Norwegian director Emilie Blichfeldt upends audience expectations in a feature debut that’s hyper-aware of the origin story’s sexual and patriarchal imagery
Norwegian director Emilie Blichfeldt makes her feature debut with an ingenious revisionist body-horror version of Cinderella, lavishly costumed and designed. There are twists in the style of David Cronenberg and Walerian Borowczyk, with (maybe inevitably) echoes of Carrie and Alien. In one scene, there could even be a nod to Picnic at Hanging Rock.
Cynical widow Rebekka (Ane Dahl Torp) remarries a well-heeled widower somewhere in 18th-century central Europe; he then makes her a widow for the second time by fatally gorging on cake at the wedding breakfast. As a result, Rebekka is left financially embarrassed with her plain daughter Elvira (Lea Myren), Elvira’s kid sister Alma (Flo Fagerli) and a new stepdaughter Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Naess), a beautiful young woman who haughtily resents the ugly Elvira.
Norwegian director Emilie Blichfeldt makes her feature debut with an ingenious revisionist body-horror version of Cinderella, lavishly costumed and designed. There are twists in the style of David Cronenberg and Walerian Borowczyk, with (maybe inevitably) echoes of Carrie and Alien. In one scene, there could even be a nod to Picnic at Hanging Rock.
Cynical widow Rebekka (Ane Dahl Torp) remarries a well-heeled widower somewhere in 18th-century central Europe; he then makes her a widow for the second time by fatally gorging on cake at the wedding breakfast. As a result, Rebekka is left financially embarrassed with her plain daughter Elvira (Lea Myren), Elvira’s kid sister Alma (Flo Fagerli) and a new stepdaughter Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Naess), a beautiful young woman who haughtily resents the ugly Elvira.
- 22/04/2025
- por Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Lea Myren as Elvira in The Ugly Stepsister. Photo credit: Lukasz Bak. Courtesy of IFC Films / Vertigo Releasing
In a dark, twisted re-telling of Cinderella, Norwegian director Blichfeldt’s satiric The Ugly Stepsister turns things around to tell the story from the view point of a stepsister. This Polish-shot period-film version of the classic fairy tale is a darkly comic body-horror film, which is more Brothers Grimm than either Disney or the familiar Charles Perrault fairy tale. Cinderella is a folk story that appears in various forms in numerous cultures around the world but this version turns much of our expectations on their heads. The retelling in The Ugly Stepsister puts a darkly comic twist on it by focusing on the stepsister, making it more a commentary on standards for beauty, and the price that might be paid to achieve it. Rather than romantic fantasy, The Ugly Stepsister takes a...
In a dark, twisted re-telling of Cinderella, Norwegian director Blichfeldt’s satiric The Ugly Stepsister turns things around to tell the story from the view point of a stepsister. This Polish-shot period-film version of the classic fairy tale is a darkly comic body-horror film, which is more Brothers Grimm than either Disney or the familiar Charles Perrault fairy tale. Cinderella is a folk story that appears in various forms in numerous cultures around the world but this version turns much of our expectations on their heads. The retelling in The Ugly Stepsister puts a darkly comic twist on it by focusing on the stepsister, making it more a commentary on standards for beauty, and the price that might be paid to achieve it. Rather than romantic fantasy, The Ugly Stepsister takes a...
- 18/04/2025
- por Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The first volume of fairy tales that the Brothers Grimm penned together was completely ill-suited for children. Apart from containing overt sexual elements (along with themes of abuse and incest), some stories, like “Hans Dumm,” framed an act of sexual assault as a ghastly wish-fulfillment trope. Thankfully, “Hans Dumm” was removed in its entirety in later editions, which were also heavily sanitized until they morphed into the child-friendly versions we’re currently familiar with. However, these stories still carry vestiges of these age-inappropriate themes, embedded into the heart of characters who turn to some form of violence to express human folly.
“Cinderella” is no different, as it essentially equates beauty with goodness of heart, while contextualizing the absence of (traditional) beauty in the stepsisters by casting them in a morally reprehensible mold. The original Grimm folio of “Cinderella” takes this sentiment further by making the evil stepsisters cut off their...
“Cinderella” is no different, as it essentially equates beauty with goodness of heart, while contextualizing the absence of (traditional) beauty in the stepsisters by casting them in a morally reprehensible mold. The original Grimm folio of “Cinderella” takes this sentiment further by making the evil stepsisters cut off their...
- 17/04/2025
- por Debopriyaa Dutta
- High on Films
Editor’s note: This review was originally published during the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. “The Ugly Stepsister” opens in theaters Friday, April 18.
