Cinderella’s lore will get a Norwegian body-horror replace in The Ugly Stepsister. Emilie Blichfeldt’s not-so-storybook debut adapts fairy story royalty like The Nice‘s absurdist satirization however far grimmer and gorier. Improbable type, squeamish results, and a standout efficiency by Lea Myren because the “ugly” Elvira headline this repulsive but commanding fucked-up fable. Be careful for Blichfeldt, whose first dive into function filmmaking makes a crimson and authoritative splash.
In The Ugly Stepsister, Elvira (Myren) takes heart stage. Everyone knows Disney’s model of the story: Prince Charming, a glass slipper, and fortunately ever afters. Right here, Elvira is introduced as candy, lovesick, and doe-eyed. Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss) is our Cinderella fill-in, shunned by her evil stepmother, Rebekka (Ane Dahl Torp). When Prince Julian (Isac Calmroth) alerts the dominion’s virgins he is prepared for marriage, Rebekka takes benefit of Elvira’s fawning over Julian. Rebekka encourages her daughter by a grueling procession of physique augmentations, till Elvira’s deemed bodily putting sufficient for princely romance.
Blichfeldt is not taking part in dumb with Elvira. The Ugly Stepsister is an at instances slobbery commentary on magnificence tradition and the way girls are solely judged by their appointed attractiveness. Elvira’s launched as a brace-face who enjoys cake, clutching Prince Julian’s poetry assortment like a boy band superfan—traditional makeover fodder. What follows is a nightmare model of the standard “nottie to hottie” plot machine by the hands of gonzo specialists like Adam Lundgren’s Dr. Esthétique, whose instruments are chisels, cocaine, and cord stitchings. Nobody has Elvira’s finest pursuits at coronary heart, whether or not that is Rebekka’s egocentric want to hyperlink herself to immense wealth or the boys who bark like hounds and tongue appetizers as 16-year-old women are pranced like canine present entrants. It is a deeper thematic sting as a result of Blichfeldt forgoes the spoonful of sugar to appease barbed feminist messages—she needs them to harm.
That stated, The Ugly Stepsister will also be humorous in a darkish, whimsical however delirious trend. On the movie’s most brutal, we are able to solely muster laughs on the excessive misfortunes that befall Elvira out of sheer discomfort. That is partly due to how Myren performs Elvira together with her fringe stalker gazes when interested by Prince Julian, hitting on the innocence of a pigtail-twirling excessive schooler. Blichfeldt doesn’t view mistreatment as a joke however does discover snickers within the bluntness of particular actions: deaths, outdated surgical practices, and shock-ya penalties. It is a comedy in the identical manner Prepared or Not makes us chuckle, for instance. When conditions breach a stage of direness, generally all that is left to do is chuckle.
Myren offers the whole lot to The Ugly Stepsister, whether or not by bloodcurdling screams or crazed heart-eyed expressions. She will be able to convey oodles about Elvira with nothing greater than a plate of sauced noodles and a tub, conducting sturdy character growth without having a lot dialogue. However she’s additionally a gifted actress who creates sickening body-horror moments as a result of she’s retching, maiming, and placing her determine by hell. The performances round Myren are rock-solid, from Flo Fagerli’s protecting little sister Alma to Prince Julian’s entourage cackling sexist remarks like hyenas throughout the ballroom scenes, however Elvira earns her showcase.
Blichfeldt’s eye for composition is a magical union with Marcel Zyskind’s adaptable cinematography. No matter Blichfeldt’s imaginative and prescient requires, Zyskind solutions. Elvira’s happiest daydreams get a strawberry tint whereas corpses being devoured by maggots are closely shadowed. Ballet choreography is shot with tiptoeing poise, whereas Elvira’s maddest outbursts let the digital camera sway in matches of matching chaos. There is a concord between components that flows with ease, together with Kaada and Vilde Tuv’s synth-boppy and energized rating that defies its stuffier interval mannequin. There’s additionally a fearlessness that permits solid and crew to experiment, whether or not it is the suitable glamor filter for male nudity or how far throat-gagging particular results can push with out audiences hurling.
The Ugly Stepsister sparks pleasure as a fiercely female body-horror story that does not coddle or apologize. It is aligned with female-led and directed titles like The Substance, Timestalker, or The Mermaid, each in originality and spirit. Blichfeldt births one thing particular together with her first function: a movie that ignores conventions and authors in its personal voice. It is the type of film that results in a profession breakout, an inevitability on Blichfeldt’s horizon.
Film Rating: 4/5
