‘The Ugly Stepsister’ Review – Cinderella Gets Gory New Body Horror Retelling
Folk tales of Cinderella have been told for centuries across the globe, but the Brothers Grimm version of the story emerged as one of the most popular for its particularly violent rendition of “The Little Ash Girl.” Norwegian writer and director Emilie Blichfeldt uses this read of the classic fairy tale figure as the foundation […]
Folk tales of Cinderella have been told for centuries across the globe, but the Brothers Grimm version of the story emerged as one of the most popular for its particularly violent rendition of “The Little Ash Girl.” Norwegian writer and director Emilie Blichfeldt uses this read of the classic fairy tale figure as the foundation for The Ugly Stepsister, a gruesome and violent new spin on classic lore. Instead of whimsical romance set in the Renaissance, Blichfeldt gets graphic with the medieval torture women endure in their pursuit of happily ever after.
In Blichfeldt’s version, the little ash girl is Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Naess), a fiercely independent young woman with ambition and an astute awareness of how the world really works. Yet Agnes remains on the periphery of the story that’s framed from the perspective of her naïve new stepsister and romantic rival, Elvira (Lea Myren). Elvira dreams of marrying Prince Julian (Isac Calmroth), though she’s not quite fetching enough to catch his eye. Hoping to crawl out of debt through royal marriage, Elvira’s mother (Ane Dahl Torp) spares no expense or length to give her daughter the best chance to win the Prince’s heart. That just so happens to entail numerous barbaric beauty procedures.
