Reviewed The Ugly Stepsister 2025 Movie

The supposedly horror-obsessed content reviewers on YouTube and Instagram keep referring to The Ugly Stepsister as a horror movie you should not miss. Since my paid subscription for Mubi was not active for some time, I had to wait to catch this one. Finally, managed to watch The Ugly Stepsister online, and trust me, it is not even half as good as the social media buzz around it. For starters, the build-up is slow, especially when you start the movie with a "...this is going to be a good horror movie" mindset. There is nothing scary out here, at least for the first 1 hour. The story is nothing special, and towards the latter half, it starts integrating some aspects of the Cinderella story we all know. Yes, there is a bit of psychological darkness about the entire setup. The ugly one here has a serious body dysmorphia of the most extreme type and self-harm, along with gore and some blood-soaked moments, to complete her portrayal. The background music is intentionally switched off during the darker conversations about hatred, betrayal, and pure greed. The Ugly Stepsister does not try to scare you at any point. Why the social media movie buffs repeatedly called it one of the best horror flicks of 2025 will remain beyond me. For those waiting to watch the movie, put it on with the thought of watching a well-made European movie that has plenty of dark undertones and some really graphic scenes. Yes, the tapeworm scene from The Ugly Stepsister will get to you. Yes, the worm egg vomit in The Ugly Stepsister will make you cringe a bit. The self-removal of all five toes to fit into the shoe will make you think that more horrifying scenes are about to emerge in the last 30 minutes of The Ugly Stepsister 2025 movie, but you will feel disappointed. Like I said, The Ugly Stepsister does all things reasonably well, but it is not a cult classic or even a contemporary movie recommendation that should grab eyeballs. If you happen to miss it, you would not have missed something monumental. If you happen to watch The Ugly Stepsister this weekend, expect a slight dose of body horror and a weak storyline that confuses itself. The Ugly Stepsister is not a typical Watchlist movie. You should consider spending subscription money to buy into an OTT or rental platform to specifically watch this movie. Let it come to you. It would be better to wait for any of your usual subscriptions to stream this content. When watching the horror movie experts on YouTube or Instagram, don't wait and pause on social posts that portray The Ugly Stepsister as one of the finest in European horror movie-making history - there is nothing so special about it! However, if you like a slight touch of gothic and some body churning and mutilations as a part of movie content, The Ugly Stepsister can be a decent watch. Don't book a weekend around it. No need to score it out of 10 as a "horror flick". The only silver lining would be the indirect preaching about accepting your looks and not leaning entirely on physical beauty. 

JUMPSCARE? ZERO!
DARK THEME - Well Done.
ACTING/PERFORMANCE - Really Well Done.
STORYTELLING - Average.
HORROR MOVIE FAN QUOTIENT - Thumbs Down