It’s always a sign of a good horror movie when it’s making audiences squirm and even vomit in their seats, and this year’s first horror movie to meet those high standards has already been unleashed upon the world. It’s titled The Ugly Stepsister, a body horror twist on the classic Cinderella fairytale that just premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last night.
According to a report from Variety that details the sights and sounds of Sundance’s opening night, “It was also clear that Sundance still favors the bold and doesn’t shy away from screening films that may illicit strong reactions. During the premiere of the opening Sundance Midnight movie The Ugly Stepsister, a moviegoer leaned over into the aisle and vomited.”
The outlet further details the vomitous content, “Emilie Blichfeldt’s body horror film includes several difficult-to-watch scenes of crude cosmetic surgery, including its protagonist eating a tapeworm, sewing in eyelashes and enduring a barbaric rhinoplasty.”
But is there any truth to this report or is it little more than movie marketing? Well, Bloody Disgusting’s head critic Meagan Navarro was actually on hand during the screening of The Ugly Stepsister at Sundance last night, and she has verified Variety’s eye-catching report!
Meagan tweets, “My review for The Ugly Stepsister, a gnarly body horror twist on Cinderella, is now live on @BDisgusting. In short, I loved it, but it’s not at all for the squeamish.” She adds, “Just ask the poor soul who barfed at the #Sundance premiere last night.”
As Meagan explains in her review, “Blichfeldt employs historically accurate medical procedures to great stomach-churning effect, delivering graphic body horror by way of unflinching surgeries and self-harm, all in the name of love. The filmmaker refuses to let her audience look away; each moment of Elvira’s ruthless metamorphosis from an awkward, ugly duckling into a poised stunner is drawn out to an unbearable degree and frequently shot in extreme closeups. Beauty is pain, and The Ugly Stepsister wants you to feel it on a visceral level.”
“It’s elegant, stylish, and gnarly,” Meagan adds in her 4-star review.
In the film that’s coming to Shudder later this year, “Elvira 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.”
Stay tuned for a Shudder premiere date for The Ugly Stepsister.
My review for THE UGLY STEPSISTER, a gnarly body horror twist on Cinderella, is now live on @BDisgusting. In short, I loved it, but it’s not at all for the squeamish.
Just ask the poor soul who barfed at the #Sundance premiere last night. pic.twitter.com/fmTB1wAU9n
— Meagan Navarro (@HauntedMeg) January 24, 2025