Written and directed by Emilie Blichfeldt, The Ugly Stepsister
is a subversive body horror that twists the familiar tale of Cinderella and gives us a psychological beauty-is-pain ride that is as explosive as it is encompᴀssing. What I love most about period pieces is their ability to explore societal expectations, for women especially, that still reflect our present day. The Ugly Stepsister is gruesome and sees the тιтle character going through a number of painful procedures and actions to marry the prince. As a woman, I found it a painful yet astute exploration of manufactured beauty and its horrifying results.

In this warped take on Cinderella, it’s stepsister Elvira (Lea Myren) who takes center stage. Elvira has just moved into Agnes’ (Thea Sofie Loch Naess) father’s home after Elvira’s mother (Ane Dahl Torp) marries him. We know the story from there, but Blichfeldt cleverly adds a plethora of unexpected aspects to the story — including tapeworms, a finishing school, and procedures fashioned to give Elvira a fighting chance in winning the heart of Prince Julian (Isaac Calmroth), whose poetry Elvira is obsessed with reading and who fantasizes about being swept up in his arms and living happily ever after.

The Ugly Stepsister Deftly Explores The Excruciating Horror Of Beauty

The Ugly Stepsister is not that kind of fairy tale, though, and its strengths lie in the dissection of beauty as a performance, as status, as a means to attract and remain valuable in the eyes of society. Elvira desperately wants to marry the prince, so much so that, even when she meets him in the woods, she ignores his deplorable behavior to hold onto ideas she has about him. Elvira’s mother pushes her to be “better” and spends money she doesn’t have on “fixing” Elvira’s nose, removing her braces, and forcing her to lose weight by practically starving her.

Elvira is caught in the middle of wanting to prove herself and beat Agnes, the finishing school teacher’s first choice for performing in front of Prince Julian at his ball, and maintaining her grasp on idealistic fantasies that are a stark contrast to the harshness of her reality. Elvira’s descent into the darkness of beauty ideals, cosmetic surgeries, and compeтιтion for male attention turns her into a mean girl, but one who is deeply sympathetic.

We know how and why she comes to be a spiteful stepsister and Blichfeldt’s ability to peel back the layers of Elvira’s psyche as she runs head-first into what she believes will lead to a happy ending is effective. The Ugly Stepsister thoroughly explores the effects of the beauty industry on people — even all the way back to the 19th century — and its promises of gaining happiness, acceptance, and status and mocks them. By showing us the horror Elvira submits to, and even sometimes does to herself, the film reminds us how ridiculous and dangerous such ideals can be.

The Norwegian film may be set within a familiar story but even I felt like I was holding my breath throughout, waiting for what would happen next to Elvira and the consequences of the extreme actions that drove her to perform the ideals, and frankly the masochism, of beauty. To that end, The Ugly Stepsister finds its horrors in the grotesque. Scenes of a doctor sewing eyelashes into Elvira’s eyelids or even chopping off her toes to fit into Agnes’ shoe — mirroring the darkness of the Grimm Brothers tale that is so often left out of the story — are genuinely gross and excruciating to watch.

While I’ve certainly seen worse onscreen, the film is quite gruesome and disturbing in its depiction of body horror. It’s no wonder someone vomited during the film’s Sundance premiere. Perhaps it’s because some of these cosmetic behaviors are still exhibited today, though it’s obviously to a less horrific and painful extent, that the horror becomes all the more chilling to watch. I empathized with Elvira but also grew to be frustrated with her actions. She’s a victim of such unrealistic societal ideals but does her best to meet them regardless. It’s a fascinating juxtaposition we have arguably all participated in.

Lea Myren Is Perfect As Elvira

She’s A Sympathetic Character & A Frustrating One

As the тιтular character, Myren delivers an extraordinary performance. At the start of the film, we witness Elvira’s innocence. She’s just happy to be in a new home with a new stepsister. She’s happily taken with the prince from afar. As the film continues and she’s often forced to partake in behaviors that promise to enhance and uplift her, Elvira sheds that innocence and begins to possess an inner ugliness she was told to shed aesthetically. Myren brings all of these conflicting feelings to the forefront, masterfully bringing us into Elvira’s layered world.

The supporting cast is equally excellent, and the film is also elevated by an outstanding production design, costumes, and cinematography that reflects the dreary, devastating situation Elvira finds herself in. All told, Blichfeldt pulls out all the stops for this film, giving us a cinematic experience that is ripe with depth and concise commentary, all wrapped in a grisly fairy tale world that is as immersive as it is intense.

The Ugly Stepsister premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.