The Ugly Stepsister

Unique spin on the classic "Cinderella" tale—told primarily from the perspective of one of the ugly stepsisters—that does a great job humanizing the relatively one-dimensional characters from the Brothers Grimm rendition.

A visceral reflection on beauty standards and a classic story retold in a masterful fashion.

Disgusting to the point of disgust, like the burning desire of almost all the characters to cheat the unfortunate Prince, a fairy with a hefty portion of body horror. Girls, and boys, should think twice! The movie itself is like a painting by Bosch come to life: juicy, grotesque, an excellent nod to real Grimm fairy tales

I'm pretty sure that Cinderella is the fairy tale I've seen portrayed on film the most. That's mainly because I've seen the Czechoslovak-East German film "Three Wishes for Cinderella" for what feels like a million times (and there's also a nice musical reference to that film here). In any case, I am very familiar with the story. However, “The Ugly Stepsister” tells it from a completely different perspective, namely not from Cinderella's point of view, but from that of her stepsister.

And just so everyone is clear, the film clearly falls into the realm of body horror. In fact, the whole structure reminded me a lot of “The Substance.” “The Ugly Stepsister” is similarly unsubtle in its message and just as uncompromising towards the end. Topics such as the obsession with beauty and the role of women in a male-dominated society are certainly addressed effectively. But what fascinated me most is the fact that, despite all its extremes, the film remains very close to the original fairy tale (which already has its brutal moments in many versions anyway).

Overall, I highly recommend “The Ugly Stepsister” to everyone. It is a film that is even more effective in a full theater. If you have the chance to catch it on a large screen and don't have a sensitive stomach, I highly recommend it.

Very good, but not perfect.
I think the best place to start when talking about this is to understand the tone. Really, since _The Substance_ (2024) came out, an entire generation has been introduced to the sub-genre of body horror. Trouble is, there is an urge to mislabel and misunderstand what that is. This is not body horror. I wouldn't even call it horror. This is a dark comedy. Very dark, like pitch black, heavy, grim, and gruesome.
If I had to relate this to another movie, it would be _Black Swan_ (2010), but that is mainly for the theme of chasing perfection, and secondly for slight tonal similarities. Throw in an anachronistic '80s-inspired score, and a hazy Walerian Borowczyk look. Aside from that, this really stands on its own.
To back up, this is based on the story of Cinderella, which most people will know from the classic Disney movie from 1950. However, the story is much older than that, and much darker, from what I have heard.
We follow the life of the titular character, Elvira, as she goes to live with her new family. The story follows familiar beats for anyone who knows anything about any version of Cinderella. What's really being added here is the fresh perspective.
Elvira is shy, sweet, and unsure of herself. I know I can't be the only person who thought she looked better at the beginning, when she had her braces.
Anyway! The tragedy within is that Elvira is actually a victim of her evil mother's greed, and her subsequent low self image. Did I tear up in a few scenes? No, no, no! Shut up! Also, yes.
Overall, pretty good. I felt the movie started strong, then got less interesting the deeper it went. Strong acting. Fantastic visuals. Nice special effects. A little nudity. Some quick, yet affective brutal scenes that will have you squirming. Most importantly, there is a message here, it's not as profound as _The Substance_, although it does get its point across about the lengths one can go to fit a beauty standard - be that your own or someone else's.
I'd recommend this to fans of dark comedy, provided you have a strong stomach. There is a post-credit scene; nothing special, but very fitting.

A visually stunning film with good directing and wonderfully glossy cinematography. The brutality that the main protagonist suffers made me squirm in my chair. There's a part of me that felt there could have been even more character development of supporting characters.

Interesting, funny, gross and pretty darn clever. The lead actress was fantastic and pulled out all the stops. Very well worth watching.

I want to know what the tapeworm was called

If you didn't know the tale of Cinderella, you'd be confused as to why Agnes aka Cinderella wants to marry the prince. It makes no sense and lacks any plot point. But this is from the pov of the stepsister so I guess it's not supposed to make sense.
I do enjoy the conversation of the lengths women will go to for beauty in society. I like how grotesque some of the parts were. It gave some nods to the original Grimm brothers.

The Ugly Stepsister is a Norwegian reimagining of Cinderella. The movie juxtaposes some beautiful cinematography and set design with body horror that escalates as the movie goes on, designed to get the viewer to squeam. Its critique of beauty standards brings to mind something like The Substance, but without the glitz. The problem is that it doesn't have the propulsive narrative thrust to make it a super engaging watch. The body horror sequences are hard to look away from for sure, and they definitely made me cringe. However, I did not care at all for the main character, and the themes surrounding the societal pressure she was facing felt a bit muddled at times. Part of this is the Cinderella trappings, which add another aspect to the story that I think weakens its message. I did find the tone surprisingly comedic, with some moments that made me laugh despite what was happening to the main character. Overall, it's a nice looking movie with some body horror that shows the extreme lengths people will go to alter their appearance, but it doesn't have the impact it needs to.