‘The Ugly Stepsister’ Exclusive Clip Is Not For The Squeamish About Eye Trauma

The pursuit of happily ever after in writer-director Emilie Blichfeldt‘s feature debut, The Ugly Stepsister, comes with pain, bloodshed, and body horror. Our exclusive clip from the horror satire teases barbaric beauty procedures that the title character undergoes in the name of love.

Beware: the clip may induce ommetaphobia over the ocular trauma it sets up.

The darkly entertaining and stomach-churning horror fairy tale releases in theaters on April 18, 2025.

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.”

Ane Dahl Torp also stars.

Watch the clip below that sees Elvira in the chair for a downright medieval lash extension procedure, one without much in the way of anesthesia. It’s a great showcase for the film’s body horror and darkly twisted sense of humor. Yet it’s not even the worst of what Elvira will endure as she competes with her stepsister, Cinderella, to gain the prince’s attention. The film made headlines after making one person in the audience vomit at the Sundance premiere.

I wrote in my 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