EXCLUSIVE: Radar Reveals the Movie Being Branded 'One of Cinema's Most Disgusting Films Ever' — With Tapeworm and Eyelash Scenes 'Making Audiences Vomit'
'The Ugly Stepsister' left audience feeling sick.
May 1 2026, Published 10:00 a.m. ET
Emilie Blichfeldt has seen her debut feature, The Ugly Stepsister, branded "one of cinema's most disgusting films ever," after repeated reports of audiences vomiting during screenings of the visceral body-horror fairytale, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The 34-year-old writer-director premiered the film at the Sundance Film Festival in early 2025, where its graphic depictions of 19th-century beauty practices immediately provoked extreme reactions.
Film critics have praised the production despite its modest budget and polarizing content.
'We Called It a Beauty Horror'
Emilie Blichfeldt premiered her debut feature 'The Ugly Stepsister' at the Sundance Film Festival.
The film reimagines the Cinderella story by shifting focus from the titular heroine, played by Thea Sofie Loch Næss, to her stepsister Elvira, portrayed by Lea Myren, whose obsessive quest for physical perfection leads her into increasingly grotesque procedures.
Combining historical references with stylized horror, the project garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, despite its modest budget."
Blichfeldt said the film's unsettling tone was always intentional, rooted in a concept she describes as "beauty horror" instead of the "body horror" label now being applied to the shock flick.
She added: "We called it beauty horror, which is both the subgenre of the body horror we did but also this idea that it should always be this narrow place between beauty and horror and how they correlate or how they contrast."
The movie reimagines the classic Cinderella story from a dark new perspective.
A source familiar with early audience reactions told us the film's notoriety has only intensified since its premiere.
They said: "What began as isolated incidents has become part of the film's reputation. Viewers are going in expecting to be challenged physically – and many are finding it overwhelming. It's being talked about as one of the world's most shocking films by audiences, and is an almost endurance-style viewing experience which many can't take as it is literally making even the most hardened cinema fans physically ill."
The director confirmed reports of viewers becoming ill were not exaggerated, recalling initial disbelief at the Sundance screening.
Puking at Premieres and Gag Reflex Feedback
Lea Myren portrays Elvira, a stepsister obsessed with reaching physical perfection.
She said: "That was actually at the premiere in Sundance… we couldn't believe it. We thought it was food poisoning. We were like, 'That was not our movie.'
"But then it has kept happening. People were puking at the Norwegian premiere. I've been showing it in senior highs in Norway, and there's also been some puking. So it's a thing. I think one of the most common feedbacks is that we really play with people's gag reflexes."
The film's aesthetic hinges on a tension between realism and artifice, with prosthetic designer Thomas Foldberg and hair and makeup designer Anne Cathrine Sauerberg crafting Elvira's transformation.
Their work, which blends exaggerated cosmetic interventions with period styling influences from the 1960s and '70s, has been widely praised by critics and awards bodies alike.
Beauty Standards and Invasive Cosmetic Metaphors
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Prosthetic designer Thomas Foldberg crafted the film's graphic and grotesque transformations.
Another industry source suggested the film's extreme imagery reflects a broader shift in how horror is being received.
They said: "There is a growing appetite for films that push boundaries, but this goes further than most. It's not just about fear – it's about discomfort, about forcing audiences to confront the physicality of beauty standards in a way that is difficult to watch."
Central to that discomfort are scenes involving a tapeworm and invasive cosmetic techniques, including one involving eyelashes, which Blichfeldt has framed as metaphors for self-objectification and unattainable beauty ideals peddled by advertisers and Hollywood.
She explained the imagery was developed through a mix of research and imagination, including rumored historical practices and symbolic storytelling devices designed to explore societal pressures around appearance.
Despite its divisive reception, The Ugly Stepsister is fast securing a place among this year's most talked-about films, with its Oscar nomination placing it alongside higher-budget productions.
