Fairy tales have been contorting back from the Disney glaze of wholesomeness to be a little darker and more questioning of perspectives, where even Disney was taking a swing towards that fence with Cinerella III granting more agency to one of the ugly stepsisters. The Ugly Stepsister takes a similar approach, but with a deliciously vicious and violent ax swing towards convention. Cinderella might’ve had her wishes come true via deus ex machina, but let’s face it, she had the look.

Loosely based on the same story, the film gives the most focus to the ugly stepsister, Elvira (Lea Myren). She does not desire the wealth of her mother, Rebekka (Ane Dahl Torp), or the perceived money of her husband. She wants to read poetry and obsess over the prince, dreaming of a chance to be whisked away by royalty. Unfortunately, she’s trapped in a Cinderella story where she’s not the unfortunate orphan left in Rebekka’s care. No fairy godmother is coming to grace Elvira with magical dresses and transport, as that luck falls to Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss). Elvira lives in a dirty and greedy world where the only way to get ahead is to cheat.

The film doesn’t shy away from the grotesque nature of getting a makeover for the big ball. There are fittings, dance instruction, and etiquette to embrace, but the royalty are also horny jackasses who are less likely to adhere to Jane Austen and more down to play Fuck/Marry/Kill. The body horror route is favored in how Elvira is all glammed up by her mother in the most barbaric ways possible. A nose job involves a hammer to the nostrils, and artificial eyelashes are sewn directly onto the eyes (yes, this is displayed in graphic detail). Elvira isn’t fat, but she’s likely deemed as chubby enough by gross men’s standards that she resorts to a tape worm for her dietary secrets. As the ball draws near, more of the grotesque nature behind the prince choosing a wife becomes more monstrous and unfair. It gets to a point where it seems the only way Elvira can win the prince’s heart is not through her personality, but by chopping off her toes to fit the famed slipper (yes, this is also shown in graphic detail).

It might sound strange to praise the comedy of a film where a woman destroys her body for a prince she’ll never win, but it’s that extreme nature that makes this film so effectively absurd in its satire. Elvira’s dreams of falling in love with the prince are so exaggerated that it’s like she’s channeling the wet dreams of a teenager from the 1980s. She does not gasp at the sight of Agnes sneaking a closed-door kiss with a stable boy, but instead watches his erect penis penetrate her behind. Elvira will later throw up the tapeworm she used for her diet, but the size has increased to such a ridiculous level that it might as well be a Lovecraftian tentacle monster that emerges from her maw. This is a film that wants to shove our noses into the grotesque bile of this old lifestyle, hard enough to remove any longing for nostalgia in a time you never lived through.

The Ugly Stepsister throws some refreshing body horror on top of a fairy tale satire, making for a darkly intoxicating take on beauty and romance. I do have to give the film credit for getting under my skin, for my body-horror kryptonite: eyeballs. Having endured many eye exams of poking and prodding, anything involving eyes makes me queasy, and this film goes for the opticals in a brutal, detailed, and nerve-wracking way, so much so that I had to laugh at how far they were willing to go. Through it all, though, the film does stress empathy for those whose story doesn’t come equipped with a deus ex machina. I felt so bad for Elvira that I almost pined for a happy ending, just as I’m sure costume drama junkies will crave the fabrics and decadence of this assembly. But we can’t always get what we want, and sometimes, in Elvira’s case, that’s a good thing. It’s far more satisfying to watch Elvira ride off into the sunset than live a life in a palace where all the men make sexist jokes and give her further body issues. And she lived happily ever after without her greedy/horny mother and royal perverts.