A twisted take on the tale of Cinderella, the upcoming Norwegian body horror movie The Ugly Stepsister isn’t like other recent movies that have been putting a horror movie spin on family-friendly properties. The darkly entertaining fairy tale from Norwegian writer and director Emilie Blichfeldt is critically acclaimed, for starters, and it even made someone vomit […]
A twisted take on the tale of Cinderella, the upcoming Norwegian body horror movie The Ugly Stepsister isn’t like other recent movies that have been putting a horror movie spin on family-friendly properties. The darkly entertaining fairy tale from Norwegian writer and director Emilie Blichfeldt is critically acclaimed, for starters, and it even made someone vomit already!
Fresh off the film’s premiere at Sundance, where it indeed made headlines after making one person in the audience vomit, the film is being released in theaters from IFC Films and Shudder on April 18, 2025. Watch the official trailer for The Ugly Stepsister below.
A sinister twist on the classic Cinderella story, The Ugly Stepsister follows Elvira (Lea Myren) as she prepares to earn the prince’s affection at any cost.
In a kingdom where beauty is a brutal business, Elvira will compete with the beautiful and enchanting Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss) to become the belle of the ball.
The Ugly Stepsister marks the feature debut from Norwegian writer and director Emilie Blichfeldt, and stars Lea Myren and Thea Sofie Loch Næss alongside Ane Dahl Torp.
As Meagan explains in her review, “Blichfeldt employs historically accurate medical procedures to great stomach-churning effect, delivering graphic body horror by way of unflinching surgeries and self-harm, all in the name of love. The filmmaker refuses to let her audience look away; each moment of Elvira’s ruthless metamorphosis from an awkward, ugly duckling into a poised stunner is drawn out to an unbearable degree and frequently shot in extreme closeups. Beauty is pain, and The Ugly Stepsister wants you to feel it on a visceral level.”
“It’s elegant, stylish, and gnarly,” Meagan adds in her 4-star review.
