‘The Ugly Stepsister’ And The Enduring Connection Between Horror And Fairy Tales

In The Ugly Stepsister, writer/director Emilie Blichfeldt reimagines Cinderella from the perspective of one of the stepsisters while remaining faithful to the source material, drawing on the enduring connection between fairy tales and horror. In particular, the film leans into the story’s demonstration of how beauty is prized and pursued, which naturally lends itself to body horror. This leads to some excruciating scenes of bodily modification and manipulation that emphasize just how far a person might go to change their appearance.

Cinderella is one of the most frequently adapted fairy tales, but the version that probably comes to mind for most people is the 1950 Disney animation, with its delightful host of animal helpers, benevolent magic, and happy ending. This film closely resembles Charles Perrault’s Cinderella, Or The Little Glass Slipper. Published in France in 1697, it includes the pumpkin coach, glass slippers, and a fairy godmother. However, there are hundreds of versions of this story, which are frequently mean-spirited and gruesome. Another of the most well-known is that of the Brothers Grimm, which changed across their published volumes (1812-1857), but always contained acts of cruelty and torture, acts which are adapted in The Ugly Stepsister.

Flipping The Script In The Ugly Stepsister

The Ugly Stepsister follows the central narrative of the fairy tale familiar to most viewers. A woman with two daughters marries a widower. When he dies, his daughter, now called Cinderella, is relegated to the role of servant. The King announces a ball where his son will select a bride, a role the stepmother is determined will be won by her daughter. With magical intervention, Cinderella attends and captures the eye of the prince. After collecting her forgotten shoe, he travels door-to-door to find its owner. When Cinderella’s foot fits it perfectly, he declares her his bride.

However, by shifting the focus from the beautiful and worthy Agnes (Thea-Sofie Loch Næss)—soon to be renamed Cinderella—to her troubled and often unlikable antagonist, Elvira (Lea Myren), The Ugly Stepsister takes away the sense of hope that makes the terrible aspects of earlier stories endurable. The anticipation of justice is less straightforward when Elvira, not Cinderella, is the object of pity. Mistreated by her mother (Ane Dahl Torp) even more than Cinderella, Elvira endures the brunt of the physical and emotional suffering, experiencing acts of increasing brutality with the goal of shaping herself into the person Prince Julian (Isac Calmroth) would marry.

A Bruised and Bloody Protagonist

At the start of the film, Elvira is naïve and earnest. She harbours romantic, pink-hued fantasies of the prince that drive an increasingly desperate commitment to becoming his bride. Unfortunately, everyone tells her that she needs extensive physical alterations to even be considered, unlike her stepsister Agnes, who is beautiful, refined, and has a title. Both women need to leverage their appearance at the ball to secure an advantageous marriage. However, Elvira submits herself to painful modifications to improve her chances.

Scenes where her braces are removed, her nose broken to be straightened, and fake lashes are sewn onto her eyelids are accompanied by her piercing screams. When she circumvents the strict diet her mother enforces, Elvira ingests a tapeworm which can, as she puts it, eat for her. The loud rumbling of her stomach continues throughout the film.

In a bloody scene directly from the Brothers Grimm, Elvira tries to cut off her toes to fit into the slipper. After calming her with a sleeping syrup, her mother notices this was the wrong foot and proceeds to hack it off, followed by the other foot for good measure. By the conclusion of the film, Elvira is physically and emotionally broken. However, she does not, like later editions of the Brothers Grimm story, have her eyes pecked out. Instead, she is rescued by her sister Alma, who, fed up with the whole situation, rides them away on a horse.

Aren’t Fairy Tales For Kids?

The Ugly Stepsister highlights the incredibly strong connection between fairy tales and the horror genre. They share narrative elements like magic, far-away settings, and recognizable archetypes, such as hero/ines and villains, evil mothers, and witches. Characters in both might find themselves deep in the woods, chased by monsters, or imprisoned in “castles”. Fairy tales are filled with acts of horrendous violence that are expected in horror, including torture, murder, and cannibalism. Children are abandoned, and, like in ‘Cinderella’, terribly mistreated. Both types of stories tend to clearly differentiate between “good” and “bad” characters. Those who demonstrate positive traits, like being kind, persistent, or selfless, are rewarded for being “good” and, conversely, those who are selfish, cruel, or devious are punished for being “bad”. There is usually a “happily ever after” (at least of sorts).

Initially, these genres might seem incompatible. This is largely because fairy tales are so often thought of as stories for children, with a straightforward plot, an entertaining host of characters, and, usually, clear moral messaging. As protagonists in fairy tales are often children or teens, the misconception that the same demographic is the intended audience is understandable. However, fairy tales come from a long oral tradition of stories told to the whole community, not just children. The Ugly Stepsister is indebted to this history of storytelling, one that does not shy away from horror.

No More Shying Away From Horror

This is at odds with Disney’s Cinderella (1950), which overwhelmingly shapes the version of the story that comes to mind for most of us. Like other Disney fairy tale films, this is a sanitized adaptation of older stories that were created for all ages. For instance, by having Cinderella’s father die, it solves the uncomfortable problem of his not noticing or even allowing his daughter’s poor treatment. The adjustment of fairy tales to be more palatable and considered appropriate for young audiences had begun in earnest in the 19th century and continues today.   

The return to horror in fairy tales, like in The Ugly Stepsister, is part of the constant evolution of storytelling. These stories maintain a deep appeal in part because they have a strong moral focus, conveying worlds where the divide between good and evil is clear and treated fittingly. Their familiar narratives offer an outlet for catharsis. The Ugly Stepsister reminds us that fairy tales are not just a source of inspiration for the horror genre, but are themselves its very origin. 

Categorized:Editorials