The Ugly Stepsister
2025 · Directed by Emilie Blichfeldt
Original language: Norwegian
- horror
- comedy
- drama
The story
In a fairy-tale kingdom where beauty is a brutal business, Elvira battles to compete with her incredibly beautiful stepsister, and she will go to any length to catch the prince’s eye.
What it’s like
Lush, overripe candlelit interiors and wintry Nordic woods, shot with a fairy-tale gloss that keeps curdling into something sticky and grotesque. Palettes lean on dusky pinks, bruised greens and gilt, with prosthetics and practical effects that make bodies look raw and strange. Camera work is poised and symmetrical, with lingering close-ups on skin, teeth and hands, and the score pairs sweeping strings with dissonant stings and jarring silences. The vibe is darkly comic, uneasy and deliberately absurd, a satire that stays cool and baffled rather than warm. Pacing is brisk and escalating, its central relationship between two women competing for one prize shifting from petty rivalry into something more desperate and tender. Intensity is high: graphic body horror, self-harm and surgical-style grotesquerie, bloody violence, and some nudity and sexual content, all landing as shock and revulsion more than suspense. This is not gentle viewing. It suits people who want a sharp, visually unsettling take on beauty standards and a fairy tale turned inside out, late at night with a strong stomach.
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