My quick rating – 7.2/10. In a fairy-tale kingdom where beauty is a cutthroat business, The Ugly Stepsister takes the familiar “Cinderella” story, feeds it a tapeworm, and lets it writhe into something darkly hilarious. Elvira (Lea Myren) is not your standard glass-slippered heroine, she’s the one living in the shadow of her dazzlingly beautiful stepsister Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss), and she’ll do whatever it takes to catch the prince’s eye. And yes, “whatever it takes” in this kingdom might include some… questionable dieting methods. The Shudder logo at the start is your first clue this won’t be a pastel-colored Disney sing-along.
Writer/director Emilie Blichfeldt sets the tone with lavish costumes, authentic set design, and a wicked sense of humor. The presentation of the virgins to the prince is both amusing and unnervingly sinister, showing off the film’s perfect blend of satire and discomfort. It’s a bleak, razor-sharp portrait of beauty and ugliness, one that keeps you constantly wondering who’s going to win the prince. Spoiler: You won’t know for sure until the very end.
Ane Dahl Torp plays the requisite evil stepmother, exploiting her children’s looks for fame and fortune. Totally unrealistic, of course. I mean, what mother today would exploit their child for their own gain? (Cue sarcasm.) The film doesn’t shy away from body horror either; while it never veers into all-out gorefest territory, it offers enough cringe-inducing modifications to make you squirm. The moral? Don’t give yourself a tapeworm to lose weight. Even in a fairy tale, that’s a terrible plan.
Myren’s lead performance is wonderfully layered, both pitiful and cunning, while Loch Næss brings an unnerving perfection to Agnes, the kingdom’s golden girl. The supporting cast nails every beat, delivering a darkly comic yet unsettlingly plausible reimagining of a classic story.
Sure, I wish the horror elements had been dialed up just a notch, but that’s a minor gripe in an otherwise wonderfully made movie. The Ugly Stepsister is twisted and visually gorgeous, offering a fairy-tale world you’ll want to visit. Just maybe not during mealtime.
There are several streamers carrying this flick, including Amazon.
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