4K Ultra HD Review: THE UGLY STEPSISTER (2025)

THE UGLY STEPSISTER

Directed by:  Emilie Blichfeldt

Distributed by:  Second Sight Films

 THE UGLY STEPSISTER is a film I had been curious about for a while, and finally got the chance to check out thanks to Second Sight Films and their new 4K Ultra HD release of the film.   

 Set in the 19th Century, THE UGLY STEPSISTER is a reimaging of the Cinderella story, but with a very dark and brutal twist.  

Here is the basic plot from the Second Sight Film's website:

An impressionable and idealistic young woman dreams of marrying the kingdom’s prince but her beautiful stepsister becomes her greatest rival. Increasingly desperate she resorts to extreme measures in a quest for the physical perfection she believes will win the prince’s heart.

 This is a extremely well made film, from the acting to the wonderful practical effects.   The film focuses on ugly duckling sister, Elvira, and her desire (or more so her Mother's desire) to become beautiful so the Prince will choose her for his wife.    While Elvira's stepsister Agnes is the clear front-runner for the Prince's hand in marriage, a sexual encounter with the stable boy pretty much gets Agnes ostracized from the family.   This opens the way for Elvira to woo the Prince, but she must make some drastic changes first!  

 The changes Elvira does to herself and has done to her, are extremely hard to watch and very cringe inducing.  I looked away from the screen many times, something I rarely do with a horror film.   She uses the only techniques they had at the time, including voluntarily eating a tapeworm to help control her weight.   I looked online to see if this was a technique that was actually used back then, and apparently it was.  It is extremely unsafe, though, which you will see why in this film.  There is a good reason we don't use that form of weight loss these days!    Other modifications Elvira has done to her are a nose job, and the addition of fake lashes.   Adding fake eyelashes might sound like no big deal, but a close up of the eyelashes being sewn onto her eyelid caused my whole body to clinch up!  

 All these things pale in comparison, though, to the main modification Elvira does to herself, all in order to fit into the slipper that was lost at the ball.   You can use your imagination to figure out what she does, or if you can stomach it, just watch this film!  

  THE UGLY STEPSISTER is like a 19th Century version of HOSTEL, except all the body torture is completely voluntary.   This is body horror at it's finest, with graphic scenes disguised by the beautiful cinematography and costumes of what otherwise would look like a beautiful art film.  Kudos to Director Emilie Blichfeldt on an amazing first feature film, I look forward to her future projects. 

  THE UGLY STEPSISTER is available now on Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD, and a 4K Ultra HD limited edition, and contains the following Special Features:

• Presented in HDR with Dolby Vision

• New audio commentary with Director Emilie Blichfeldt and Filmmaker Patrik Syversen

• New audio commentary by Meagan Navarro

• This Is My Ball: a new interview with Emilie Blichfeldt

• Generational Trauma: a new interview with Actor Lea Myren

• Take Up Space: a new interview with Actor Thea Sofie Loch Næss

• Character and Gore: a new interview with Effects Artist Thomas Foldberg

• The Beauty of Ugly: The Effects of The Ugly Stepsister

• A Cinderella Story: Kat Hughes on The Ugly Stepsister

• Deleted Scene

• Short Films: How Do You Like My Hair? and Sara’s Intimate Confessions

CLICK HERE to purchase the Blu-ray

CLICK HERE to purchase the 4K Ultra HD

CLICK HERE to purchase the 4K Ultra HD Limited Edition

4K UHD Review: RE-ANIMATOR (1985)

RE-ANIMATOR

Directed by:  Stuart Gordon

Distributed by:  Second Sight Films

 If you haven't seen Stuart Gordon's RE-ANIMATOR, stop what you are doing right now and go watch it.  It's in my list of top 5 horror films of all time.  It's a classic film that never gets old, no matter how many times I watch it.  Here is the basic plot synopsis from IMDb.com:

After an odd new medical student arrives on campus, a dedicated local and his girlfriend become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation of dead tissue.

