where they interviewed different kinds of lebensborn from different place. One was an affair baby of a SS officer, some never knew their parents and the records were destroyed, others were chold of assaults by soliders (one was accidentally put into the program when his mother took him while she worked caring for children at the orphanage and as the soliders moved the children after allies moved into the country he was taken before his mother could do anything). It truly is sad cause after the war they were harassed relentlessly and many put back into the system cause they werent wanted anymore.
I fully think the Dad was in on it. Couple of reasons: - He tries to deflect Gretchen from questioning her surroundings, and is not weirded out by anything Herr K. says. I don't think he is actually there to build the resort: I believe he and Dan Stevens conspired to deliver Alma for the meeting with the Mother, and kept it from Beth and Gretchen. -His lack of concern about Beth's sudden illness, and the exit without returning for Alma I think indicate that he already knows what Alma is and has finished his part of the bargain.
I loved this movie. I had such a fun time with it in theaters. It's one of those movies where even if something doesn't make sense, or is too confusing, I forgive it because of the fun time I had. I love the vibes. I like the "mother" I thought she had a lot of cool and spooky scenes. I was also glad she looks more human than a creature. I think if she looked more like a creature/monster, it would have taken me out of it. But, I do think humans are scarier than creatures lol. I also love how batshit the third act is. When Gretchen throws the wig and the retired (or whatever his status is) cop starts laughing his ass off...omg I loved it.
Spent a couple of months away from Dead Meat and just found out about this channel when I couldn't find the podcast. Sorry I'm late! Love you all❤ Happy spooky season.
No same! I was absolutely crushing on him in Abigail and then this one came out and I was like well I’m in love with this man now. He’s absolutely amazing!
I'm cracking up at the Problem Child 2 reference 😂😂😂. I'm almost positive we Millennials all know it because it was one of those movies that the USA channel played CONSTANTLY. That and Child's Play 2 & 3.
RE: Eric and Beatrix. I think the reason why Eric didn't want to get it on was because he was in on the whole shebang and was like... wait, we're after 10pm and in the love nest! Big fail. Later when Her Koenig (no idea on German) pushes Eric to make his move you can see him freaking out. Which, of course, leads to him failing to execute and then being done in. I liked the film, I am a sucker for happy endings in horror, so it went up a point or two for me. Dad was an absolute shitheel though.
I'm glad you explained this movie for me, bc I was confused as heck. idk if anyone else had this problem, but I could barely hear the whispered dialogue. What stood out to me was when the package arrived and I saw that their surname is Vanderkurt. That doesn't seem like an actual German name to me, so I googled it. I only found it in connection to Tilman Singer, and it turns out that the main character in his film school project Luz is called Nora Vanderkurt. I wonder if they're related, or if he just likes that weird name.
thank you for the problem child 2 reference, for years I had vivid memories of that movie but could never remember the name!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! fixed my brain
Chelsea has had such a “glow up” over the years, I mean she has always been beautiful but she just seems so much more confident lately ya know? like dude Chelsea, your killing it. James too, but i feel like people are always creepin on James 😂 so I just wanted to highlight Chelsea and the hard work she does on podcast.
Jacob , Hunter, Storm,Angus(R.I.P.) IF Zendaya , Maude and Alexa stars in a horror/suspense movie we will have seen every Euphoria main cast in a horror movie
Hey James and Chelsea. Since you asked, here are some "bad parents" movies I've watched (I'm probably missing a lot, and some of these might be iffy). This includes bad guardians, and parents that turn evil, as well though. Hope that's helpful (I actually spent some time going through every movie I've watched, so hopefully you actually see this, and it wasn't a waste). Longlegs (mom) Cobweb (mom and dad) Parents (mom and dad) Mom and Dad (mom and dad) Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (aunt) Evil Dead Rise (mom) The Shining (dad) Ready or Not (in-laws) Anything for Jackson (grandparents) Run (mom) Xtro (dad) The Harvest ("mom and dad") Carrie (mom) Brain Dead/Dead Alive (mom) Stopmotion (mom) Psycho (mom)
Bad horror parents: The parents from Brightburn. Any rational parent would have reported an alien landing instead of adopting it and doing nothing when it goes on a killing spree.
honestly i didn't understand some of the stuff that had to do with the actual "cuckoo" aspect either but the performances (especially hunter) and the family dynamic really made up for it, it's probably my new favorite movie
I think the body horror comments were referring to the "goo." I don't fully agree but I don't think it's completely wrong. Also the dad is definitely in on it. When the wife gets sick and they drive off with her, there's a line that confirms she died en route.
