Latest news with #TheUglyStepsister
Daily Mirror
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'Nauseating' film with top rating streaming free - but it comes with a warning
Viewers say it is a must-watch for fans of The Substance Fans of Oscar-winning body horror The Substance are being urged to watch a "nauseating" new film inspired by the story of Cinderella. A far cry from Disney's take on the classic tale, The Ugly Stepsister draws more inspiration from the Brothers Grimm version of the story, and just like the book, it isn't short of bodily mutilation. The cast of the horror-comedy includes Lea Myren as Elvira and Netflix La Palma star Thea Naess in the role of Askepott. Meanwhile Isac Calmroth takes up the role of Prince Julian and Ane Torp as Stepmother. The film's official synopsis reads: "A sinister twist on the classic Cinderella story, The Ugly Stepsister follows Elvira as she prepares to earn the prince's affection at any cost. In a kingdom where beauty is a brutal business, Elvira will compete with the beautiful and enchanting Agnes to become the belle of the ball." Its commentary on body image and beauty standards is clear, with Elvira going to extreme lengths to appease her prince. One reviewer claimed that it perfectly captures "the very real horrors of being a woman", adding: "The Ugly Stepsister takes the idea of a fairytale and transforms it into a nauseating body horror masterpiece." The 2025 film boasts an impressive 95 per cent critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes at time of writing, with an audience score at a respectable 86 per cent. However, many reviewers have all issued a warning to those gearing up to give it a watch: it's very, very gory. "30 years of film criticism and this is the first time that I've had to turn away from the screen for fear of retching," penned The Times' film reviewer Kevin Maher. Meanwhile a casual viewer shared: "Guys. It was good. Go see it, really gross though." "Horrible. Hated every second of the movie, I'm actually feel nauseous! DO NOT WATCH!" warned another, as a fourth reviewer said: "It was incredibly upsetting. It was also genius and unrelenting. I don't regret watching it at all, however the feeling it leaves you with is not a good one." Other viewers have drawn comparisons between The Ugly Stepsister and Oscar-winning The Substance given its mix of gruesome body-horror and exploration of body image, with one reviewer describing it as a "combination" of the two. The Norwegian horror flick premiered at Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and has now been made available for at-home streaming. For those feeling brave enough, The Ugly Stepsister is available to watch via Shudder which offers new customers a seven-day free trial. Alternatively, you can add Shudder to an Amazon Prime subscription for £4.99 per month.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Near-perfect "savagely brutal" horror movie confirms streaming release date – and it's soon
Norwegian horror movie The Ugly Stepsister has landed a streaming release date – and it's soon. Directed by Emilie Blichfeldt, the film is sinister twist on the original Cinderella story by the Grimm Brothers, following lead character Elvira (Lea Myren) as she goes to extreme and gory lengths to appeal to the prince. Following its theatrical release in Norway in March and the UK last week, it's been confirmed that The Ugly Stepsister will be available to stream on Shudder in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand from 9 May. The Ugly Stepsister is described as a "timely examination of body image and beauty standards" as Elvira prepares to win the prince's affection "at any cost". "In a kingdom where beauty is a brutal business, Elvira will compete with the beautiful and enchanting Agnes to become the belle of the ball," reads the film's official synopsis. Related: Best streaming services Following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, the horror movie debuted to a near-perfect score of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it 'Certified Fresh' in the process. Mashable described The Ugly Stepsister as "savagely brutal yet strangely beautiful", while Bloody Disgusting wrote: "It's elegant, stylish, and gnarly." Paste added: "A beautifully captured and often quite funny piece of feminist social satire." "Contrasting how her female characters feel with the expectations men put on them, Blichfeldt makes clear that impossible beauty standards are the unfairest of them all, whether in the real world or this twisted fictional kingdom," wrote Variety. Related: In other horror movie news, it was recently confirmed that 1998's Urban Legend is getting a "modern era" reboot. The original slasher centred on a string of murders at a university campus seemingly inspired by urban legends, and featured a cast including Suicide Squad's Jared Leto, Dawson's Creek's Joshua Jackson, Smallville's Michael Rosenbaum and Sharknado's Tara Reid. It was confirmed last week that Sony's Screen Gems label is in "early development" of a new version that will examine what an urban legend looks like and how they are spread in a world of digital information and social media. The Ugly Stepsister will be available to stream on Shudder from 9 May. Digital Spy's first print magazine is here! Buy British Comedy Legends in newsagents or online now, priced at £7.99.