The Ugly Stepsister: It's all rotten

I am not one for films like this often – but the premise was too hard to ignore. Thankfully, I was able to get access to a preview of the film today, and though I had to bow my head and turn away at a few points in the film, I can't recommend it enough.

This is exactly what it says on the tin, to devastating effect. We follow one of the "Ugly Stepsisters" as she fulfils the tragedy of changing herself for the Prince's affection. Though you're never quite sure who's got the worse deal – it seems all the women in this world are crushed by forces beyond their control, their reactions to each other all justified and horrific in their own ways.

Told this way, the story of Cinderella becomes timeless – a terrifying tale of how patriarchy warps and tears at women until they are worse off than they began. Throughout, everyone is complicit, everyone is to blame.

What I think haunted me by the end was how simple the take was, and how effectively it hurt me to watch. It is so hard to let go of fairytales – the ones we tell to lift us out of depression and self-hatred, the ones that allow us to go limp and let the world raise us up of our sadness. This is truly the hardest thing for me to accept – that no one is coming to save me, and life can be unfair and indiscriminate in it's pain.

"The Ugly Stepsister" comes out this week for the Yankees, and next week for us Red Coats on the Isle. If you can stomach the body horror and gross-out visuals, and you've experience the pain of sacrifice for the ideal – it's hard not to leave in tears.

My thanks to Strike Media for the invitation!