'The Ugly Stepsister', the perfect horror film for Halloween
Norwegian director Emilie Blichfeldt's powerful debut arrives in theatres, but the Brazilian 'The Blue Path' also makes a positive impression
How to turn Cinderella's fairy tale on its head by taking the point of view of her half-sister? The Ugly Stepsister, the feature debut of Norwegian director Emilie Blichfeldt, is the perfect film for those looking for an intelligent horror film to watch on Halloween.
After having been screened at several international festivals (among the first were the Sundance Film Festival and the Berlinale), this feature film, which takes its inspiration from the famous fairy tale to bring forth a series of reflections that are anything but trivial, has finally arrived in our cinemas.
At the centre of the plot is Elvira, a young girl who lives with her sister and mother Rebekka. Rebekka has recently married an older man in the hope of gaining wealth and privilege, and in the meantime has become stepmother to her husband's daughter Agnes from a previous marriage. On their wedding night, however, Agnes' father suddenly dies and the family discovers that he is actually penniless. Worried that she is too old to find a new man rich enough to support them, Rebekka decides to marry off one of her daughters. She chooses Elvira because she has already reached puberty, but she is also aware that her daughter does not look good enough to try to win the coveted Prince... especially if her beautiful stepsister Agnes were to enter the competition.
As extreme in its staging as it is in its content, the film is a feminist and feminist tale that uses the horror genre in a political and sociological key, setting the story in the past to speak of the present.
