The Ugly Stepsister

Cast View all

	Lea Mathilde Skar Myren	Elvira
	Ane Dahl Torp	Rebekka
	Thea Næss	Agnes
	Flo Fagerli	Alma
	Isac Calmroth	Prince Julian
	Malte Gårdinger	Isak
	Ralph Carlsson	Otto
	Isac Aspberg	The Feinschmecker
	Albin Weidenbladh	The Omnivorous
	Oksana Czerkasyna	The Cook
	Katarzyna Herman	Madame Vanja
	Adam Lundgren	Dr. Esthétique
	Willy Ramnek Petri	Frederik von Bluckfish
	Cecilia Forss	Sophie von Kronenberg
	Kyrre Hellum	Jan
	Agnieszka Zulewska	Agnes' Mother
	Staffan Kolhammar	Messenger
	Philip Lenkowsky	Baron Von Bluckfish

Crew View all

Director	Emilie Blichfeldt
Writer	Emilie Blichfeldt
Producer	Jessica Balac, Maria Ekerhovd, Louise Grusell, Amanda Holmstedt, Lizette Jonjic, Vincent Larsson, Ragna Nordhus Midtgard, Jesper Morthorst, Theis Nørgaard, Luiza Skrzek, Ada Solomon, Christian Torpe, Mariusz Wlodarski
Musician	John Erik Kaada, Vilde Tuv
Photography	Marcel Zyskind

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My quick rating - 7.2/10. In a fairy-tale kingdom where beauty is a cutthroat business, The Ugly Stepsister takes the familiar “Cinderella” story, feeds it a tapeworm, and lets it writhe into something darkly hilarious. Elvira (Lea Myren) is not your standard glass-slippered heroine, she’s the one living in the shadow of her dazzlingly beautiful stepsister Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss), and she’ll do whatever it takes to catch the prince’s eye. And yes, “whatever it takes” in this kingdom might include some… questionable dieting methods. The Shudder logo at the start is your first clue this won’t be a pastel-colored Disney sing-along.

Writer/director Emilie Blichfeldt sets the tone with lavish costumes, authentic set design, and a wicked sense of humor. The presentation of the virgins to the prince is both amusing and unnervingly sinister, showing off the film’s perfect blend of satire and discomfort. It’s a bleak, razor-sharp portrait of beauty and ugliness, one that keeps you constantly wondering who’s going to win the prince. Spoiler: You won’t know for sure until the very end.

Ane Dahl Torp plays the requisite evil stepmother, exploiting her children’s looks for fame and fortune. Totally unrealistic, of course. I mean, what mother today would exploit their child for their own gain? (Cue sarcasm.) The film doesn’t shy away from body horror either; while it never veers into all-out gorefest territory, it offers enough cringe-inducing modifications to make you squirm. The moral? Don’t give yourself a tapeworm to lose weight. Even in a fairy tale, that’s a terrible plan.

Myren’s lead performance is wonderfully layered, both pitiful and cunning, while Loch Næss brings an unnerving perfection to Agnes, the kingdom’s golden girl. The supporting cast nails every beat, delivering a darkly comic yet unsettlingly plausible reimagining of a classic story.

Sure, I wish the horror elements had been dialed up just a notch, but that’s a minor gripe in an otherwise wonderfully made movie. The Ugly Stepsister is twisted and visually gorgeous, offering a fairy-tale world you’ll want to visit. Just maybe not during mealtime.

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