I don’t think Cuckoo is body horror, but it’s body horror adjacent as I think most horror movies involving pregnancy are. I mean pregnancy kinda is real life body horror.
I just watched this and I think the trailers hyped me up to much. Still worth the watch and had very good segments. It was oddly written at points I will admit. Still sitting on this one not sure what my actual score would be
Cuckoo was far better than Immaculate (another NEON release), and while I love Cuckoo, I do think it could've been better. I definitely think this was a two-hour movie before being chopped up.
Cool Tank Girl t-shirt... What I remembered most about this movie before seeing it was that Gemma Chan was originally cast in the part that Jessica Henwick ended up playing. Parts of the movie just made me think of The Shining and Phantasm with a little bit of Scanners. The mom in The Hatching (2022) springs to mind as a bad horror parent. Fun podcast as usual y'all.
Cukoo is a good movie that could've been great. The premise is a good one but adding so much narrative and other angles to the story brought it down to a ok movie. Like James and Chelsea basically said it's a good movie with great acting but you know where it's going towards the end
If we’re assuming rules akin to the worst horror husbands bracket - so they have to be a bad parent to their kid rather than just a bad person who happens to be a parent - I’d suggest grandma Ellen from Hereditary, Norma Bates, Bev’s and Henry Bowers’ dads from IT, definitely Valeria from Huesera (it’s kinda the whole point of the movie), the parents from The Witch, Aunt Martha from Sleepaway Camp, could also make a case for Julia Cotton in Hellraiser, the mom from Orphan First Kill, Jess from Triangle, and you could argue the ‘parents’ from Speak No Evil. Hopefully some of those are good picks. Looking forward to that podcast if you choose to go for it!!❤
If I had a nickel for every 2024 horror movie that had the final girl team up with a little monster girl to defeat an evil bespectacled Dan Stevens with a funny accent, I'd have 2 nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird it happened twice.
IT HAPPENED TWICE? 😭
Oh Abigail 😂
Omg, what a great thing to point out 🤣🤣
I was wondering why he and the assholery seemed so familiar then I checked his filmography
The lil sister's message was really moving, indeed. I really liked how Hunter character embraced her tiny bird creature sibling.
1:03 I love how Molly stood up like, “Look what mom got me!”
Molly would be so baffled to know what Mommy & Daddy watch for a living. 😂 Molly is the personification (dogification?) of the DM channel: a sweetness that allows you to relax & enjoy horror movies ❤
22:04 I interpreted the dad’s character as “Wants to do the right thing on some level, but prioritizes everything else significantly above her”. I think it’s common for people to start out wanting to support a child in grief, but once that child handles it any less than perfectly they drop all pretenses. I lost my mom less than a year ago, and I’ve personally seen people start out sympathetic to my little sister (who’s Gretchen’s age), then immediately turn and act more like the dad once she shows understandable signs of grief. I thought when I watched it the dad was trying to say something like “Oh, I’m not sure if she’s ready” or “It’s too soon” to try and take the pressure off her, which would fit since he started the scene by coming in her room to (poorly) try and have a heart to heart. He also does express the bare minimum concern when he sees her hurt in the hospital, but clearly has other priorities. And once Gretchen tries to run away, it’s almost like he decides “Well, know that she’s messed up I can stop pretending like I care” (although I think that’s more of a subconscious thought than conscious)
I think it’s a fairly realistic portrayal of the ways that adults fail children/young adults in grief. It’s easy to start out with shallow sympathy and “I know this must be hard but I’m here for you” and devolve into “You’re making things difficult” the moment the person going through grief is less than perfect
So not only do cuckoo birds lay their eggs in other birds nests, they also usually kick the other eggs off of the nest first. This is what I think they were making an allusion to with the sister eating the other baby in the womb, which would make it the parents’ “real” baby being killed.
