The Ugly Stepsister

Despite being a long-time fan of Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber, I have lately tired of the whole fractured fairytale as feminist fable sub-genre of horror, so I was surprised by how much I liked this. Lea Myren as the title character is superb, and all of the acting is at least solid, which helps distribute our sympathies and complicate any simple "moral. " The art direction and painterly camera work,though, are even more impressive and unique. Some frames reminded me of Old Dutch Master still life or vanitas paintings: see the wedding banquet, Elvira's binge spreads, and Agnes' visits to her dead father scenes, especially. If you liked the beautiful look of this movie combined with the uglier extremities of the story, try Peter Greenaway's The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, Her Lover (1999), which should be a horror classic, instead of an art film!

A really ‘nice’ twist on Cinderella. Wonderfully performed by the whole cast. Increasingly gruesome and bloody. I loved how my sympathies with both of the leads changed over the course of the movie and didn’t simply opt for a, ‘they were right or wrong’ outcome. Once again a European movie which leads in originality.

The story is in a very general way, similar to the Disney version we all grew up with, but with a few differences that work very effectively here. Elvira, the eldest daughter of the wicked stepmother, longs to marry the prince, and so to accomplish this she undergoes a series of painful and disgusting body modifications to accomplish this task. I saw an exerpt of a review that called this "Cinderella meets Cronenberg," and it's hard to argue that this isn't the case. Not for the squemish, but if you can handle it this is a very effective and engaging body horror film that you won't soon forget!

Rubbish

Excellent!! Honestly, I truly enjoyed this movie. There are some scenes of body horror that were really uncomfortable to sit through, but I also couldn't look away. It's a slow burn of a movie and it starts off feeling very "Ella Enchanted. " Stick with it, I promise it is worth it. The main storyline doesn't deviate much at all from the classic Cinderella fairytale, however, the horror lies in what Elvira herself and those around her are willing to do to make her desirable for the prince. This movie is incredibly poignant in it's message and I personally found it deeply resonant.