BEAUTY, according to Socrates, was nothing more than a short-lived tyranny.
The enlightened Greek philosopher could have been onto something.
Now streaming on Shudder, The Ugly Stepsister, a twisted take on the classic Cinderella story, depicts beauty as a real brutal business.
The Norwegian horror-comedy follows Elvira (Lea Myren) as she battles to compete with her insanely perfect stepsister Askepott (Thea Sofie). Determined to outshine her stunning kinswoman, Elvira resorts to extreme measures to win the heart of Prince Julian (Isac Calmroth) in this dark re-imagining of the Cinderella fairy tale.
Beauty may be more than skin deep, but this is a phrase the ugly duckling of the household takes far too literally as she spars against her gorgeous stepsister in a realm where beauty reigns supreme. She resorts to extreme measures to captivate the prince, amidst a ruthless competition for physical perfection.
Norwegian director Emilie Blichfeldt’s feature debut turns this classic fairytale over on its head, and spares no punches, as she delivers a visceral and gory adaptation of the enchanted bedtime story.
With its depraved body-horror, and dark as molasses humour, Blichfeldt’s twisted and visually stunning debut will surely appeal to fans of The Substance. I flinched numerous times during this perverse and challenging watch, but was equally enthralled and kept grinning by its unique, daring and compassionate study of how beauty is defined.
Captivating and truly original, The Ugly Stepsister is as funny as it is downright grisly. Together with its opulent cinematography and striking performances, we are drawn into a warped world of grotesque cosmetic treatments that comes off more as torture porn than a relaxing day at the beauty spa. With Elvira receiving a nip here, and a tuck there, all carried out with bumbling heavy-handedness, this is one film that proves to be anything but pretty.
(4/5)