There's also an implication with the title so that any audience members who know how cuckoos breed are primed to think Alma might try to kill Gretchen. The film does a bit of a Will They/Won't They but for killing Gretchen for a while. When Alma doesn't further hurt Gretchen the cuckoo mother has to step in to try instead.
I really enjoyed this movie. Even if it had some writing issues, I was just happy to see Hunter get to ball out and give out such an amazing performance
Same. The film overall had a vibe that I was totally into. Plus I loved the look of it
@@MotionPictureDude all the shots were so beautiful I was aghast in ghr theater, I think if it got to be a little longer and more fleshed out it would have helped it a ton
Hunter carried this movie. Dan was good but Hunter was SO good with this, even tho I agree the writing wasn’t the best but she killed it
@@MotionPictureDudesame! Love the vibe and it was shot well
She was so great. I hope she does more horror because she has scream queen written all over her
For Bad Horror Movie parents: Pearl's Mom, Weird Aunt from Sleep away Camp, black phone dad, longlegs mom!
Pearls mom isn’t really bad per say she just wants her daughter to help her with the dad because he’s disabled plus pearl isn’t this victim she chose to be a murder just because she didn’t get to be this big star idk why I’m the only one who isn’t on pearls side
@@Bluraysnob1990no one’s on Pearl’s side.. she’s just a great character that people like. and her mother was abusive and cruel.
The dad from Orphan, ugh
Longlegs mom isn't really bad per say she just wants her daughter to be allowed to grow up and saved from the claws of 'The Man Downstairs'.
@@theclairewhymore hard and callous and eventually literally afraid of her daughter she knows to be a psychopath for presumably years before the movie, than actually cruel or abusive.
I feel bad I was alone in this film screening.
But as someone who saw Abigail, Maxxxine, Longlegs, I Saw the TV Glow, Cuckoo and The Substance (yes, #1, might be in my top 5 now) in theaters this year (I rarely see movies in theater, I decided this year was take myself on movie dates year), ALL were fantastic and no regrets on going out to see.
I still hold this one high and might be the easiest besides Abigail to share with others. It gave mature Goosebumps, not Fear Street, still way more Goosebumps energy. Young teen and child with parents and other adults they cant quite trust/depend on while mild creature feature elements take place.
39:00 the way she's telling all this horrifying information and then we just switch to James' face in utter shock cracked me up
The mom and dad in The Witch have to be up there in terms of bad horror parents, isolating their family because of the dad’s pride and then blaming all their misfortunes on their teenage daughter and calling her a witch.
the dad got infected with a bad case of guppy guts lol the man was such a pushover and took it out on his daughter because it gave him a sense of control, like a damn coward
@@danwilliams2551I think y’all need to rewatch that movie. Yes the dads pride is what puts them in danger but during the whole movie both parents LOVE their children. The dad sobs and eats dirt begging god to smite him and spare his family. I don’t think the parents are bad people they make mistakes and after 2/5 kids die the mothers decent into madness is fairly normal
"Carrie's mom didn't try to actively kill her." ...um... yeah. she did.
...but not while Carrie was a protagonist.
I feel like if Dan Steven’s was an animal he’s be one of those animated rat characters who has slicked back fur (that’s both a compliment and a real thought I had in the middle of this movie)
He was an animal...he was The Beast...I'm so sorry. I couldn't help myself. Joking aside, I can see exactly what ur saying!
@@jenloveshorrorDan Stevens was the Beast?? Damn now I have a reason to actually watch the live action remake!!
@@neonradius yep, first thing I watched w him so I got lil tickled seeing him start just knocking out all these horror movies after! My kids & I watched a bts on it too where he had to learn how to walk on these sort of stilts and learn dancing. If anything, u should check it out to see how great I personally think he did & u could always just jump to his scenes if ur not liking the rest of the movie.
As a German, hearing the two of you say Gretchen might be the highlight of my day
And honestly, Chelsea did a great job, considering the -ch sound is so foreign to Americans (and most others)!
@@Germaine2408Yeah definitely
This is your friendly reminder that Dan Stevens also played The Beast in the Beauty and the Beast remake.
And he killed it.
The ONLY good part of the film
A legendary bad dad is Beverly Marsh’s dad from IT.
oh god, he takes the cake
I almost just lost my SHIT at work when you said you guys are doing another guess the kill! I relisten to those episodes all the time, my favorite game you guys have done for sure. So stoked, can’t wait!
