The Ugly Stepsister: Release date, trailer, and everything we know so far

The Ugly Stepsister is a Norwegian horror movie, loosely based on the fairy tale Cinderella. Written and directed by Emilie Blichfeldt, the film follows the deranged tale of Elvira, who competes against her beautiful stepsisters in a bloody battle for beauty.

The Ugly Stepsister premiered at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on January 23, 2025, and is set to be released in theatres on April 18, 2025. The movie also won the Audience Award at the Overlook Film Festival.

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The Ugly Stepsister releases April 18, 2025

The Ugly Stepsister was released in Norwegian cinemas on March 7, 2025, and is scheduled to be released on April 18, 2025, in US cinemas.

The movie stars Lea Myren as Elvira, Thea Sofie Loch Næss, Ane Dahl Torp, Flo Fagerli, and Isac Calmroth, among other actors.

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The Ugly Stepsister: Plot Summary

The film is a clever and horrifying retelling of the classic Grimm Brothers' tale of Cinderella. The movie follows the ugly stepsister, Elvira, who lives under the shadow of her beautiful stepsisters, Agnes and Alma. When Agnes' father Otto dies, the entire family crumbles into financial ruin. To restore their reputation and status, Elvira's mother devises a plan to secure a marriage between Prince Julian and Elvira.

Determined to meet the kingdom's beauty standards and capture the prince's attention, Elvira is made to undergo a series of brutal and harrowing cosmetic procedures. As Prince Julian's ball approaches, Elvira spirals down a path of physical and psychological torment.

The film delves into the grotesque and horrid extremes of achieving the perfect image, showing decomposing bodies and blood. In an interview with Variety on December 11, 2024, Blichfelt stated:

“This beauty horror twist on Cinderella is inspired by the Brothers Grimm version and by my own struggles with body image."

She also noted that:

" (Her) goal is to provoke both empathy and discomfort and inspire my audience to reflect upon their perceptions of, and relationship to, beauty."

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The Ugly Stepsister: Trailer Highlights

The movie is a dark re-imagining of Disney's fairytale. It starts with a question to the audience:

"Do you ever feel inferior, unworthy, ashamed, rejected, alone, scared, unloved, invisible, angry, (and) ugly?"

It makes viewers re-evaluate their perceptions and feelings towards societal beauty standards.

It introduces Elivra, who undergoes brutal cosmetic procedures under the direction of her mother to win the Prince's affection. She is put through a rhinoplasty without the use of anesthesia and the sewing of false eyelashes onto her eyelids. She even goes to the extreme length of ingesting tape-worms to achieve rapid weight loss, illustrating the horrifying lengths she'll go to for validation and acceptance.

Elvira is insecure and jealous of her beautiful stepsister Agnes and goes to extreme lengths to secure a marriage with the Prince. She is shown to be a violent person who beats up her sister and even chops off her own toes to fit into Cinderella's lost slippers.

The movie focuses on themes of self-worth, societal expectations, and the never-ending pursuit of beauty. It uses intense imagery and grotesque visuals to critique the toxic standards imposed on women in the 90th century. It strips the fairytale down to its most haunting truths, making it a powerful social commentary masked as horror.

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The Ugly Stepsister is set to hit theatres on April 18, 2025.