‘The Ugly Stepsister’ Garners Attention as a Gruesome Body Horror Take on Cinderella

Emilie Blichfeldt’s feature debut reimagines the classic fairy tale with dark humor and visceral body horror, premiering at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

‘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.