As someone who hasn’t watched the trailer I can say this movie WAS very creepy because I had no clue what to expect so the mystery of what is happening was eerie and suspenseful, and the bike/shadow part got me good cus it felt like something everyone thinks about once walking at night-what if a shadow popped up behind you!
James in a hat is a good look and Chelsea is truly glowing. also Molly is iconic in her new fit
What a year for Dan Stevens he’s in this film, Abigail & Godzilla X Kong : The New Empire
I’m from Germany and when I watched the movie I and the friend I watched it with both thought we were in a dubbed showing because the German was so good.
About the stand off at the end: it’s established that both characters are HORRIBLE shots during the confrontation. I have to imagine that that was intentional so neither one of them would want to risk shooting both girls.
When Hunter Schafer was playing bass, all i could picture was live action spider-gwen
I would love to see her as Gwen Stacy!
I so agree
yesss
I love me some bird horror, but I think that finnish horror movie, Hatching (2022), did something a lil bit cooler with almost the same concept. As you guys mentioned how there is no body horror, I watched Cuckoo waiting for some avian monster, but...
Hatching also has an awful parent and a sequence which is similar to Cuckoo with the highway chase.
@@loriisgoreyyeah, and the way that chase scene ended is really great imo!
Hunter and Dan are both such talents, they really bring up the rest of the movie (which I actually enjoyed for the first half or so)
Love this episode, buuuuttt, I’m so so so excited for next Wednesday, especially because Chelsea is gonna play and see how hard this is.
Same! Very excited for next ep and the substance ep
I'm German and I thought that this was an interesting modern take on the folklore of the "Wechselbalg", the changeling. Especially in the Alpine regions there are tons of stories around these as babies and sometimes as adults. Inventing an all female species instead of elves or trolls switching the children is a nice idea. So for me that movie was kind of a folk horror film and I would be interested in more of these but not necessarily from the same director.
If I remember correctly, the hands rubbing the legs thing is clarified during the attack in the lovers nest. I believe Gretchen's coworker does the same thing and it peels her underwear down to prepare herself for the goop. It doesn't work on Gretchen because she's always wearing jeans.
Yooo I was stoked when you guys mentioned Jordan Peele because this film to me seemed a lot like one of his films. The way the “wtf” elements and mystery unfold, the vibe and even some cinematography totally feel like something Peele would make.
Was not expecting Lorelai and the Laser Eyes to get a mention. Incredible game.
I watched Cuckoo last night specifically so I could watch this episode of the podcast. And I'm so glad I did, and I enjoyed getting some clarifications from you two. I felt like I got all the broad plot points, but the details were muddy. All of the talk of the trailer made me realize I hadn't seen the trailer. Because that bike scene jump scare of the mother behind her made me scream. I was not prepared, and I don't usually react like that, even to jump scares. I'm usually curling in on myself when things get scary. But that was the only part that got to me.
One random thing I really liked was the choice to use that orange-y color for the blood. It reminded me of something out of the 70s, and it stood out against the pretty muted color palette. I just love knowing that at some point in this production there was a long conversation about the color of the blood.
To segue into how excited I am for you to talk about The Substance, I think sometimes people don't know what body horror is. Whether it's the extremes of knowing it's more than just Cronenberg monstrosities, or thinking that's just all there is. There's a lot, but Cuckoo isn't it. it's doing something else, and that's good.
The movies a real testament to Hunter Schafer’s skills, the script and direction do her no favors and she’s able to turn a 4/10 into at least a 6/10.
A 4!?
@@ryllo2886 the script is pretty bland, and the direction is listless. I find most of the other characters underbaked, but Gretchen is more idiosyncratic.
Schafer capitalizes on that and anchors the film with a protagonist the audience wants to engage with and see succeed. She turns a film I’d probably tune out / turn off, into a fun but flawed popcorn flick.
So ya, from ⭐️⭐️ to ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I'm so glad you covered this movie! Big fan of the podcast too. I think what clinched this movie for me was the ending scene (SPOILERS) - between Gretchen and her sister. The emotion got to me, especially with how sincere Hunter Schaffer played it and describing to her sister that her "mom got her message". It was enough to get me to watch it again.
