REVIEW: The Ugly Stepsister

Combining the elevated period storytelling of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette with the shout-at-the-screen, squirm-worthy body horror of Cronenberg, The Ugly Stepsister reaches the highs of beauty horror that easily sit alongside The Substance.

The Ugly Stepsister is a dark (or Grimm) retelling of the classic Cinderella story, a story that looking back was maybe always horrifying. The film follows Elvira (played by Lea Myren), one of the two “ugly stepsisters” who desperately wants to be chosen by the kingdom’s prince. Her wicked mother (Ane Dahl Torp) shares this desire-or rather, the money that would come with this dream, and is willing to do whatever it takes to mold her daughter into the perfect bride. Braces, nose operations, and starvation are just the beginning for Elvira in the pursuit of this fantasy setting’s idea of “beauty.” It’s devastating, it’s mean, but it’s also real. Beauty standards, and the often grotesque self sabotage performed in its pursuit, are just as familiar here as the Disney princess silhouettes. In the post-screening Q&A the film’s director Emilie Blichfeldt notes, “there’s only one Cinderella. The rest of us are the ugly stepsisters trying to fit the slipper.” The inherited, corrupted self view Elvira holds is heartbreaking, and the film pulls no punches in the descent that follows.

Which is unflinching, truly. Somehow this body horror version of making that slipper fit (which is every bit as gnarly as you would probably expect) is not even in the top three craziest moments for me. I was doing summersaults in my seat I was squirming so much. But I couldn’t look away – which was something the person sitting next to me had no problem doing, I think they watched most of the film through their fingers. The lingering shots of alteration surgery and self mutilation invite you to study the horror on display, rather than to shock or traumatize. This often resulted in morbid curiosity by the end of the scares, and one notable scene left me (wildly) feeling relived at its conclusion, despite just witnessing – well, no spoilers, but god damn it was gross. 

It all fits this story, though, and I have to talk about the score which I adored. Dreamy 70’s synths accompany gorgeous castles, horseback rides and ballroom dances. This juxtaposition of elegant motifs with more modern music highlight the timelessness of the themes. It creates a world that approaches fantasy while staying grounded in reality. 

It works so well, and I can’t wait to see what this director does next. I don’t think I’ll ever think of the Cinderella story the same way again, for better or worse.