£49.99 at at £18.99 at at EE at Audible£99.00 at Amazon at at at at at at EE at at at at at at at at Amazon£19.00 at Game£29.98 at at Pandora at at at EE at at at at at Sky Mobile at at £1200.00 at Game£123.99 at at at Three at at at at Pandora at at at at AO at at at at £199.99 at Fitbit£49.99 at at at at at at at at at £119.00 at at at at at at John Lewis at at at at Amazon£157.00 at John Lewis£44.99 at at at at at John Lewis & Partners at at at at at at Amazon£184.00 at John Lewis & Partners at Fitbit at Three at at at at at at at at Amazon at at at £189.99 at at Amazon at at at at at Apple at at at Three£699.00 at at at at at at at EE£249.00 at John Lewis at at at at at Audible at at at John Lewis at EE at at £379.00 at at at at Amazon at at at Apple at at at at Apple at at Microsoft at at Three at at John Lewis at £79.00 at Samsung at crunchyroll£1199.00 at AO£79.00 at Samsung£449.00 at John Lewis£79.98 at at Amazon at at at at at at John Lewis & Partners£79.98 at at Microsoft£299.00 at Microsoft at at at at at at at at John Lewis at at Amazon at now at John Lewis & Partners at at Microsoft at at at at at at at John Lewis at at at at at at at at at at at at at at at at at at at at at at You Might Also Like PS5 consoles for sale – PlayStation 5 stock and restocks: Where to buy PS5 today? IS MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 7 THE BEST IN THE SERIES? OUR REVIEW AEW game is a modern mix of No Mercy and SmackDown
Irish Times
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
The Ugly Stepsister: This Cinderella story is gruesome, hilarious and definitely not for children
The Ugly Stepsister Director : Emilie Blichfeldt Cert : 18 Genre : Horror Starring : Lea Myren, Ane Dahl Torp, Thea Sofie Loch Næss, Flo Fagerli, Isac Calmroth, Malte Gårdinger, Ralph Carlsson Running Time : 1 hr 50 mins The Norwegian writer-director Emilie Blichfeldt roasts conventional heroines and female beauty standards in this gruesome, hilarious reworking of Cinderella. Elvira (Lea Myren) is a poignantly plain, slightly awkward teenager who moves to the kingdom of Swedlaia when her mother, Rebekka (Ane Dahl Torp), marries a wealthy widower. Unhappily, he drops dead into dessert just as his new wife learns that he is as broke as she is. His beautiful but sour daughter, Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Naess), is relegated to the scullery as the desperate Rebekka leaves her late husband's corpse to rot and redirects the funeral expenses to prepare Elvira. The girl will attend a ball where the prince (Isac Calmroth) will choose his wife from the kingdom's virgins. Thus begins a series of brutal surgical interventions from Dr Esthétique (Adam Lundgren). Her nose is smashed and refashioned. Long and lush eyelashes are sewn wincingly into her lids. 'You're changing your outside to fit what you know is on the inside,' Elvira's mentor explains. The girl swallows a tapeworm that produces alarming noises in her gut but allows her to eat cake. She stumbles her way through ballet and poise lessons. It's impossible not to think of The Substance, another feminist Cronenbergian gut-punch, watching Blichfeldt put the 'grim' back in the Brothers Grimm with a series of revolting close-ups of body modifications, maggots and moulting. READ MORE Inevitably, Elvira learns that her intended is nothing like the purple poetry he publishes. That doesn't matter to the secretly carnal Agnes, whose graphic sexual adventures further skewer the film's fairy-tale origins. With the practicality of a Jane Austen heroine, she informs her stablehand lover that she will marry the Prince. And they all undoubtedly live unhappily ever after. In cinemas from Friday, April 25th
New York Times
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘The Ugly Stepsister' Review: Nipped, Tucked and Royally Fussed Over
During the opening credits of 'The Ugly Stepsister,' the camera pans slowly across an abandoned wedding feast, the food gooey and gluttonous. The aging groom has dropped dead and his new wife, Rebekka (Ane Dahl Torp), has learned that the fortune she expected does not exist. Instead, she has acquired a stunning stepdaughter, Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Naess), and the immediate need for a replacement benefactor. To that end, Rebekka's elder daughter, Elvira (Lea Myren), must marry the picture-book Prince Julian (Isac Calmroth). Unlike Agnes, Elvira is gawky and gauche, her teeth wrapped in metal braces and her body less than lithe. But with the help of a cocaine-snorting plastic surgeon (Adam Lundgren), she can be remade in time for the grand ball where Julian will choose his bride. All that's needed is a hammer, a chisel and a hungry tapeworm. Like last year's 'The Substance,' this fleshy folk horror forces us to look — in unsparing, often revolting close-up — at the physical agony of aesthetic conformity. Yet the movie, adapted by the Norwegian filmmaker Emilie Blichfeldt from the Cinderella story, is the opposite of didactic: Slyly funny and visually captivating (the luscious cinematography is by Marcel Zyskind), its scenes move with ease from gross to gorgeous, and from grotesque to magical. One minute, a tribe of maggots is feasting on the expired groom's rotting corpse; the next, they're weaving a silken ball gown. And oh, those gowns! Designed by Manon Rasmussen (a favorite of Lars von Trier), the film's costumes are delicious. At the ball, mothers display their preening, bedazzled daughters like show dogs; but the camera's real interest lies in the flesh beneath the finery, in the plump swellings of belly and buttocks and the defenseless innocence of soon-to-be-chopped toes. Contrasting the freshness of youth with the decay of a world where beauty is the only currency and romance an illusion, 'The Ugly Stepsister' strikes gold in Myren's extraordinary performance. As Elvira's dreams are dashed and her body mutilated, we feel for her: Like all of us, she just wants to be loved. And, of course, rich.
