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.
IFC Films and Shudder
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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.
IFC Films and Shudder
Related: 60 best horror movies that are actually good and terrifying
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.
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Freelance Reporter, Digital Spy After completing her joint honours degree in Journalism and English Literature at Cardiff University, Iona joined Digital Spy as a Content Production Intern in 2022. In that role, Iona wrote across both news and features, specialising in TV and movies. Following her internship, Iona now contributes to DS as a freelance reporter.
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