Rent The Ugly Stepsister (2025)

If the Slipper Fits, You Haven’t Cut Enough Off - The Ugly Stepsister review by griggs

Emilie Blichfeldt’s debut takes the Brothers Grimm version of Aschenputtel — the one where the stepsisters hack bits off their feet to force them into the slipper — and sensibly decides not to look away. It’s brilliant and disgusting in roughly equal measure.

Blichfeldt turns the fairy tale into body horror about beauty standards, male indifference, and the grotesque things women are pushed to do in order to be chosen. Lea Myren is superb as Elvira, enduring one hideous “improvement” after another while her mother bankrolls the nightmare and leaves her husband’s corpse to rot in the next room. Meanwhile the prince’s whole romantic method boils down to a foot fetish: he doesn’t care who the girl is, only whether she fits the shoe. What really gives it teeth is the shift in sympathy.

Cinderella is vain and sly, Elvira is awkward and desperate to belong. It sags slightly in the middle, but for a debut this is smart, nasty work.

This isnt what I read or saw when i was kid! - The Ugly Stepsister review by JD

Cinderella from the ugly step sisters point of view (not that ugly in reality, but we have to go with that one)

This is a fascinating and at times horrific telling of the story. All characters are flawed so we dont get a true hero character here. This is about the tale where there is no real winner amongst the women (most of the men it could be said do ok out of the preceding's! )

There are some utterly horrific moments. The first i was sat going 'no way, he's not. He's not, no way. Which then lead to me leaving the room whenever i got a hint at some gore! Im not usually soft, but this is done in such a way to feel real and as such really hit home.

The small touches of horror in this film would class it as one of the best horrors of recent times alone. For whats closer to period drama than horror, thats saying something!

The plot is a bit twisted, but it never goes to far or becomes overly silly. Its both a captivating piece of entertainment and also a big shout at what women will do to themselves in the deluded belief it makes them more valuable.

Maybe there is a feminist story here, but to me as is often the case its not men that are the problem - its the aristocracy. Like some other well told tales hinting at race or gender issues if you dig a bit deeper its not actually either, it always boils down to class. Its not the hard working average man represented here, its the wealthy.....

Overall I thought this was a brilliant film, way better than i expected.