It’s tough times out there for a feminist body horror fairy tale in a newly post-“Substance” filmmaking world. Coralie Fargeat’s gory parable of the abyss of self-loathing at the center of women’s society-stoked quest for beauty upped the stakes in terms of the genre’s potential cultural reach.
But female genre directors have been responding to impossible, often body-contorting standards of beauty for decades. Enter Norwegian filmmaker Emilie Blichfeldt, who makes her gruesome entrée into that movement with her playfully grotesque feature debut “The Ugly Stepsister.” One character’s name being Sophie von Kronenberg in this stylized gothic retelling of the Grimm Brothers’ spin on Cinderella should offer enough portent for where the film is heading in all its nose-breaking, flesh-eating, tapeworm-infested grandeur.
“The Ugly Stepsister...
It’s tough times out there for a feminist body horror fairy tale in a newly post-“Substance” filmmaking world. Coralie Fargeat’s gory parable of the abyss of self-loathing at the center of women’s society-stoked quest for beauty upped the stakes in terms of the genre’s potential cultural reach.
But female genre directors have been responding to impossible, often body-contorting standards of beauty for decades. Enter Norwegian filmmaker Emilie Blichfeldt, who makes her gruesome entrée into that movement with her playfully grotesque feature debut “The Ugly Stepsister.” One character’s name being Sophie von Kronenberg in this stylized gothic retelling of the Grimm Brothers’ spin on Cinderella should offer enough portent for where the film is heading in all its nose-breaking, flesh-eating, tapeworm-infested grandeur.
“The Ugly Stepsister...
- 14/04/2025
- por Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
The official trailer for the upcoming Cinderella-inspired horror comedy The Ugly Stepsisteris out! Starring Lea Myren, Thea Sofie Loch Næss, Flo Fagerli, and Ane Dahl Torp in prominent roles, the film is a dark retelling of the classic fairytale. The Ugly Stepsister follows Elivira, played by Myren as she competes with her stepsister for a prince’s attention. The trailer offers a glimpse at how far Elvira goes to outshine everyone else in a world where beauty is everything.
- 17/03/2025
- por Safwan Azeem
- Collider.com
The Ugly Stepsister gets its first trailer, previewing the twisted new take on Cinderella with a glowing score on Rotten Tomatoes. Directed by Emilie Blichfeldt, the upcoming body horror film follows Lea Myren's Elvira, a young woman who begins to take drastic measures to alter her appearance as she competes against her beautiful stepsister in a realm where looks are everything. Despite making an audience member vomit at its Sundance premiere earlier this year due to a few extremely graphic scenes, The Ugly Stepsister reviews have been generally glowing from critics.
Ahead of the film's theatrical release on April 18, Shudder now releases the full trailer for The Ugly Stepsister, providing a new look at some of the movie's stomach-turning body horror sequences. The trailer features a new look at the movie's depiction of a brutal rhinoplasty procedure, as well as another sequence in which a character has new eyelashes sewn in.
Ahead of the film's theatrical release on April 18, Shudder now releases the full trailer for The Ugly Stepsister, providing a new look at some of the movie's stomach-turning body horror sequences. The trailer features a new look at the movie's depiction of a brutal rhinoplasty procedure, as well as another sequence in which a character has new eyelashes sewn in.
- 17/03/2025
- por Ryan Northrup
- ScreenRant
Everyone knows Cinderella’s story: A young woman, indentured to a cruel stepmother, gets blessed by magical forces. With the help of a fairy, some woodland creatures and a transformed pumpkin, Cinderella, as popularized by the Brothers Grimm, Perrault and Disney, woos a prince and lives happily ever after. But what of her stepsisters, the bullies who we believe deserved their comeuppance? Surely, they have their own tale?
In The Ugly Stepsister, Norwegian director Emilie Blichfeldt recasts the story of these “ugly” young women as a horrifying quest for beauty. Recall, in the Brothers Grimm story, how one of the stepsisters, in a grisly attempt to fit into the famed slipper, takes a knife to her toes. Blichfeldt indulges in this gruesome atmosphere and considers what other ways a young woman might mutilate herself for acceptance. On the heels of Coralie Fargeat’s beauty-body horror The Substance, The Ugly Stepsister...
In The Ugly Stepsister, Norwegian director Emilie Blichfeldt recasts the story of these “ugly” young women as a horrifying quest for beauty. Recall, in the Brothers Grimm story, how one of the stepsisters, in a grisly attempt to fit into the famed slipper, takes a knife to her toes. Blichfeldt indulges in this gruesome atmosphere and considers what other ways a young woman might mutilate herself for acceptance. On the heels of Coralie Fargeat’s beauty-body horror The Substance, The Ugly Stepsister...
