Hella disturbing, but such a good movie.

This film was freaking crazy lol. It was literally the Cinderella movie in a body horror 🩸🩸 It was gnarly how the mother would push her daughter to do anything it takes to be beautiful enough for the Prince only to lose it to another It is in the Set in 18th-century Central Europe. That ending though.

“The Ugly Stepsister” Elvira (Lea Myren) suffers her ambitious mother’s (Ane Dahl Torp) misguided thirst for wealth. The young woman’s only salvation is her dream to wed the handsome Prince Julian (Isac Calmroth), but that desire is fraught with pain and suffering for “The Ugly Stepsister.” First time feature director-writer Emilie Blichfeldt takes the well-known and iconic story of Cinderella and flips it around and throws it back at you. In this clever and remarkably modern story is a scathing indictment of our culture of body shaming of women, Elvira is a normal young woman, a bit plain and a bit chubby. She is also enamored with Prince Julian’s book of romantic poems – which call out to her, personally. Her mother’s attempt to marry for money went horribly wrong when her new rich husband dies – broke and with nothing except his beautiful daughter, Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Naess). So, her alternate plan is to prepare her eldest daughter, Elvira, to attend the prince’s prestigious virgins' ball and be selected his future wife. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. But, it will be a bit more difficult for Elvira to achieve her mother’s concept of beauty. For one, she needs straight teeth so cumbersome braces are installed. Then, her nose is too crooked and must be fixed – in the most painful and barbaric way possible. She also needs to have her eyes enhanced so brand new lashes are sewn in place. Finally, to help her lose her pudginess, mom insists that she swallow a tapeworm egg. All this in the name of beauty and perfection. As one can guess, this is not a remake of the original Walt Disney story, not by a long shot. There is no fairy godmother, no pumpkin coach or mice turned into horses. A variation of the glass slipper is there but does not go in any way you could possibly guess. Elvira’s quest (actually, her mother’s) for physical perfection highlights what woman deal with now, with male body shaming and the need to please a man to be accepted. Helmer-scribe Blichfeldt and her star, Lea Myren, take this variation of a classic fairytale and turn it into their own unique horror story. I think this version will stick with me a lot longer than Disney’s. B+

I went into this movie not realizing that it was subtitled, but what a great movie & I'm so happy it wasn't dubbed! The spin on the Cinderella story was very clever & the visual aspects of the movie were done superbly. I can't say enough positive things about this movie. I'm also glad I saw it on the big screen.

One of the BEST movies of 2025 so far!!!! So creative, unique, fantastical! Loved it!!! Great “Cinderella” adaptation!

Deserve in your blue ray collection.

It's simply far too depressing. There's nothing & nobody to root for. It doesn't cover much ground because it's a simple story. Done well enough for what it is, but it's far too miserable and gross. Not scary at all, just a huge yuck factor...

This film is a wild, gruesome ride that puts a shocking twist on an original concept, keeping you locked in from start to finish. With jaw-dropping moments and edge-of-your-seat tension, it slices through expectations and leaves you stunned in the best way. You walk out thinking, “What the hell did I just watch?”—but it’s exactly what makes the movie unforgettable.

amazing. fans of the substance must see

Great take on the fairy tale and I liked that it’s from the stepsister’s perspective. A must watch if you enjoyed The Substance and don’t mind subtitles.

This warped, toe-tapping Cinderella is NOT for the squeamish.

Powerfully dark, uncomfortable, and grotesque on any number of levels, this movie is phenomimal. The casting is excellent; even the audio is really well done. I normally would have never given a movie like this a chance (I was the only person in the theater when I saw it), but it hit on so many levels and it did so nearly perfectly.

Just got back from seeing The Ugly Stepsister and wanted to leave my two cents. No Spoilers. To be honest, this portrays such a female experience from start to finish that I'm not sure how many men are actually going to appreciate this movie. It is exquisitely tragic, beautifully filmed, and the lead actress deserves an Oscar. Her character arc from wide-eyed hopeful innocent to what she turns into is so amazing. The micro expressions on her face show every thought and feeling as if we were in her head. The body horror is good. There was not much the camera pulled away from. And at one point I actually gagged. I'm looking forward to rewatching this to appreciate the journey. Two severed big toes up from this girl.

Gross out exaggerated Cinderella story. Lea Myren fabulous as Elvira with equally great supporting cast. Its as if this is the real story that the fairy tale was cleaned up to depict.

walked out towards the end---really bad

The real view of Cinderella but focuses mostly on the stepsister who tried her hardest to win the heart of the prince. How changing yourself physically is not worth it in the end. Love yourself how you are and just be a good moral person instead of worrying about your physical flaws. Your physical flaws make you who you are.

Sick and twisted, with beautiful visuals.

With its dark and moody setting, hauntingly strange score, and excellent performances, it’s no wonder The Ugly Stepsister is receiving so much buzz. The talent in front of and behind the camera showed no fear in taking a beloved fairytale and familiar story and twisting it around in a different time period. At the same time, it drives home the point, often in a brutal fashion, that things must change and the concept of beauty needs to be truly redefined.

Amazing. Go see it. The Substance in meets 19th Century Germany in a Cronenburg-esque retelling of Cinderella from the step sisters POV. It's in German. It has body horror. It has pornography. It has a LOT of laughs. It's incredibly shocking, hilarious, and original. I also really enjoyed the cinematography. Even when it goes completely sideways, the scope of the gore and monstrosities were beautiful to look at. This film was meticulously shot, acted, and written and I consider it practically perfect in every way.

Reminded me so much of The Substance, would really recommend it.