Worst horror parents is going to be interesting, since it's such a trope.
Every parent in Derry, Maine, with special emphasis on Bev's dad and Eddie's mom.
Ethan Hawke in Sinister.
Max's dad and the Wheeler mom in Stranger Things.
Step-father Guy Woodhouse in Rosemary's Baby.
I also like the idea of a game based around the silhouettes, the principles of animation type game identifying the horror icons based on their silhouettes or shadows
Am I the only one who couldn't stop thinking Chelsea's cup was a giant No. 2 pencil every time i say it in the corner of my eye lol?
Excited that Chelsea gets to play next week as well. I love Chelsea's games she makes but sometimes I just want to see both her and James slowly go crazy while playing.
I adored CUCKOO. It was one of those movies to me where even if things didn’t connect for me, the atmosphere of the movie was just so perfect, it was enough for me to not care about certain things.
Omg the Substance was fucking excellent. I can't WAIT to hear you guys talk about it let's fuckin GOOOOOOOOO
Not only will I still care in two weeks, but I will be thinking about and re-watching that movie forever
I went in theater twice to see. I suspect this is its last week in my nearby theater.
Haven't seen it, but the flash of "mandatory heteronormativity" on the article that Chelsea mentions seems a pretty clear theme with Gretchen being into ladies. There's the idea that women can be gay when they're young, but then they have to grow up and properly Be Adult and Have Babies, because they need to continue the bloodline! So the idea of Gretchen possibly being goohanded in order to continue this creature's species, and also, Bad Dad... there certainly seems to be a thread there.
ALSO MOTHERFUCKIN WISHMASTER. I love Wishmaster. Looking forward to that.
Bad Horror Mom: The mom in Hatching (2022) - which is also a great movie that might be worth covering. The mom being a terrible mom is a major theme of that movie, but I can't be more specific about why I think she's such a strong contender without major spoilers!
The scene where Gretchen is explaining to Alma that she'll never hurt her had me in tears y'all
I would LOVE to have an Inifnity Pool podcast if your still taking suggestions for October. I'm seeing The Substance this weekend after everyone is gushing over it, I can't wait!
Can we count guardians(like aunts,uncles, foster parents,etc.)? If so, John Ritter in Bride of Chucky is a terrible guardian.
If I may: For more Dan Stevens doing a German accent, check out Maria Schrader's *excellent* 2021 film I'M YOUR MAN, where he plays an android designed to serve as a human romantic companion. Expectedly, he's great. The rest of the film is, too!
I would agree with you guys. Cuckoo is a good horror movie, but it's not great. If anything, I hope Hunter Schafer gets a Dead Meat Award nomination for her performance.
I think Alma is some sort of human cuckoo chimera where the cuckoo baby killed the human in the womb like cuckoo birds do, but instead of actually killing it they fused
this was my interpretation, too! that's why she possessed so much humanity, like leaving that voicemail for Gretchen's mom and saving Gretchen at the end
Glad Chelsea mentioned the lebensborn, I had a similar thought. I saw a good documentary on it here on youtube, where they interviewed different kinds of lebensborn from different place. One was an affair baby of a SS officer, some never knew their parents and the records were destroyed, others were chold of assaults by soliders (one was accidentally put into the program when his mother took him while she worked caring for children at the orphanage and as the soliders moved the children after allies moved into the country he was taken before his mother could do anything). It truly is sad cause after the war they were harassed relentlessly and many put back into the system cause they werent wanted anymore.
I got to see this in a secret screening a week before its release in the UK. I went into it knowing nothing and I had an absolute blast with it
I fully think the Dad was in on it. Couple of reasons:
- He tries to deflect Gretchen from questioning her surroundings, and is not weirded out by anything Herr K. says. I don't think he is actually there to build the resort: I believe he and Dan Stevens conspired to deliver Alma for the meeting with the Mother, and kept it from Beth and Gretchen.
-His lack of concern about Beth's sudden illness, and the exit without returning for Alma I think indicate that he already knows what Alma is and has finished his part of the bargain.
