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‘The Ugly Stepsister’ Review: Scary Scandinavian Cinderella Story Puts the ‘Boo’ in ‘Bibbidi Bobbidi’

Director Emilie Blichfeldt skewers unfair female beauty standards in a horrific spin on the fairy tale, presented here from the rival's perspective.

The family-friendly studio’s more-wholesome-than-horrifying approach gives Norwegian writer-director Emilie Blichfeldt plenty of room to push back with “ The Ugly Stepsister,” a deliciously extreme take on the beloved “Cinderella” legend, complete with broken noses, severed toes and other gory details befitting the Grimm bros. Premiering in the Midnight section of the Sundance Film Festival, the graphic (and in many respects, ravishing) update swipes a different page from the Disney playbook: Instead of focusing on the familiar wench-in-waiting, Blichfeldt recenters her version on one of the tale’s iconic antagonists, finding empathy for the pig-nosed, slightly plump stepsister (played by Lea Myren) who’s convinced she’d be a much better match for the bachelor prince’s ardor. Elvira doesn’t have a fancy title (no noble-sounding “von” to follow her name) or the kind of looks that will turn the prince’s head, and so her mother — who is also Agnes’ cruel new stepmom (Agnieszka Zulewska) — begins the makeover process, commissioning quack plastic surgeon Dr. Esthétique (Adam Lundgren) to fix her daughter’s teeth, nose and eyes.

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