2024 was a strong year forhorror, proving once again just how big the appetite is for scary and disturbing content at the movies. While studio horror movies likeAlien: Romulus,The First Omen,andNosferatuwere all well-received, the year was also strong for indie horror.I Saw the TV GlowandTerrifier 3both pushed boundaries within the genre, with the latter delivering some of the year’s strongest gore.The Substancereviewswere also glowing, and that film, despite leaning heavily into body horror, has just earned a Best Picture nomination for the 97th Academy Awards.
2025 is already shaping up to be another banner year for horror. ThoughLeigh Whannell’sWolf Mandid not make much of a splash this month and likely will not make back its $25 million budget in theaters, the rest of the year will see the premieres of a multitude of major horror releases such asThe Black Phone 2,Final Destination: Bloodlines,The Conjuring: Last Rites,28 Years Later,Sinners, andThe Bride, among many others. Additionally,one under-the-radar horror movie has likely now just joined the list of anticipated titlesafter its debut screening.
The Ugly Stepsister’s Body Horror Caused Vomiting
The 2025 Horror Movie Pushes Boundaries
The Ugly Stepsister, which is titledDen stygge stesøsterenin the original Norwegian, has just had its premiere, and its body horror was so intense that it led to an audience member vomiting. Written and directed by Emilie Blichfeldt,the upcomingCinderella-style horror movie stars Lea Myren as Elvira, a woman who resorts to extreme measures to alter her appearance in order to compete with her gorgeous sisterin a land where physical appearance is everything. The rest of the cast includes Flo Fagerli, Isac Calmroth, Matle Gårdinger, Ralph Carlsson, and Willy Ramnek Petri.
The film is said to feature a number of challenging scenes…
Varietyreports thatone audience member leaned into the aisle and threw up during the premiere screening ofThe Ugly Stepsisterat Sundance. The film is said to feature a number of challenging scenes, including one in which Elvira eats a tapeworm, as well as graphic depictions of cosmetic surgery, including the sewing in of new eyelashes and a viscerally depicted nose job.ScreenRantcritic Graeme Guttmann saw the movie while covering Sundance, and reported back with the following:
The film’s fairy tale setting makes its body horror moments all the more visceral and disgusting. One scene late in the film is truly sickening, so it doesn’t surprise me that someone vomited during the premiere.
What The Premiere Reaction Means For The Ugly Stepsister
Will It Be Another Terrifier 3?
Even if the person who vomited might not have enjoyedThe Ugly Stepsister,these kinds of occurrences can often work in a movie’s favor. Extreme movie theater reactions played an important role in marketing earlier installments in theParanormal Activityfranchise, and they’ve recently done the same for theTerrifiermovies, especifically the surprise smash hitTerrifier 2and its follow-up, the well-reviewedTerrifier 3. The franchise is continuing to expand because of its notoriety, as director Damien Leone has confirmed thatTerrifier 4is on the way.
Terrifier 3earned a Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score of 78% with an even better audience score of 85%, in spite of its intense, gory murder sequences.
Terrifier 3’s premiere reportedly led to multiple audience walkouts and at least one person throwing up due to the extreme gore, andthis ultimately just helped to spread awareness and make it “must-see” entertainment for horror fans. The third film in Leone’s unrated indie horror franchise just grossed $88 million on a $2 million budget. Shudder has acquired the North American distribution rights forThe Ugly Stepsister, so it is not clear if it will be getting a theatrical release likeTerrifier 3or just a streaming release, but either way, anticipation seems likely to grow in a similar manner.
Our Take On The Ugly Stepsister Premiere Reaction
It Is A Return To Form For Modern Norwegian Horror
The Ugly Stepsisteris already beginning to achieve notoriety in its own right, but the2025 horror movieis alsopart of a longstanding genre tradition in Norway. Other Norwegian productions or co-productions in the horror genre have managed to break through over the years, particularly in the mid-to-late 2000s. Two of the shining examples are the 2006 slasherCold Prey(Fritt Vilt) from director Roar Uthaug and the grotesque 2009 zombie comedyDead Snow(Død snø) from Tommy Wirkola.
Both Uthaug and Wirkola later directed Hollywood movies on the strength of their Nowegian genre efforts, with the former helming 2018’sTomb Raiderand the latter taking on 2013’sHansel & Gretel: Witch Huntersand 2022’sViolent Night.
During the 2000s, Norwegian horror became known for taking traditional English-language horror subgenres and elevating them with exciting directing and intense gore. However, fewer such titles achieved wide recognition in the 2010s. Now,The Ugly Stepsistersees Norwegian horror roaring back into the general public consciousness. Alongside Uthaug’s hit 2022 Netflix monster movieTroll, it could help usher ina new age of Norwegian genre cinema in the 2020s.
The Ugly Stepsister
Cast
The Ugly Stepsister offers a comedic horror twist on the classic fairy tale, centering on Cinderella’s stepsister, Elvira. Set in a kingdom obsessed with beauty, Elvira competes with her glamorous sibling, resorting to drastic measures to win the prince’s affection.
