‘The Ugly Stepsister’ Thinks It’s Feminist, But Ends Up Reinforcing the Same Old Beauty Myths

This stunning fairy tale horror swings hard at beauty standards… then slips and falls into them.

The Ugly Stepsister has certainly earned its high spot among Rotten Tomatoes’ top horror films of 2024-2025. Emilie Blichfildt’s gruesome Cinderella retelling doesn’t flinch, showing the brutal lengths women go to chasing impossible beauty standards.

Elvira, the “ugly” stepsister, endures stomach-turning medieval procedures to become “desirable” enough to save her family. Meanwhile, her stepsister Agnes glides through life blessed with the kind of beauty Elvira mutilates herself for. The visuals are stunning, the performances superbly gut-wrenching, but the message gets murky.

After everything, Elvira is left crawling to the prince’s feet… only to lose to the girl who never had to try. All that pain, all that horror, and the film still seems to say: if you’re not born beautiful, you lose. Sure, Agnes faces her own struggles, but she still wins the prize without tearing herself apart. The Ugly Stepsister promises critique but quietly hands victory to the same old ideal.

Maybe there’s a deeper message, and I’m just missing it. Maybe. You can decide for yourself, The Ugly Stepsister is streaming now on Shudder.