- 25/01/2025
- por Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Cinderella's lore gets a Norwegian body-horror update in The Ugly Stepsister. Emilie Blichfeldt's not-so-storybook debut adapts fairy tale royalty like The Great's absurdist satirization but far grimmer and gorier. Fantastic style, squeamish effects, and a standout performance by Lea Myren as the "ugly" Elvira headline this repulsive yet commanding fucked-up fable. Watch out for Blichfeldt, whose first dive into feature filmmaking makes a crimson and authoritative splash.
In The Ugly Stepsister, Elvira (Myren) takes center stage. We all know Disney's version of the story: Prince Charming, a glass slipper, and happily ever afters. Here, Elvira is presented as sweet, lovesick, and doe-eyed. Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss) is our Cinderella fill-in, shunned by her evil stepmother, Rebekka (Ane Dahl Torp). When Prince Julian (Isac Calmroth) alerts the kingdom's virgins he's ready for marriage, Rebekka takes advantage of Elvira's fawning over Julian. Rebekka encourages her daughter through a grueling procession of body augmentations,...
In The Ugly Stepsister, Elvira (Myren) takes center stage. We all know Disney's version of the story: Prince Charming, a glass slipper, and happily ever afters. Here, Elvira is presented as sweet, lovesick, and doe-eyed. Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss) is our Cinderella fill-in, shunned by her evil stepmother, Rebekka (Ane Dahl Torp). When Prince Julian (Isac Calmroth) alerts the kingdom's virgins he's ready for marriage, Rebekka takes advantage of Elvira's fawning over Julian. Rebekka encourages her daughter through a grueling procession of body augmentations,...
- 24/01/2025
- por Matt Donato
- DailyDead
‘The Ugly Stepsister’ is a comedy horror film directed by Emilie Blichfeldt, reimagining the Cinderella tale as a dark, bloody rivalry between Elvira and her stepsister. Starring Lea Myren and Thea Sofie Loch Næss, it premieres on January 23, 2025, at Sundance’s Midnight Section and will also appear at the Berlin Film Festival.
The movie, an international production, hits Norwegian theaters on March 7, 2025. In a dark and twisted version of Cinderella, Elvira is determined to outshine her beautiful stepsister and win the prince’s attention, no matter the cost.
The story explores her obsession with beauty, featuring tapeworms, decaying bodies, and gruesome 19th-century surgeries. Combining humor and horror, the film critiques the beauty industry’s pressures while evoking sympathy for Elvira, who is caught in her mother’s extreme makeover schemes in her quest for love and acceptance.
You can check out the movie’s first official stills below:
The film...
The movie, an international production, hits Norwegian theaters on March 7, 2025. In a dark and twisted version of Cinderella, Elvira is determined to outshine her beautiful stepsister and win the prince’s attention, no matter the cost.
The story explores her obsession with beauty, featuring tapeworms, decaying bodies, and gruesome 19th-century surgeries. Combining humor and horror, the film critiques the beauty industry’s pressures while evoking sympathy for Elvira, who is caught in her mother’s extreme makeover schemes in her quest for love and acceptance.
You can check out the movie’s first official stills below:
The film...
- 21/01/2025
- por Valentina Kraljik
- Comic Basics
The Berlin Film Festival has named the first dozen titles for its 2025 Panorama lineup, Berlin’s main sidebar, and there are a few familiar faces in the mix.
Berlinale regular Ira Sachs will return with Peter Hujar’s Day, starring Ben Wishaw and Rebecca Hall, a feature based on a 1974 conversation between photographer Hujar and his friend Linda Rosenkrantz, offering insight into the New York art scene. Canadian filmmaker and fellow Berlinale alum Denis Côté is back in Panorama with Paul, a documentary on a cleaner who uses his job cleaning homes and sharing his routines on social media to help combat depression and social anxiety.
Other Panorama titles announced Tuesday include Emilie Blichfeldt’s Danish horror feature Den stygge stesøsteren (The Ugly Stepsister), a dark twisted fairy tale, which will premiere in Sundance; Frelle Petersen’s Hjem kaere hjem, a social realist drama on the life of an elder...
