Usually, at a festival of any size, a handful of truly strange things are bound to happen. But at this year’s Overlook Film Festival, held in New Orleans over the past four days, I didn’t witness a single person trip and fall down an escalator. Nobody puked during one of the slasher films, and the eccentric local we refer to as “the velvet suit guy” behaved himself, for the most part. Things went off without a hitch, and I have to say, I was a little disappointed. But maybe I should factor in that the world doesn’t go away whenever I shut my eyes and conclude that the weird stuff happened while I was still at home managing my stress-related alopecia, having hot flashes, and bleeding from the neck because I scratched a mole too hard. Wait. I see why I didn’t witness anything strange at the fest. I bring it with me.
As in previous years, The Overlook Film Festival — which first ran in Mount Hood, Oregon in 2017 and moved base to New Orleans starting the following year — is dedicated to all things horror, partnering with studios and filmmakers across the world, both big and small, to provide a massive selection of features and shorts, some of which are premiered months before anyone else gets to see them. And while leaving the house is historically difficult for me in a very "Grey Gardens" way, there’s only one thing that could move me to exit my front door four nights in a row, and that’s horror.
From big budget vampires to Canadian indie killers in the woods, here's a rundown of everything I saw at the fest this year, and everything you should make a point to see when released in the upcoming days and months.
Gretchen is moving in with her dad after the death of her mom.
Gets offered job working at resort. Guest starts randomly barfing everywhere.
Gretchen finds comfort in listening to music and playing music.
Gretchen’s father’s youngest daughter doesn’t speak. She absorbed her twin in the womb. Heard shrieking noise in woods and has a seizure of sorts. Time seems to loop. She scratches Gretchen’s face.
Gretchen meets cool lady named Ed (Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey). During their first conversation another lady starts puking everywhere.
Riding bike home and woman runs very fast behind her. Owner of resort seemed to be calling the fast running woman with a little flute.
Gretchen stabs a cuckoo.
**** what ever happened to their dog?
Being that this is only director Tilman Singer's second feature and Schafer's first big film role, "Cuckoo" is a wild ride from beginning to end and chaotic in the best possible way, with only a few vague and/or dropped plot points that don't detract from the fun of the whole. In one scene, Gretchen and Alma make a big production out of letting their dog out of the back of the family car, only for that dog to never been seen or mentioned again. But, really, it's easy to excuse things like that when you're focused on human cuckoo monsters just looking to make a family for themselves and villains blowing creepy little flutes into the woods. Ask yourselves, when has a flute ever been an indicator of good things to come? Outside of the Renaissance fair.
Add to all of this that the film is beautifully shot on 35mm with a fantastic soundtrack to boot — featuring a singing credit from Schafer, who learned how to play bass for the role of an angsty music-lover — and it's safe to make the call that this will be a standout within the horror genre. You'll never look at birds the same again.
Watch the official trailer for "Cuckoo" here, and see it when it hits theaters in the U.S. on August 9, distributed by Neon.
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All killer no filler: The Overlook Film Festival premieres some of the best horror films of 2024
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08.04.2024
Usually, at a festival of any size, a handful of truly strange things are bound to happen. But at this year’s Overlook Film Festival, held in New Orleans over the past four days, I didn’t witness a single person trip and fall down an escalator. Nobody puked during one of the slasher films, and the eccentric local we refer to as “the velvet suit guy” behaved himself, for the most part. Things went off without a hitch, and I have to say, I was a little disappointed. But maybe I should factor in that the world doesn’t go away whenever I shut my eyes and conclude that the weird stuff happened while I was still at home managing my stress-related alopecia, having hot flashes, and bleeding from the neck because I scratched a mole too hard. Wait. I see why I didn’t witness anything strange at the fest. I bring it with me.
As in previous years, The Overlook Film Festival — which first ran in Mount Hood, Oregon in 2017 and moved base to New Orleans........
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