Norway

279 | The Ugly Stepsister

  • Not Rated 

  • Runtime: 1hr 49min

  • Written & Directed by Emilie Blichfeldt

  • Stars: Lea Myren, Thea Sofie Loch Næss and Ane Dahl Torp

  • Premiered at Sundance January 23, 2025

  • Limited Release in US theaters April 18, 2025

  • Currently Streaming on Shudder and AMC+

  • RT: 96% critics / 86% audience

    Synopsis

    Rebekka and her two daughters, Elvira and Alma, move into the estate of her new husband, Otto, and his beautiful daughter, Agnes. Elvira, the oldest of Rebekka’s daughters, is a dreamy, braces-wearing teen who swoons over the kingdom’s handsome prince and his romantic poetry. But when Otto dies suddenly and it is revealed that he was deeply in debt, Rebekka is forced to pile all her hopes for financial stability on the prince choosing Elvira as his bride at the upcoming ball. In order for the plain and gawky Elvira to catch his eye, she must undergo a series of horrifying medical procedures to become more beautiful.

 

Join us again in two weeks when we will be reviewing 28 Years Later, currently playing in theaters.

Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

87 | Thelma

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Director: Joachim Trier
Writers: Joachim Trier & Eskil Vogt

Synopsis: The movie opens with a little girl (Thelma) & her father in the woods hunting deer. After setting his sights on a doe, the father aims for the little girl’s head. Cut to ten or so years later - Thelma is a college freshman living away from her very religious helicopter parents for the first time. An attraction to a fellow student seems to lead to violent seizures, during which Thelma evens seems to be affecting the environment around her. Is this why young Thelma's father pointed his gun at her? Was he afraid of what Thelma might become?

Intro/Outro music courtesy Peter Perfect. Check him out on Instagram | Soundcloud


Somehow, The Bloodlust managed to miss the opportunity to review Mark Duplass' unsettling and uncomfortable thriller, Creep (though, it did make it onto a couple of our "EOY top ten" lists. So to make up for missing the first one, next time you hear from us, we'll be joined by our dear friend, Sandra, as we review and discuss the aptly named Creep sequel, Creep 2.Â