Emilie Blichfeldt’s take on Cinderella, The Ugly Stepsister, just landed on Hulu, and it is truly a sight to behold. While I was prepared for the Norwegian film’s gory adherence to the Brothers Grimm version of the international folk tale (which has Cinderella’s stepsisters mutilating their feet to make the glass slipper fit, in a bid to marry the prince), I wasn’t prepared for its beauty, nor its complexity.
Rather than focusing on Cinderella herself (called Agnes in the film, and played by Thea Sofie Loch Næss), The Ugly Stepsister focuses on her eldest “ugly” stepsister, Elvira (Lea Myren). Elvira and Agnes’ lives first collide when Elvira’s mother, Rebekka (Ane Dahl Torp), marries Agnes’ father, Otto (Ralph Carlsson). Rebekka moves Elvira and her little sister Alma (Flo Fagerli) into Otto’s lavish home, where their new stepsister, Agnes, shows her around.
The newly blended family barely gets a moment to bond before tragedy strikes. While enjoying his post-nuptial meal, Otto makes several snide remarks about Elvira’s appearance and even flings a piece of cake at her face. She laughs along, though it’s clear she’s hurt. Moments later, Otto starts coughing up blood and drops dead right there at the dinner table, in a scene that’s both shocking and admittedly a little funny. The Ugly Stepsister won’t elicit any belly-laughs, but Blichfeldt certainly has a sense of humor.
It’s quickly revealed that Rebekka and Otto mainly got married for financial reasons, but neither of them actually have any money. Rebekka — who is now responsible for Agnes in addition to her two biological daughters — is distraught, knowing the family will soon face financial ruin. Debtors have already come calling, and will repossess Otto’s home if Rebekka doesn’t come into some serious cash, fast. On the bright side, royal heartthrob Prince Julian (Isac Calmroth) and his father, the king, are throwing a ball for all the local virgins, so Julian can find a respectable bride. As creepy as that sounds, Rebekka sees this chance at a royal marriage as her only option to secure a future for herself and her children, so she sets to work getting Agnes and Elvira prepared for the ball. (Alma, as the youngest, is thankfully spared from this horror show, and later, when she starts her period, she has the good sense to hide it from her mother, so as not to get roped into the chaos.)
Even before the ball, Elvira frequently daydreams about Prince Julian, so getting an invite to the ball is a dream come true. She’s determined to catch the prince’s eye, no matter what parts of herself she has to starve away, break, or cut off to fit into society’s narrow view of female beauty. Unfortunately, the competition is pretty stiff.
Agnes — our Cinderella stand-in — is tall, blonde, and effortlessly pretty, whereas Elvira is depicted as plain and dumpy, even though she’s really gorgeous. Like many female film protagonists who undergo a physical transformation, Elvira starts out with dental braces, unfortunate hair styling, and cruel surroundings, rather than actually being some unsightly creature. Rebekka takes Elvira to a doctor to remove her braces, which is painful enough, but the doctor in question also decides that Elvira’s petite nose is somehow a problem. Rebekka allows him to perform a horrific nosejob on her daughter, first breaking it, then “resetting” it. Elvira spends a large portion of the film with a strange leather contraption strapped to her face, meant to help her broken nose heal in the “correct” position. Ironically, this contraption makes her look far worse than her original nose ever did.
Rebekka also sends Elvira and Agnes to etiquette classes, which seem to focus far more on physical perfection than which fork to use at a fancy meal. It’s here that Agnes and Elvira really start to develop a rivalry. In etiquette class, Elvira is moved to the back (with the rest of the “ugly” girls), while Agnes is up at the front, as infuriatingly perfect as ever. Determined to prove her commitment to her teacher, her mother, and her stepsister, Elvira agrees to swallow a tapeworm to lose weight, even though she’s a perfectly healthy size. The parasite does help her lose weight, but also causes her to lose hair. At times, The Ugly Stepsister feels like a fairy-tale version of The Substance, with Elvira continuing to deteriorate and smiling through the pain the whole way — though I much prefer this film’s grounded ending to what we got in The Substance.
Loch Næss might be my favorite Cinderella. She’s clearly devastated by her father’s death and unhappy about her current circumstances, but she also knows what’s at stake for her family, and she’s willing to sacrifice herself at the altar of marriage, even though she isn’t in love with the prince. Instead of being a naïve optimist like most screen versions of Cinderella, Agnes is a realist. While some aspects of her life may be easier due to her physical appeal, that physical appeal also causes her a great deal of pain, as most people around her only see value in her beauty. She’s also not in love with the prince, who she has never met, and who also happens to be a complete asshole. Instead, Agnes has grown fond of a local stable boy, a revelation that makes both Elvira and Rebekka extremely upset. Meanwhile, Elvira knows of the prince’s cruelty — he even mocks her appearance when he catches her spying on him and his friends — but is entirely unfazed by it, seeming to prefer the sweet, caring version of him she’s conjured in her head rather than the cold, selfish young man he’s proven himself to be outside of her fantasies.
The Ugly Stepsister‘s bloody (yet surprisingly hopeful and heartwarming) ending is what makes it truly stand out as a Cinderella adaptation. Yes, there are many stomach-churning scenes, including the infamous toe-chopping. But there are also some unexpectedly beautiful moments, like the scene where Agnes weeps over her father’s decomposing body. Her family hasn’t yet been able to afford a proper funeral, but rather than maggots, Otto’s corpse is covered in silkworms. The silkworms mend Agnes’ ballgown (which Elvira ruined in a jealous rage), creating an ethereal, stunning dress for her to wear to the party. The scene that almost feels like it belongs in a Tim Burton movie.
Though The Ugly Stepsister features excellent body horror and some truly stunning cinematography, my favorite aspect of the film is the way Blichfeldt’s script gives both Cinderella and her “ugly” stepsister enough room to develop as characters. The Ugly Stepsister doesn’t criticize women for chasing unattainable beauty standards, but instead examines the ways internalized misogyny destroys relationships between women. Unlike The Substance — which seems to focus mainly on punishing its protagonist for trying to cut corners in her quest for perfection — The Ugly Stepsister offers a more nuanced take, with an almost-optimistic ending that highlights the value of sisterhood. It’s a gripping (and at times, darkly funny) watch that will keep fans of fairy tales and body horror alike glued to the screen.
The Ugly Stepsister is streaming on Hulu, AMC Plus, and Shudder, and is available for digital rental at Amazon.
