A pitch-black, gnarly, body-horror heavy retelling of the Brothers Grimm version of the Cinderella fairytale from Norwegian filmmaker Emilie Blichfeldt. The terminally shy Elvira (a mesmerising Lea Myren) competes with her beautiful new stepsister Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss) and prepares to be noticed at the Prince’s upcoming ball. In order to prepare for her happily ever after, her domineering mother  (Ane Dahl Torp) has her remade with cruel and rudimentary cosmetic surgery while Elvira consumes a tapeworm egg, the parasite ravaging her body far beyond the intended rapid weight-loss. THE UGLY STEPSISTER is a deeply uncomfortable watch, but provides queasy thrills and dark humour in spades and shines a feminist, empathetic spotlight on outcasts being forced to painfully transform themselves to be noticed, and accepted by a vapid aesthetics-obsessed society. I’d be very surprised indeed if this twisted treat doesn’t end up on my top 10 of the year. SSP