The Ugly Stepsister horror comedy is a twist on the Cinderella fairy tale

The fairy tale-inspired horror film Cinderella’s Revenge just reached theatres a few days ago and another Cinderella horror film called Cinderella’s Curse is right around the corner. (That one was originally aiming for an October 2023 release, but shifted to 2024.) Now we can add a third project to the list of movies that put a horror twist on the classic fairy tale: director Emilie Blichfeldt’s feature debut The Ugly Stepsister.

Variety reports that Memento International will be presenting this horror comedy to potential distributors at the upcoming Cannes Film Market. The film is said to be a gory, daring, and unexpected take on the world-famous tale, seen through the eyes of the Cinderella’s stepsister, Elvira. The story follows Elvira as she battles to compete with her insanely beautiful stepsister in a kingdom where beauty is a brutal business. She will go to any lengths to catch the prince’s eye. 

Blichfeldt told Variety that she “immediately identified (with Elvira) after rediscovering the Brothers Grimm version of Cinderella in which the stepsister cuts off her toes to make the shoe fit. With this ‘beauty horror’ I want to seduce the audience into a ‘girl-dreaming-of-marrying-the-prince-fairytale’, before revealing its true and raw insides. It’s time the ugly stepsister’s story is lifted from the shadows of Cinderella, and cultivated as the iconic feminist narrative of the tyranny of beauty that it is.“

Newcomer Lea Myren makes her feature acting debut as Elvira, sharing the screen with Thea Sofie Loch Naess (The Last Kingdom) and Ane Dahl Torp (The Wave).

A statement provided by Memento International says Blichfeldt’s “unique take on the classic we all know is equally funny, bold, shocking and destined to be cult for a generation. It is highly contemporary in its exploration of what one is willing to do to meet society’s imposed beauty standards on women. Emilie is finally giving a voice to the underdog in a very entertaining way, allowing audiences worldwide to connect with her.“

Does The Ugly Stepsister sound interesting to you? What do you think of Cinderella getting the horror treatment again? Let us know by leaving a comment below.