***THE UGLY STEPSISTER WILL BEGIN STREAMING ON SHUDDER
FRIDAY, MAY 9TH (AVAILABLE IN US, CA, AU, NZ, UK&I)***
The Ugly Stepsister is a unique – and grotesque – twist on the classic Cinderella story. With gothic undertones and organic body horror, this film is not for the light of stomach, or those wanting singing mice. What it offers horror fans is a dark look at what some say is already a dark story, but one that Disney made fun and chipper. Focusing more on the Stepsister and less on the beauty of Cinderella we get another perspective of what it takes to win a prince.
Synopsis: Follows Elvira as she battles against her gorgeous stepsister in a realm where beauty reigns supreme. She resorts to extreme measures to captivate the prince, amidst a ruthless competition for physical perfection. | 1h 49m | Unrated with adult content, language, sex and graphic nudity | Norwegian language with English Subtitles
The plot follows the classic story well but comes at it from a slightly different angle. Here we have a mother willing to sacrifice anything in order to live a life of wealth. You know the rest. There is a ball and a prince and a slipper. The gaps filled in here are the extremes the “ugly” stepsister goes through and is forced to endure by her mother in order to win the Prince. In a time way before modern medicine and plastic surgery, the methods were quite barbaric.
Emilie Blichfeldt (writer and debut director) does a wonderful job of making us feel remorse for the stepsister. There is a pressure on her to succeed in order to save her family from poverty. Sure she has always dreamt of being whisked away by the Prince, but as she gets more and more self conscious about her looks, the more extreme her tactics become. Blichfeldt borrows just enough from the classic to keep us on track while also giving her own sick spin on the narrative.
Lea Myren plays Elvira. Ironically Lea is anything but ugly. Thanks to styling and make up they make her look less attractive. In fact when we first meet her you would easily call her classically cute. The film shows how comparison and body image plays a huge part in how we think we look. Elvira spirals into a dark place of thinking she is not enough. And in doing so actually causes a reverse effect. The person we see at the end is not beautiful regardless of what society projects and expects.
For there to be an ugly stepsister there needs to be a Cinderella (Thea Sofie Loch Næss). Thea is incredibly beautiful here and in the real world which helps sell the contrast. Even writing this commentary the problem with our culture comes out. It is so easy to define beauty by an outward appearance or something superficial. You can use your own judgement as to how inner beauty is important. And it is. But at the end of the day – spoiler alert – Cinderella will always get her prince.
Blichfeldt is a sick puppy when it comes to gross imagery and gag inducing moments. This film is not for the squeamish. The use of maggots, rotting corpses, blood, and insane body modifying practices means you might watch many times with only one eye opened. Honestly the clearness and scope of the visual effects are some of the best I have seen. They are not scared of closeups so every element has to be spot on.
Please keep in mind that it is a foreign language film with English subtitles. Luckily the story is familiar so you don’t have to catch every word, but the conversations are important to ground the characters, so don’t zone out and rely on memory. THE UGLY STEPSISTER is the perfect late night streamer. Either at home or your favorite local film fest. Fans of horror, dark retellings, and just flat out shock value will find this slipper to be the perfect fit.
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