Berlinale regular Ira Sachs will return with Peter Hujar’s Day, starring Ben Wishaw and Rebecca Hall, a feature based on a 1974 conversation between photographer Hujar and his friend Linda Rosenkrantz, offering insight into the New York art scene. Canadian filmmaker and fellow Berlinale alum Denis Côté is back in Panorama with Paul, a documentary on a cleaner who uses his job cleaning homes and sharing his routines on social media to help combat depression and social anxiety.
Other Panorama titles announced Tuesday include Emilie Blichfeldt’s Danish horror feature Den stygge stesøsteren (The Ugly Stepsister), a dark twisted fairy tale, which will premiere in Sundance; Frelle Petersen’s Hjem kaere hjem, a social realist drama on the life of an elder...
- 17/12/2024
- por Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Michel Gondry and Ira Sachs are among the headline filmmakers set to debut new feature works within the sidebar competitions at next year’s Berlin Film Festival.
The German festival announced the pair this afternoon as part of its first crop of confirmed titles.
Gondry will screen Maya, Give Me a Title in Berlin’s Generation sidebar. The festival’s website describes the film as Gondry’s “stop-motion love letter to his daughter Maya brings to life a poetic and amusing journey that invites you to dream and laugh.”
Also set for the Generation competition is Our Wildest Days (I Agries Meres Mas) by Greek filmmaker Vasilis Kekatos who is best known for his 2019 short film The Distance Between Us and the Sky, which won the Short Film Palme d’Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. He also created the popular Greek series Milky Way.
Related:...
The German festival announced the pair this afternoon as part of its first crop of confirmed titles.
Gondry will screen Maya, Give Me a Title in Berlin’s Generation sidebar. The festival’s website describes the film as Gondry’s “stop-motion love letter to his daughter Maya brings to life a poetic and amusing journey that invites you to dream and laugh.”
Also set for the Generation competition is Our Wildest Days (I Agries Meres Mas) by Greek filmmaker Vasilis Kekatos who is best known for his 2019 short film The Distance Between Us and the Sky, which won the Short Film Palme d’Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. He also created the popular Greek series Milky Way.
Related:...
- 17/12/2024
- por Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Just ahead of the new year, the Sundance Film Festival has unveiled its 2025 slate of programming that’s packed with exciting and buzzworthy new horror.
Today the fest announced their comprehensive slate of films selected from the fest that will take place January 23 –February 2, 2025, in person in Park City, Salt Lake City, and the Sundance Resort, along with a selection of films available online starting January 30. Packages and passes are available now at Sundance’s site.
We’ve combed through the entire slate today to find all the genre titles, with first-look images and information where available. Highlights from the upcoming slate of programming includes Alison Brie and Dave Franco‘s co-dependency horror movie Together, SpectreVision’s Celtic Faerie horror Rabbit Trap starring Dev Patel, and more.
What are you most excited to see at Sundance next year? Read on for all the horror heading to Sundance Film Festival 2025:...
Today the fest announced their comprehensive slate of films selected from the fest that will take place January 23 –February 2, 2025, in person in Park City, Salt Lake City, and the Sundance Resort, along with a selection of films available online starting January 30. Packages and passes are available now at Sundance’s site.
We’ve combed through the entire slate today to find all the genre titles, with first-look images and information where available. Highlights from the upcoming slate of programming includes Alison Brie and Dave Franco‘s co-dependency horror movie Together, SpectreVision’s Celtic Faerie horror Rabbit Trap starring Dev Patel, and more.
What are you most excited to see at Sundance next year? Read on for all the horror heading to Sundance Film Festival 2025:...
- 11/12/2024
- por Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
The Sundance Film Festival is once again upon us! Set to happen from January 23rd to February 2nd in Park City, Utah (with an online component from January 30th to Feb 2nd), the official schedule was unveiled today, and once again it’s an eclectic mix of indie fare, award hopefuls, and horror flicks. Once again, I’ll be there for JoBlo, filing a ton of reviews. To note, in recent years, Sundance has become especially well known for genre fare, with Hereditary, Talk to Me, and I Saw the TV Glow all premiering in the midnight section of the fest. This year’s Midnight selection includes some very buzzy titles:
Dead Lover / Canada –– A lonely gravedigger who stinks of corpses finally meets her dream man, but their whirlwind affair is cut short when he tragically drowns at sea. Grief-stricken, she goes to morbid lengths to resurrect him through madcap scientific experiments,...
Dead Lover / Canada –– A lonely gravedigger who stinks of corpses finally meets her dream man, but their whirlwind affair is cut short when he tragically drowns at sea. Grief-stricken, she goes to morbid lengths to resurrect him through madcap scientific experiments,...
- 11/12/2024
- por Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
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