Boston Globe
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
The Boston Underground Film Festival returns to the Brattle
Nicolas Cage is back in crazy Nic Cage mode in ' The Surfer ,' the fest's opening-night film. This would be at the top of my list, because it sounds like a cross between the Patrick Swayze-Keanu Reeves movie 'Point Break' and the Aussie macho horror classic, 'Wake in Fright.' In search of the tastiest of waves, Cage travels to the Australian coast with his son. Unfortunately, the guys who run the beach don't take kindly to strangers. Violence ensues, and Cage's response is perfectly in tune with the guy who made movies like 2018's blood-soaked revenge movie 'Mandy.' (Wednesday at 7 p.m.) Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Readers know Chain Reactions ' sounds right up my alley. Director Alexandre O. Phillippe ('Lynch/Oz') has assembled an exciting list of people (Stephen King, Karyn Kusama, Patton Oswalt, Takashi Miike) to discuss what Tobe Hooper's groundbreaking 1974 masterpiece means to them. (Thursday at 6 p.m.) Advertisement For those awash in hometown pride, there's ' The Dunwich Horrors ,' one of several shorts programs BUFF is presenting. Shorts are movies, too! And sometimes, they're hidden gems. 'Damn Handy' is the one that caught my eye. The synopsis reads: 'When a plumber visits the remote farmhouse of two murderous sisters, he'll need a trick up his sleeve to survive.' Works for me. (Friday at 5 p.m.) Still from "The Ugly Stepsister." Marcel Zyskind As counterprogramming to this week's release of the live-action Disney remake of 'Snow White,' BUFF brings you ' The Ugly Stepsister ,' a far less family-friendly fairy tale. This Norwegian-language film crosses Cinderella with 'The Substance.' Director Emilie Kristine Blichfeldt presents a gruesome, stomach-churning treatise on beauty. Horrible images of surgical procedures and bodily fluids await the daring viewer — my former editor Advertisement Midnight madness fans will find what they want at the intriguingly named 'Trigger Warning — Midnight Shorts ' program. I'd go just because the title sounds like a dare. (Friday at 11:45 p.m.) Since I love music videos, the ' Sound + Vision ' shorts program appeals to me. I don't recognize 95 percent of the performers listed, but that's because I'm old. (Saturday at noon) I do recognize the names Ethan Embry and Michael Patrick Jann. They're the star and director of ' Alma & the Wolf ,' a BUFF world-premiere screening. Embry was in Reese Witherspoon's 2002 comedy, 'Sweet Home Alabama,' and Jann directed the 1999 comedy 'Drop Dead Gorgeous.' I'm sure people will drop dead in this gruesome tale about a mysterious wolf in the woods, and I'm equally sure that the results won't be gorgeous. (Saturday at 6:45 p.m., with Jann in attendance) Would you rather have some onscreen sexy time? BUFF has you covered with a movie whose title I can't print in this paper. It's called '[BLEEP]Toys' and is about a cursed sex worker. Comparisons to Russ Meyer, Radley Metzger and Doris Wishman are in the synopsis. If you know their movies, this one might be for you. (Sunday at 6 p.m.) If you're still able to stand up after that, look into ' Escape from the 21st Century ,' a Chinese martial-arts time travel movie that sounds a lot like something Empire Pictures would have put out back in 1981. (Sunday at 8:30 p.m.) Advertisement Still from "Re-Animator," Jeffrey Combs, 1985. © Empire Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection ©Empire Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection Let's say you only have time for one movie. May I recommend the 40th-anniversary screening of the H.P. Lovecraft-based splatter classic, ' Re-Animator '? Stuart Gordon's masterful tribute to Grand Guignol once held the unofficial record for the most blood splashed all over the screen. This darkly funny take of reanimating the dead stars Jeffrey Combs and the Barbara Steele of my generation, the great Barbara Crampton. (Crampton will be in attendance.) As gory and controversial as this movie is, it earned some unexpected movie-critic fans. Tickets available at . Odie Henderson is the Boston Globe's film critic.