I turned on this video today and James and I are wearing the same shirt! Lowkey made my day
Saw Cuckoo earlier this week and enjoyed it but felt a bit "oh?" around the ending. Excited to hear you both talk about this. Much love as always
Would the aunt from Sleepaway Camp count as a horror parent, as an adoptive mother? She’s all I could really think of for bad horror parents💀
My recommendation for bad horror parents is Everett McGill and Wendy Robie as "Daddy" and "Mommy" in The People Under The Stairs.
I loved this movie. I had such a fun time with it in theaters. It's one of those movies where even if something doesn't make sense, or is too confusing, I forgive it because of the fun time I had. I love the vibes. I like the "mother" I thought she had a lot of cool and spooky scenes. I was also glad she looks more human than a creature. I think if she looked more like a creature/monster, it would have taken me out of it. But, I do think humans are scarier than creatures lol. I also love how batshit the third act is. When Gretchen throws the wig and the retired (or whatever his status is) cop starts laughing his ass off...omg I loved it.
you can admit that you like this, post Roe v Wade horror hits different
I love how both your German and Billy Butcher were the MOST Scottish/Oz thing ever
Hell yeah next week is gonna be a banger! Guess the kill is the best game
the scene where gretchen tells alma that her mom called because she got her voicemail >>>
Spent a couple of months away from Dead Meat and just found out about this channel when I couldn't find the podcast. Sorry I'm late! Love you all❤ Happy spooky season.
This movie solidified my Dan Stevens crush after it began in Abigail.
I hadn’t thought much of him before but Abigail and this movie definitely sold me on him.
How I felt about it him the first time I saw the guest
No same! I was absolutely crushing on him in Abigail and then this one came out and I was like well I’m in love with this man now. He’s absolutely amazing!
You should watch the guest
I watched and loved him in Downton Abbey but it was Apostle and the Guest and made me a die hard fan. And we are so fed this year!!
I liked the scene where Gretchen goes: "see isn't that a weird thing to say"
I loved Cuckoo. I think it's my favourite of the year (i liked the Substance but i think this one nudged past it)
I'm cracking up at the Problem Child 2 reference 😂😂😂. I'm almost positive we Millennials all know it because it was one of those movies that the USA channel played CONSTANTLY. That and Child's Play 2 & 3.
RE: Eric and Beatrix. I think the reason why Eric didn't want to get it on was because he was in on the whole shebang and was like... wait, we're after 10pm and in the love nest! Big fail. Later when Her Koenig (no idea on German) pushes Eric to make his move you can see him freaking out. Which, of course, leads to him failing to execute and then being done in.
I liked the film, I am a sucker for happy endings in horror, so it went up a point or two for me. Dad was an absolute shitheel though.
I really like this episode. Not gonna lie, it's like my third rewatch. I just wanted to tell you'll your great
I'm glad you explained this movie for me, bc I was confused as heck. idk if anyone else had this problem, but I could barely hear the whispered dialogue.
What stood out to me was when the package arrived and I saw that their surname is Vanderkurt. That doesn't seem like an actual German name to me, so I googled it. I only found it in connection to Tilman Singer, and it turns out that the main character in his film school project Luz is called Nora Vanderkurt. I wonder if they're related, or if he just likes that weird name.
thank you for the problem child 2 reference, for years I had vivid memories of that movie but could never remember the name!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! fixed my brain
new VHS just dropped. Love you guys. Thanks!
Chelsea has had such a “glow up” over the years, I mean she has always been beautiful but she just seems so much more confident lately ya know? like dude Chelsea, your killing it. James too, but i feel like people are always creepin on James 😂 so I just wanted to highlight Chelsea and the hard work she does on podcast.
Jacob , Hunter, Storm,Angus(R.I.P.) IF Zendaya , Maude and Alexa stars in a horror/suspense movie we will have seen every Euphoria main cast in a horror movie
Loved the problem child 2 reference. Millennial kids stand up 💪🏽
Loved Lorelai and the laser eyes!! im glad you guys played it too. this movie was also wild
Helen's dad from I Know What You Did Last Summer would be a good contender, dude was neglectful to the point he was basically catatonic
Dan Stevens is also the new voice actor for Korvo in Solar Opposites
The more I rewatch the film the more I enjoy it. I hope there's a sequel!!
I'd love to see the parents bracket!
