How far would you go to win the heart of someone important? It’s a tale as old as time, to steal the phrase from Disney, ever since Cinderella became a popular fairytale long before the Mouse was ever dreamt up: two stepsisters go to comical lengths to win the affections of a handsome, only to have the rug pulled out from under them by the fair-hearted princess. But what if that weren’t the reality of the story at all?
Director Emily Blichfeldt is bringing a new take on the Cinderella story to Sundance Film Festival this year — appropriately titled The Ugly Stepsister — and we have the first images from the upcoming film. Premiering sometime this year on Shudder, the film 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.”
The new images show off just how far Elvira goes to win the prince’s affections, with what looks like the Grimm Brothers’ equivalent of plastic surgery. (Which sounds just as lovely as you think it is.) Strapped into a steampunk-esque nose contraption and subject to needles that would scare even the most heavily-tattooed person, Elvira has her work (and safety) cut out for her.
The Norwegian language film stars Lea Myren, Thea Sofie Loch Næss, and Ane Dahl Torp, with a script also written by Bickfeldt, and is one of numerous horror films premiering at the festival this year, including Meera Menon’s Didn’t Die, as well as A24’s highly anticipated Opus, starring Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich.
The Ugly Stepsister will make its premiere at Sundance Film Festival on January 23rd, though no wide release date has been announced as of yet. Check out the rest of the new images below.
