Overview

• ‘The Ugly Stepsister,’ directed by Emilie Blichfeldt, premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Shudder for release later this year.
• The film reinterprets the Cinderella story through a feminist body horror lens, exploring societal beauty standards with grotesque and unsettling imagery.
• Lea Myren stars as Elvira, a young woman undergoing extreme physical transformations in pursuit of societal ideals, including painful surgeries and dangerous weight-loss methods.
• Critics praised the film’s macabre humor, pointed commentary on self-loathing and beauty, and its striking visual style, though some noted a lack of emotional depth.
• The movie’s finale delivers a shocking and visceral punch, cementing its place as a bold addition to the body horror genre.