The Ugly Stepsister turns Cinderella’s familiar story toward Elvira, the stepsister who wants the prince’s affection and the acceptance she believes beauty can bring. Emilie Blichfeldt’s dark comedy and body horror make that desire vivid—and sometimes so grotesque that the spectacle threatens to overshadow the character at its center.
A Cinderella story told from the other side
Written and directed by Emilie Blichfeldt, The Ugly Stepsister (Norwegian title: Den stygge stesøsteren) reframes Cinderella by following Elvira rather than making the familiar heroine the center of the story. The official synopsis sets up the rivalry: Elvira tries to win the prince’s affection while competing with the beautiful Agnes. Disney+ film listing and the Norwegian Film Institute identify the film as a Cinderella retelling.
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The Ugly Stepsister | $28.61 | Buy on Amazon |
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![The Ugly Stepsister Limited Edition [4K UHD + Blu-ray]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/4179QF8wVlL._SL160_.jpg)
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The Ugly Stepsister Limited Edition [4K UHD + Blu-ray] | $120.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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Step Blu-ray | $74.00 | Buy on Amazon |
That change of viewpoint is more than a fresh place to stand in a well-known tale. It asks the audience to consider what the stepsister wants, and how the story looks when longing for beauty and belonging belongs to someone usually cast as an obstacle. The revision complicates the old moral arrangement, though it does not erase the rivalry or turn Elvira’s desire into innocence.
Body horror gives the beauty contest a physical edge
Blichfeldt combines dark comedy with body horror. The Norwegian Film Institute describes the film as comedy and horror; Disney+ also tags it as a thriller, while Sight and Sound and Sundance frame it through body horror. Those labels vary, but the grotesque treatment is central to how the film approaches appearance and acceptance.
#1 Best Overall
The extremity can make Elvira’s pursuit feel like more than a superficial wish: the film puts the costs and humiliations of that pursuit into the register of physical horror. Its comedy can sharpen the satire by making the competition absurd as well as disturbing. But grotesquerie is a blunt instrument. When the shock becomes the main event, it can crowd out the subtler work of making Elvira’s feelings—and her choices—register as a character drama.
Does the shock treatment deepen the fairy tale?
The film’s strongest idea is its shift in sympathy, not a claim that Elvira is secretly the heroine or that Agnes is simply the villain. Wanting acceptance is understandable; competing for it at another person’s expense remains damaging. Holding both thoughts together gives the familiar story more tension than a simple reversal of roles would.
Rank #2
Whether the body horror strengthens that tension depends on a viewer’s appetite for visual extremity. For some, its excess will make the pressure around beauty impossible to ignore. For others, the grotesque humor may dominate the emotional stakes. Either way, Blichfeldt’s approach is pointed rather than gentle: it makes the audience sit with the discomfort of watching someone pursue approval through a story built around rivalry.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Festival context and practical details
N8 Films lists the film among the 2025 selections for Berlinale Panorama and Sundance Midnight, with Berlinale materials providing additional screening context. Those placements fit a work that takes a familiar fairy tale into more abrasive, genre-driven territory.
Rank #3
Listings give slightly different runtimes: Disney+ lists 1 hour 49 minutes, while Cineuropa lists 105 minutes. Because the figures do not match, check the runtime against the version available to you rather than treating either listing as definitive. Disney+ and Apple TV have film pages, but a listing alone does not establish current viewing access, subscription inclusion, or rental and purchase availability in a particular country. Check the service in your region.
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