Even though I'm two weeks late listening to this podcast, I really enjoyed it😊
Hey James and Chelsea. Since you asked, here are some "bad parents" movies I've watched (I'm probably missing a lot, and some of these might be iffy). This includes bad guardians, and parents that turn evil, as well though. Hope that's helpful (I actually spent some time going through every movie I've watched, so hopefully you actually see this, and it wasn't a waste).
Longlegs (mom)
Cobweb (mom and dad)
Parents (mom and dad)
Mom and Dad (mom and dad)
Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (aunt)
Evil Dead Rise (mom)
The Shining (dad)
Ready or Not (in-laws)
Anything for Jackson (grandparents)
Run (mom)
Xtro (dad)
The Harvest ("mom and dad")
Carrie (mom)
Brain Dead/Dead Alive (mom)
Stopmotion (mom)
Psycho (mom)
I will watch anything with Dan Stevens. He's cemented himself as one of the most entertaining actors working right now.
Bad horror parents: The parents from Brightburn. Any rational parent would have reported an alien landing instead of adopting it and doing nothing when it goes on a killing spree.
Honestly, I appreciate the reference to Problem Child 2 during this podcast.
honestly i didn't understand some of the stuff that had to do with the actual "cuckoo" aspect either but the performances (especially hunter) and the family dynamic really made up for it, it's probably my new favorite movie
43:18 you guys forgot that the mother throws Ed like 40 feet after pulling her out of the car and she’s okay after that
So excited for this month of the podcast 🥴💕🥴
i really want to see the horror movie moms/dads episode now
Would love to see you discuss Strange Darling ❤
I think the body horror comments were referring to the "goo." I don't fully agree but I don't think it's completely wrong. Also the dad is definitely in on it. When the wife gets sick and they drive off with her, there's a line that confirms she died en route.
I don’t think Cuckoo is body horror, but it’s body horror adjacent as I think most horror movies involving pregnancy are. I mean pregnancy kinda is real life body horror.
Just rewatched the trailer for Cuckoo and it's this quote that threw everyone:
"Deviously Fun, A Body Horror Gem" - Mashable
I just watched this and I think the trailers hyped me up to much. Still worth the watch and had very good segments. It was oddly written at points I will admit. Still sitting on this one not sure what my actual score would be
Saw this with my friend who’s a massive bird nerd so he knew more on what was coming than I did. Love hearing both of your thoughts on this film!
Yay I love the podcast! Chelsea you’re amazing
Cuckoo was far better than Immaculate (another NEON release), and while I love Cuckoo, I do think it could've been better. I definitely think this was a two-hour movie before being chopped up.
Cool Tank Girl t-shirt... What I remembered most about this movie before seeing it was that Gemma Chan was originally cast in the part that Jessica Henwick ended up playing. Parts of the movie just made me think of The Shining and Phantasm with a little bit of Scanners. The mom in The Hatching (2022) springs to mind as a bad horror parent. Fun podcast as usual y'all.
One thing that bugged me was the love interest who kinda just pops up again at the end
Oh....I guess you're not dead.
Cukoo is a good movie that could've been great. The premise is a good one but adding so much narrative and other angles to the story brought it down to a ok movie. Like James and Chelsea basically said it's a good movie with great acting but you know where it's going towards the end
Both _Longlegs_ and _Cuckoo_ deal heavily in family dynamics, also
Just watched It’s What’s Inside on Netflix. Loved it! Would also love it if you guys talked about it on the pod!!!!
If we’re assuming rules akin to the worst horror husbands bracket - so they have to be a bad parent to their kid rather than just a bad person who happens to be a parent - I’d suggest grandma Ellen from Hereditary, Norma Bates, Bev’s and Henry Bowers’ dads from IT, definitely Valeria from Huesera (it’s kinda the whole point of the movie), the parents from The Witch, Aunt Martha from Sleepaway Camp, could also make a case for Julia Cotton in Hellraiser, the mom from Orphan First Kill, Jess from Triangle, and you could argue the ‘parents’ from Speak No Evil. Hopefully some of those are good picks. Looking forward to that podcast if you choose to go for it!!❤
I loved cuckoo, but I think of it as a weird dark fantasy (think “Pan’s Labyrinth”) more than a horror movie.