more public domain horror fun!

Genre adaptions of classic children’s characters have been all the rage lately, so it’s no surprise that somebody is taking a stab at a Cinderella horror movie. Director Emilie Blichfeldt has gone back to the story’s dark Brothers Grimm roots for The Ugly Stepsister, a movie that may rival The Substance for body horror grotesquery.

The movie features an empathetic portrayal of Cinderella’s stepsister, Elvira (Lea Myren), who is desperate to meet the beauty standards of her medieval society. She’s willing to do whatever it takes to attract a handsome prince. Elvira even resorts to feet-cutting, tapeworm-eating, and primitive cosmetic surgery. Yikes!

In an interview with Variety, Blichfeldt cites David Cronenberg and Dario Argento as influencers. Cronenberg is an obvious choice for any body horror filmmaker, but Argento is mostly associated with giallo. Is The Ugly Stepsister a combination of body horror and giallo? Those two subgenres are rarely mixed together, but there’s no reason why it couldn’t work. That should be really fun, actually!

I have to admit, I’m much more interested in seeing this movie than before. I thought that this Cinderella horror flick was just going to be another Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey type of deal, which is fine. Those movies have their place in the horror pantheon. But Blichfeldt is clearly aiming higher here.

According to Fangoria, some viewers at Sundance were revolted by the film. One attendee even vomited in the aisle. This type of buzz has been helping horror movies find an audience since the days of The Exorcist! With the recent of success of other body horror movies, The Ugly Stepsister has a real chance to make an impact.

The Ugly Stepsister is being released on Norway on March 7th. There is no North American release date yet, but Shudder has purchased the streaming rights.

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