The Ugly Stepsister (2025): Near Perfect

The Ugly Stepsister (directed by Emilie Blichfeldt) was one of my most anticipated films this year; so much so that I brought a subscription for Shudder especially. The Norwegian film made headlines for making viewers physically ill at Cannes film festival and was marketed as 'Cronenberg meets Cinderella.' A winning combo, especially off the back of 'The Substance.'

The Ugly Stepsister follows Elvira (Lea Myren) as her mother (Ane Dahl Torp) remarries a gentleman for financial stability. When it's revealed he himself is destitute, Elvira and her new step-sister, Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss) decide their only hope is to win the Prince (Isac Calmroth)'s hand at his upcoming ball.

We know the story from there. But the film excels in the subtleties of the girls' characters to show the diference from the original tale. Elvira's innocent, earnestly wanting a romance with the prince whose poetry she's long poured over. In contrast, Agnes' kindness is skin deep and she's far from innocent. Elvira sees the prince as her happy ending, the other as an rope ladder to riches. Through the fierce competition to be noticed, the creeping realisation sets in that these girls have very few options, and are at the mercy of the men around them. What little we see of the men expose them as hungry predators and show the danger that the girls are in.

The horror is poignant and punchy;focusing on beauty body horror based in historic proceedures and underlining the idea that 'beauty is pain.' Coupled with the internal rot and decay of Elvira and Agnes' dreams becoming external and we're left with a visually stunning, repulsive Cinderella retelling.

The horror culminates in staying true to the Grimm's fairy tale ending, as hinted at by all the marketing. Whilst its the shocking finale that we've all been waiting for, it also shows the heartbreaking reality of the aftermath.

Unfortunately, said aftermath focuses a little too much on its shocking set pieces and not enough on concluding its plot. It very much feels as though the writers are shrugging their shoulders because they've reached the end of the fairy tale; we're left with as swift a wrap-up as Elvira's procedures becoming undone from a fall down the stairs. It's only a disappointment because of the complexity of the themes presented thus far, and that we're suddenly locked outside of Elvira and Agnes' internal world. A glimpse into Agnes' gilded cage at the palace or even a conversation between them would settle the groundwork.

Similarly, there is the inclusion of the stablehand. Initially, said stable hand is Agnes' lover, and the camera work clearly draws a comparision between women and horses in this world. Therefore, it feels significant and pointed that the replacement is a woman, whose main scene is telling a horse she's 'beautiful.' It feels like a set up for a much larger pay off that we don't receive. It doesn't have to be a romantic conclusion, though that would have been lovely, but what was the point of this clear symbolism if not to wrap it up neatly?

Overall The Ugly Stepsister has a strong cast with haunting imagery. It's a truly dark retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale, and not just because of it's Substance-esque body horror. If it had tied its slippers up with the appropriate bow, it would have been perfect.