Redefining Beauty: Emilie Blichfeldt Gives THE UGLY STEPSISTER Her Voice

Image courtesy of IFC Films

By Shannon McGrew

In Emilie Blichfeldt’s feature directorial debut, THE UGLY STEPSISTER, a sinister twist on the classic Cinderella story follows Elvira (Lea Myren) as she prepares to earn the prince’s affection at any cost. In a kingdom where beauty is a brutal business, Elvira will compete with the beautiful and enchanting Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss) to become the belle of the ball. 

For the release of THE UGLY STEPSISTER, Creepy Kingdom’s Shannon McGrew spoke with writer/director Emilie Blichfeldt. During their chat, they discussed everything from the film's deeply personal origins to the grotesque beauty rituals that mirror real-world pressures, and why the 'ugly' stepsister might be the most relatable fairytale character of all. 

Thank you so much for speaking with me, Emilie. I loved this film so much. What inspired you to create this story from the perspective of one of Cinderella’s ugly stepsisters?

Emilie Blichfeldt: It was like a bolt of lightning, this idea. It came to me in a creative nap. I’ve worked a lot with women who struggle to fit within traditional beauty ideals. I was working with a two-meter-tall, chubby, beautiful, but didn’t know it, girl. In my creative nap, I suddenly envisioned her as Cinderella, and the prince came with the shoe, which she fit perfectly. She was then lifted onto the horse, as if she weighed nothing, and rode off with the prince to her castle. Then suddenly, she looks down and sees that her shoe is full of blood. She then realizes, of course, she’s not Cinderella, she’s the stepsister, and she’s cut off her toes to try to fit the shoe. The prince also sees this and rejects her. 

I woke up from this nap, and I was in shock because I immediately identified with her. Not only do I have a shoe size 11, but I’ve lived under the burden of feeling ugly, and I related to the shame and the despair of trying to fit in with the beauty ideal and then failing. There were many relatable aspects to this character. It’s an overlooked character, a ridiculed one even by me, that has been there all the time, right under our noses, as the most relatable character. Suddenly, I had an epiphany and thought, 'This is a great idea. ' I wanted to make a movie where it’s relatable that she cuts off her toes. That was my goal. I don’t know how relatable it is to cut off the toes, but at least you understand where she’s coming from [Laughs]. 

The entire ensemble is phenomenal, and the performances are deeply affecting. I’d love to focus on Lea Myren, who portrays Elvira. She carries so much of the emotional weight of the film and does so with such heartbreaking nuance. How did you know she was the right person for the role?

Emilie Blichfeldt: I saw between 500 and 600 girls. Norway is a small country, so I was very scared that I would not find someone who could carry this character because it’s a challenging role. You have to do emotion, physicality, horror, humor, the whole transformation both acting wise from the naive to the scheming to the beauty pageant queen to her losing her shit. I was worried, what if I don’t find [the right one]? All these girls tried out, and I realized I needed someone with at least a little bit of experience, so I started looking at older girls. Lea was 22 at the time, and I’d seen her in a TV series where she was fantastic, but I thought it was a bit of a typecast. I thought, let’s take her in and see what she can do, and then she just floored me from the first audition. Her ability to express herself so freely, I thought, was truly beautiful. 

Initially, it was a source of sorrow for me that I couldn't cast someone who was naturally chubby due to the transformation. I would never ask a young actress to lose weight for a part that’s like a no-go because that’s what my film is about [Laughs]. Lea has this otherness; she’s so confident with herself, and she does not have the problems that Elvira has. She loves her body and is physical with it. I think it’s so beautiful and such a testament to what the movie’s about. I needed someone who did not self-objectify, someone who was free of that controlling gaze on themselves, someone who could be weird and ugly and disgusting and beautiful and funny without second-guessing themselves. Lea is special; she’s going to be something big. 

Image courtesy of IFC Films

As a plus-size woman, I’ve often felt ostracized for not fitting into society’s narrow standards of beauty. I’ve seen myself and others try to contort ourselves to meet what’s considered “normal.” For you, how did those societal pressures influence the film’s more grotesque and surreal moments, like the nose job scene or the eyelash surgery? 

Emilie Blichfeldt: What differentiates body horror from splatter or gore is that body horror always carries meaning, metaphors, or images. Those moments needed to be something that was there for a reason, because I wanted to engage with the audience and convey a message to them. When I researched, I realized there were numerous things I could have done with this character, given the countless insane procedures involved. It was a great challenge because those moments have to be deserved; I can’t show it just to show it. It has to show the purpose. I also wanted it to be rooted in reality, using real procedures, but I didn’t want it to be timely and accurate, because it’s a fairytale. 

The eyelashes with needle and thread, that’s from a newspaper in America, which had a small notice in the late 1800s stating that the newest fashion in Paris was eyelashes sewn in with a needle and thread, using cocaine as a pain relief. Of course, that didn’t happen, but just the idea that buying that or talking about that, I thought was so great. It’s also anachronistic to what the eyelash extension obsession we have today. I thought that was a fun way to explore how the ideas of beauty we have today seem so unique to us right now, but often these things come and go, and they have been doing so for thousands of years. 

With the tape worm, I knew I wanted to do that because weight and eating is such a big thing of the whole womanly experience of trying to fit in, how you soothe your pain and how you inflict pain on yourself, and all of that, and I wanted to touch upon that. I couldn’t have Elvira take the worm like a magic pill and then get skinny, and nothing else happened. I thought, ' How can I cleverly use this worm?' Then, suddenly, I had the idea that what comes in must come out. When she takes it halfway [through the movie] that was actually the point of no return, and that’s when she stops being a victim. Up until that point, she’s only been a victim, and with taking the ringworm, she becomes complicit. She internalizes the external objectification she has been subjected to, and she begins to self-objectify. It starts to eat her up both metaphorically and literally from the inside. 

For you, does this film seem more like a reclamation, a revenge tale, a tragedy, or all of the above? 

Emilie Blichfeldt: I see it as redeeming. This overlooked, ridiculed character, who is the most relatable in the entire universe of fairytale characters, is like all of us trying to become a princess and having a hard time doing it. I find it so fascinating how there’s been this character that’s kind of teaching us to look down on ourselves. I just really wanted to redeem this character and also myself and all women who have tried to change their bodies to fit in and feel shameful for doing it, and are ridiculed for it. There are multiple double messages and meanings within, which makes it hard to navigate, so it’s really a redemption story.

THE UGLY STEPSISTER is now in theaters.