The Ugly Stepsister (dir. Emilie Blichfeldt)
By: Dave Hughes
Fairy tales have long been used to teach children lessons about morality, often warning against greed, while simultaneously praising kindness. The Ugly Stepsister takes that familiar foundation and twists it into something made for adults. The film is a reimagining of Cinderella told through the perspective of a stepsister desperate for the Prince’s love. With biting humor, a pulsing soundtrack, and disturbing body horror, The Ugly Stepsister challenges audiences to examine their own assumptions about beauty and the relentless pressure placed on women in its pursuit.
The Ugly Stepsister is not a movie for the faint of heart. This is body horror at its most unflinching, filled with stomach turning imagery that makes it hard to turn away. This particular subgenre of horror is not without its critics. Some are quick to dismiss it as a way to elicit shock value, but director Emilie Blichfeldt weaponizes visual brutality with intent to deliver her statements about beauty. Every grotesque moment drives the film's message forward and makes the gore impossible to separate from the theme. By refusing to compromise her vision, Blichfeldt delivers a blistering commentary on beauty and how far some may go to achieve the perfect look.
As a lead, Lea Myren (Kids in Crime) plays Elvira with a blend of humor, despair and determination. Her comedic touch shines through in her naive one-sided love of the Prince where her vulnerability makes her equally tragic and sympathetic. The audience may know how the story ends but Myren’s performance makes Elvira’s fate all the more heartbreaking. Joining her is Thea Sofie Loch Næss (The Last Kingdom) whose darker take on Cinderella will catch some viewers off guard as she guides the familiar character to surprising places on her journey to the ball.
Walking the line between honoring the Cinderella stories that came before and carving out its own path, The Ugly Stepsister embraces its inspiration but also knows how to stand out from other versions of the classic fairytale. Homages abound to the previous iterations of Cinderella but the film adds inventive twists to make it all the more memorable. The mice and the pumpkin are here too, but not in the way the audience may expect. As for the wicked stepmother, it sufficeth to say that even she is more black-hearted this time around.
Blichfeldt’s film is visually striking, presenting gorgeous set pieces atop a dilapidated castle with darkened rooms and period specific architecture, providing an inventively macabre environment. The deepest grays show the hopeless despair that is felt by Elvira throughout this journey. Then, when hope appears, vibrant colors shine through. The music also adds to the atmosphere of the story. There are moments in this film that are impactful but become all the more powerful by the synth-heavy score and its combinations of more formal songs with synth lurking below the surface. Together the imagery and sound create a fairy tale world that is quickly falling apart built on false hope and naïve dreams.
Target Score 8/10: The Ugly Stepsister is a haunting journey into a twisted land of make-believe. Through unflinching body horror, a pulsing soundtrack and layered performances, Emilie Blichfeldt transforms a classic children's story into something more modern and timeless. It is a film that shocks, entertains, and leaves the audiences reflecting long after the credits roll.