2024 has been an ideal yr for horror followers, particularly over on Shudder, the place a few of the most formidable and authentic films have debuted to widespread acclaim. It seems as if 2025 goes to be no completely different, because the streaming service has simply acquired the rights to The Ugly Stepsister – a twisted fairy story that places a physique horror spin on an previous basic.
Written and directed by Norwegian filmmaker Emilie Blichfeldt (in her characteristic debut), The Ugly Stepsister stars Lea Myren, Thea Sofie Loch Næss, and Ane Dahl Torp, and follows the character of Elvira as she “prepares to earn the prince’s affection at any value. In a kingdom the place magnificence is a brutal enterprise, Elvira will compete with the attractive and enchanting Agnes to turn out to be the belle of the ball.” The movie was unveiled as a part of the 2025 lineup of films on the Sundance Movie Competition, with Shudder rapidly snatching up the North American, UK, and ANZ distribution rights (by way of Bloody Disgusting).
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Starring Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow, the horror flick gives a recent twist on the horror style.
“I’m past thrilled to convey The Ugly Stepsister to Sundance and in the end to a wider viewers alongside my unimaginable staff and in partnership with Shudder,” stated Blichfeldt in an announcement launched to coincide with the information. The objective, she added, is to evoke not solely an emotional response from the viewers, however a bodily one as properly.
“This magnificence horror twist on Cinderella is impressed by The Brothers Grimm model and by my very own struggles with physique picture. My objective is to impress each empathy and discomfort, and encourage audiences to mirror upon their perceptions of, and relationship to, magnificence.”
Not too long ago, Shudder additionally acquired the distribution rights to a different physique horror movie, Grafted, which comes by means of New Zealand’s Sasha Rainbow, who – like Blichfeldt – is making her characteristic movie debut. With the discharge of Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance again in September, the subgenre is clearly experiencing a renaissance of types, so we count on extra movies of this ilk to be introduced within the coming weeks.
In relation to The Ugly Stepsister, Shudder’s SVP of Acquisitions and Manufacturing Emily Gotto additionally chimed in on their latest film, including, “Emilie Blichfeldt’s first time characteristic is an astonishing accomplishment, and we’re proud to debut her movie on Shudder later subsequent yr.” Her feedback converse to the devotion the horror streamer has to showcasing recent voices locally who may not in any other case get a crack at reaching a large viewers.
One solely has to have a look at such 2024 Shudder debuts like Oddity, Daddy’s Head, Infested, Late Evening with the Satan, and Mads to comprehend that. They have been 5 vastly completely different films that appealed to the various tastes of their broad subscriber base, proving that the service has one thing for everybody in the case of the bizarre and macabre, be it overseas or home. Admittedly, just a few of these discovered restricted success in theaters, however there’s little doubt that Shudder helped increase their profiles as soon as they hit streaming, additional cementing them because the premiere vacation spot for horror.
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Oddity
When Dani is brutally murdered on the distant nation home that she and her husband Ted are renovating, everybody suspects a affected person from the native psychological well being establishment, the place Ted is a health care provider. Nonetheless, quickly after the tragic killing, the suspect is discovered lifeless. A yr later, Dani’s blind twin sister Darcy, a self-proclaimed psychic and collector of cursed objects, pays an sudden go to to Ted and his new girlfriend, Yana. Satisfied that there was extra to her sister’s homicide than folks know, Darcy has introduced along with her essentially the most harmful objects from her cursed assortment to assist her actual revenge.
- Launch Date
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July 19, 2024
- Runtime
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98 Minutes
- Solid
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Gwilym Lee
, Carolyn Bracken
, Tadhg Murphy
, Caroline Metnon
, Steve Wall
, Johnny French
, Joe Rooney
, Josuha Campbell - Fundamental Style
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Horror