‘The Ugly Stepsister’ (2025)

A body horror take on the Cinderella folk tale, ‘The Ugly Stepsister’ explores the familiar story from the perspective of one of the ‘ugly stepsisters’, here named Elvira (Lea Myren). The protagonist subjects herself to agonizing beauty routines in pursuit of the young prince Julian (Isac Calmroth). Exploring the harsh reality of beauty standards and expectations, ‘The Ugly Stepsister’ cranks up the intensity as Elvira chases unattainable goals.

Opening on Elvira, her younger sister Alma (Flo Fagerli) and widowed mother Rebekka (Ane Dahl Torp) en route to their new home, the sisters are greeted by their new family – father Otto (Ralph Carlsson) and his daughter Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss). Stunned by the house and surroundings, Elvira wanders her new home with Agnes, taken by the grandeur of the homestead and Agnes’ things.

Simultaneously, Elvira carries with her a book of poems, purportedly composed by prince Julian whom she pines for and is struck to find that he lives in the castle nearby. Depicted as a juvenile and naive young girl, Elvira slowly discovers what is expected of her. As Otto dies on his wedding night, Rebekka decides Elvira will have to pursue Julian in order to live comfortably.

Presenting a dark echo of the familiar fairy tale, Elvira embarks on a morbid and excruciating journey in pursuit of beauty. The relationship between the girl and what is expected of her stems from her circumstances. Not only does Elvira wish to pursue prince Julian because of her image of him as a ‘dreamy’ bachelor, but is also forced to because of her financial circumstances.

Bending, breaking, enduring and suffering, the young woman subjects herself to excruciating practices in order to conform to a standard set by society. Suffering the judgment of those around her, Elvira is deemed unacceptable as her shortcomings are constantly used against her, diminishing her self worth. Left with no other options, the girl sees the torturous practices as the only recourse she has.

Highlighting the relationship we have with beauty standards, the film bares the ugly truth of how much weight we attribute to some things that are trivial at best. Aspirational whilst a little naive, Elvira starts her journey as a hopeful and optimistic person. Perhaps even a little envious of Agnes at first, Elvira shows signs of positivity and admiration towards those around her.

Enduring the initiation at the finishing school and learning of all of her apparent faults, Elvira is moulded beyond recognition not only physically but also mentally. Becoming increasingly volatile and scared bout maintaining her favor in the eyes of prince Julian after being presented to him, she breaks down when Agnes whisks the prince away simply by showing up.

Underscoring the futility of all of her suffering, Elvira is left with nothing in the face of her sacrifices and has to accept the injustice of being outshined by someone perceived to be naturally more beautiful. Balancing the scales, the film showcases the journey though which the ‘ugly’ stepsister goes from a relatively innocent and pleasant individual to a violent and desperate person, as she grasps and claws at the opportunity to seek happiness with someone she may love and in pursuit of securing financial stability.

Without creating clear villains and heroes, ‘The Ugly Stepsister’ also re-imagines the other characters from the tale. Whilst remaining the beauty admired by everyone she comes across, this story’s ‘Cinderella’ Agnes is also shown to be slowly relegated to housework as the relationship between her and Rebekka deteriorates. Whilst also retaining supernatural assistance when it comes to putting together an outfit for the ball, the story shows Agnes to have other priorities that just mindlessly pursuing a fabled prince.

Shown to have a relationship with a stable boy, Agnes is initially banished to maid work after Elvira sees the two have sex in the stables, with Rebekka branding her a whore. With explicit sexual content, the film recontextualizes the dynamic between Agnes and Elvira, where Agnes is familiar with sexual intimacy, whilst Elvira remains oblivious and apprehensive at the sight of it. After the stable boy is banished, Agnes takes it upon herself to pursue the prince out of sheer necessity for financial security.

The theme of such financial subjugation is further explored following a disturbing scene where Elvira attempts to chop off her toes knowing that prince Julian will come looking for the fair maiden to fit the shoe left behind by Agnes at the ball. Passing out after chopping off her toes for one of her feet, Rebekka takes it upon herself to chop off the toes from Elvira’s other foot, as she had mutilated the wrong foot.

Failing to answer prince Julian’s call when he arrives looking for the lost maiden, Elvira falls down the stairs as she us unable to walk and both physically and figuratively reverses all of the ‘work’ she had done in pursuit of beauty, as she breaks her nose, crack a tooth and finally decides to pass the tapeworm she had swallowed earlier to lose weight. The removal of the aforementioned may be some of the grossest images put to the screen in recent memory, amplifying the terrible pain and suffering that Elvira has endured in pursuit of questionable goals.

With an impressive directorial debut, the director and writer Emilie Blichfeldt combines body horror and discussion on social norms to create an uncomfortable evaluation of societal shortcomings that still persist today. The grueling practices that women subject themselves to in order to adhere to an unattainable standard resonates profoundly as Blichfeldt presents a film that looks and feels like a fairy tale, yet manages to address contemporary issues.

Though the use of a familiar children’s story, ‘The Ugly Stepsister’ whisks the viewers back to a more magical and mythic time. Delivering stylistically, the film fully immerses us into a long forgotten past that never was and manages to raise issues that are pertinent today. Exploring the norms we have set for ourselves, the film examines sexuality, addresses self image and tackles sensitive topics, such as eating disorders and mental well-being. Above all gross and uncomfortable, ‘The Ugly Stepsister’ will get under your skin.

Score: 4/4