Culture
One of the year’s freakiest horror films is also a fairy tale
By: Gordon Briggs
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Before Disney sanitized most of them for American audiences, fairy tales were dark and twisted stories meant to frighten children into behaving.
So, for this Halloween season, I would like to recommend a twisted body horror film that actually adapts a popular fairy tale. With The Ugly Stepsister, we get a fairy tale bathed in blood.
You already know the story. Cinderella, the ball, the slipper, etc.
This film unfolds by shifting the point of view from the poor Cinderella to her stepsister, an awestruck daydreamer named Elvira. Elvira dreams of the weak-kneed virgin, Prince Julian, and is willing to go to great lengths to conform to the kingdom’s ideals of beauty. A surprising and raw twist on the fairy tale Cinderella, seen from her stepsister’s point of view. At first, the two new sisters are friends, but then the royal ball is announced. Suddenly, the women compete for both the prince’s hand and their own economic survival.
In the post-Wicked world, giving folks a more sympathetic view of a villain isn’t new. However, this film twists the knife in that it shows the physical torture these people endure in the hope of appearing beautiful. Writer and director Emilie Blichfeldt brings in body horror, emphasizing tactility to accentuate tearing flesh and the breaking of facial bones for beauty.
When the ball finally arrives, all the beauty we see on display feels disturbing because we experienced all the blood and pain it took to get there. Such a premise could sound depressing, but The Ugly Stepsister has moments of dark comedy.
Specifically, I enjoyed the clash between the movie’s lush, aristocratic setting and the visceral brutality of the story. Visually, the film sports all the elaborate 18th-century details you would expect to see in Victorian society, with lavish dresses and horse-drawn carriages and royal
pageantry, but all of it is covered in a layer of grime and filth.
Furthermore, the film employs an anachronistic soundtrack that combines classical harps with modern synthpop. This creates a deliberate dissonance that clashes with the film’s historical setting and underscores its twisted tone. In short, this is a movie that is very much aware that it is a movie.
Doubtless, some may be turned off by its excessive violence and exaggerated tone, but for fans of fantasy horror, the movie is available to stream on Shudder. Please seek this out.
Rating: ★★★½