By Charlie Kendellen
Feminist body horror films have been stealing the spotlight recently, from Oscar nominated The Substance (2024) to Palme D’or winning Titane (2021), these female centric corporeal films have undoubtedly paved the way for films like The Ugly Stepsister (2025), which subvert societal attitudes about femininity and sexuality.
Despite having a limited theatrical release in most countries, The Ugly Stepsister or Den Stygge Stesøsteren, has received glowing reviews from both audiences and critics alike, particularly long established fans of the body horror genre.
First time feature director Emilie Kristine Blichfeldt delivers a gory, twisted fairy tale providing razor sharp critique of beauty standards and patriarchal notions of femininity.
In a Cinderella inspired story, Elvira competes with her traditionally beautiful stepsister, Agnes, in an attempt to catch the prince’s eye. This deliciously grotesque retelling of the beloved fairy tale provides cultural commentary on the beauty industry, women competing for male attention and validation, and a rather disturbing depiction of a medieval take on ozempic and other methods of extreme weight loss.
This unflinching representation of female bodily commodification — through hypersexualisation and the keen sensationalising of fairy tale gender roles and regulations, that even apply to today’s cultural climate.
The film provides an assortment of gruesome set pieces and lush Sofia Coppola-esque cinematography, in many ways acting as the love child of Marie Antoinette (2006) and The Substance (2024), sprinkled with memorable scenes of creative body horror that will stick with you long after the credits roll.
The Ugly Stepsister is currently streaming on Shudder.