A new take on the classic fairy tale with an updated perspective, The Ugly Stepsister follows Elvira (Lea Myren) as she tries to prepare herself for the prince’s ball, where he will select his wife. Elvira plans to be ready for that moment at any cost. Similar to The Substance, Stepsister is part of a new wave of feminist body horror that highlights the torture women endure for the sake of unrealistic beauty standards. Director Emilie Blichfeldt has stated that the inspiration for the film came from her reading the original Brothers Grimm version of Cinderella and identifying with the stepsisters instead of Cinderella. The final result makes for something that will challenge the stomachs of audiences with its graphic imagery and the extreme measures used by Elvira in search of a storybook ending. The Ugly Stepsister will be available at select Regal and AMC locations and will screen in Norwegian with English subtitles. KEN ARNOLD