In recent months, a lot of popular intellectual property or IP for short have come available for anybody to use in their films, books, or television/streaming shows. One particular company has made a fee of movies already using Winnie the Pooh in their films. Not from the people that made these movies, The Ugly Stepsister is from a different production company, but it’s not far from the twisted versions those other companies have created. It’s a mix of Cinderella mixed with the body horror film, The Substance.

Elvira (Lea Myren), her sister Alma (Flo Fagerli), and their mother move into a new home because their mother gets married to a rich older man. He has a daughter of his own as well. Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Neass) has the looks and her father’s love, but she’s not very fond of her new stepsisters or their mother. When tragedy befalls her father, the family dynamic changes. She becomes the odd one out in this family. When a prince of the kingdom announces a ball, Elvira takes it as an opportunity to make him love her. Instead, it backfires and turns into a living hell for her, but not Agnes, who is called Cinderella.

Everybody is already very familiar with the story of “Conderella”. by now. It doesn’t have to be explained any further. The way this legendary story turned on its head and changed in such a way was pretty impressive and delves respect. Emilie Blitchfeldt, the director, has created something akin to The Substance, but with a lot more gruesome-ness and creativity. The fact that this is a period piece adds another level to this legendary story.  It’s hard to do something new with ‘Cinderella’ but this movie does it.

There are quite a few technical aspects of this film that were pretty impressive. First off were the costumes. With this being a period piece set in the late 19th century, you know you’re going to get a lot of fancy dresses with corsets and suits for men with top hats and so forth. A green and yellow gown worn by Myren’s character was a standout amongstall the amazing costumes. All the costumes were pretty impressive, though.

The second big technical aspect of this film is the makeup and hairstyling.  This film had makeup that Marvel the best I’ve seen, but on the level of ‘The Substance’. That is why I used it as a comparison.  There are some genuine gross out moments with makeup, which makes it a body horror film. A scene of Puss coming out of a zit on Myren’s character’s face showed me right away what this movie was going to be. Some prosthetics and blood and broken bones take it to the next level. What this girl went through, trying to land, the prince was pretty rough. This film isn’t for the faint of heart. If you’re a very squeamish person, you may not want to watch this movie. I was completely grossed out by the end of the film.

Society has shown that looks are everything, and outer beauty is how you get things in life, whether it’s money, a romantic partner, or other benefits. In this case, the Myrrn character did everything she could to look beautiful even though she’s not that good-looking. She does various surgeries and even cuts off parts of her body, trying to win the hand of the prince. Thea Sofie Loch Neass, on the other hand, is already pretty, and of course, the prince is drawn to her. It makes sense in multiple ways. It also proves the adage true. I feel beauty is skin deep, though, and what’s inside a person is truly who they are. I wish more people would see that in men or women for that reason.

With this being a combination of Norwegian, Polish, and Swedish films, these actors are all new to me, but Myren,  Loch Neass, and Fagerli were pretty good. The cat as a whole was very good. Myren, though, did a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of the physical acting and so forth. She had to have had a rough time regarding how much time she spent in the makeup chair and with the costume department.  She had to look the part of ‘The Ugly Stepsister’ or the film wouldn’t be what it is. She is a revelation in this role. I hope she gets more roles in other kinds of films besides body horror films.

The Ugly Stepsister is as advertised.  It’s a combination between ‘Cinderella ‘ and ‘The Substance’ in a good way. Spoiler warning, though, if you’re a squeamish person who doesn’t like gross out horror or body horror, this may not be for you. It’s definitely not for kids. The message behind the story that uses ‘Cinderella’ as a backdrop for body shaming or self exposed problems from lack of beauty. Is an important one. It’s a sad state of affairs that the world deems outer appearance as so big these days for success. The director and writer get their point across exceptionally well in the end. The acting from the entire cast is very good, but the standout is Myren. She is an absolute trooper for what she has to do in this role, which is incredible. Overall, this isn’t going to be for everybody, but those who like body horror films will probably love it.

4 stars

Dan Skip Allen