The unrealistic beauty standards women are relentlessly asked to adhere to have long been a topic rife for exploration in horror. From Stephen King adaptation Carrie to Death Becomes Her, American Mary, The Neon Demon, and Oscar-winner The Substance, the female body is hell inhabited by demons telling her she must pluck this, tuck that and chop off as much as she can. The latest in the subgenre is Emilie Blichfeldt's directorial debut The Ugly Stepsister, which does the impossible in an over-saturated market – it not only stands out, it thoroughly grosses out.

The twisted fairy tale pays homage to Charles Perrault's Cinderella, told from the perspective of the ‘ugly stepsister' Elvira (Lea Myren). She's consumed by winning the affection of her kingdom's handsome Prince Julian (Isac Calmroth) by any means necessary – be that hammering her nose into shape, wearing painful braces that pull her teeth into place, or far worse. She lives in the shadow of her beautiful stepsister Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss) who seems fated to receive everything Elvira has ever dreamed of. As the royal ball approaches Elvira stops at nothing to be the Prince's pick.

The Ugly Stepsister dances the fine line between the beautiful and the ugly throughout its runtime, with opulent set design and magnificent costuming adorning characters that commit the most heinous and cruel acts to one another. The abundance of ruffles, bows, rouge, and rosy lighting does little to detract from Elvira's pained moans as her mother puts her through yet another cosmetic procedure, and these delicate flourishes make the self-mutilation feel all the more sickening. The cinematography gradually becomes more extravagant as Elvira wastes away before our very eyes, acting as the ultimate visual metaphor for what these impossible-to-attain standards of beauty do to women on a daily basis.

Despite its source material, The Ugly Stepsister is far from the Disney fairytale you may picture, with Blichfeldt creating some of the most grotesque sequences to hit screens this year. Viewers would be advised to have their sick bags at the ready, as this film promises to be as stomach-turning as its Sundance Festival hype suggests. The film is anchored by its performances, most notably Lea Myren as Elvira who simply commands attention in the scenes she graces, her highly expressive face portraying a range of complex emotions with each glance and muscle twitch.

Oozing with fluids, gurgling organs, and visceral screams, The Ugly Stepsister is an unflinching look at blood-boiling societal standards that cause women to destroy not only themselves, but one another. It shines a light on the misogyny of our beloved childhood fairytales, exposing the uncomfortable rot and bile within, twisting a familiar story into The Ugly Stepsister, a promising directorial debut for Emilie Blichfeldt.

The Ugly Stepsister will be released in US cinemas on 18 April and UK cinemas on 25 April. It will be available to purchase across digital platforms from 9 May