 Now that is a very basic plot synopsis about a film that is anything but basic.  This is a brilliant film that keeps you entertained from start to finish.  The gore effects are amazing and very plentiful!   This was before the age of CGI, so you get to enjoy nothing but gooey practical effects.   The acting is top notch with Jeffrey Combs giving a great performance as Dr. Herbert West and the amazing Barbara Crampton as the Dean of the college's daughter, Megan Halsey.  I assume most horror fans have seen this film, so I am not going to go into any more details about the film itself.  We all know it's amazing.  I am going to focus this review more on the newest physical release of the film from Second Sight Films.   As always, Second Sight has done an amazing job on this new 4K release.   They spare no expense when it comes to extras and presentation. 

 The picture quality of this new 4K release is amazing. Crystal clear picture and vibrant colors.   This is definitely worth the upgrade from your old DVD or Blu-ray copies that I know we all have sitting on our shelves!  

 As great as this movie obviously is, the Special Features are what really steal the show here.  The film itself is really only a small part of this release.  There are hours and hours of special features that go really in depth into the making of this film.   Here is a list of all the Special Features included on this new release:

• New 4K restoration approved by Producer Brian Yuzna

• Presented in HDR with Dolby Vision

• Includes the Integral Version in HD

• New Audio Commentary by Eddie Falvey

• Audio Commentary with Director Stuart Gordon

• Audio Commentary with Producer Brian Yuzna and Actors Bruce Abbott, Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton and Robert Sampson

• The Cosmic Horror of HP Lovecraft: a video essay by Mike Muncer

• Re-Animator at 40: conversation with Actors Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton, and Producer Brian Yuzna

• Piece By Piece: Cutting Re-Animator: an interview with Editor Lee Percy

• Suzie Sorority and The Good College Boy: an interview with Actor Carolyn Purdy-Gordon

• The Horror of it All: The Legacy and Impact of Re-Animator

• Barbara Crampton in Conversation

• A Guide to Lovecraftian Cinema

• Re-Animator Resurrectus

• Interview with Director Stuart Gordon and Producer Brian Yuzna

• Interview with Writer Dennis Paoli

• Interview with Composer Richard Band

• Interview with former Fangoria Editor Tony Timpone

• Extended Scenes

• Deleted Scene

• Theatrical Trailer

• TV Spots Still

• Gallery

 The commentary tracks and new conversations with the cast and crew are extremely interesting and is worth the price of this release alone.  Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Second Sight Films new RE-ANIMATOR release asap!  

 Second Sight released this film in two versions, a standard 1 disk 4K version, and a limited edition 3 disk box set with a rigid slipcase with new artwork by artist Krishna Shenoi, a 120 page book with  new essays by Sean Abley, Becky Darke, Lindsay Hallam, Josh Hurtado, Michelle Kisner, Justin LaLiberty, Phil Nobile Jr and Heather Wixson, and 6 collectors arts cards.   

  At the time of this post, it looks like the Limited Edition box set is sold out everywhere I look.  If I find a site that still has them, I'll update this post!   You can still get the standard edition by clicking below. 

CLICK HERE to purchase the RE-ANIMATOR 4K UHD Standard Edition

4K UHD Review: PEARL (2022)

PEARL

Directed by:  Ti West

Distributed by:  Second Sight Films

 I was a big fan of Director Ti West's 2022 film X starring Mia Goth, and I was aware of the other two films in the trilogy, but had just not watched them yet for some reason.   I finally got to check out the 2nd film in the trilogy, PEARL, thanks to the new 4K UHD release from Second Sight films. 

 Here is the basic plot of the film courtesy of the Second Sight Films website:

A troubled young woman pursues stardom in a desperate attempt to escape the boredom, loneliness, and lovelessness of life in her small town. As life on her parent’s farm grows more and more frustrating, her mask of sanity slowly starts to slip.

  PEARL is actually a prequel to X, and like X, PEARL also stars Mia Goth, but this time she's playing the part of the farm owner killer from X. 

 This film was much different than the first film.  X was very dark and dirty feeling.  It had a very 70's Grindhouse horror look and feel to it.    Pearl was vastly different in that it is set in 1918 and is very vibrant in both the tone of the film and the look of the film.  The colors burst off the screen in this new 4K UHD release.   I love the way they made the film look like an older film, especially with the title font and the classic credits that look like they are from an old black and white film.    The film has some a few very gory scenes, mainly at the end, but they are done in such a beautiful and artistic way.  You'll have to check it out to understand, and you'll know what I mean by this as soon as you see it. 

  The acting in PEARL is incredible, with Mia Goth giving another remarkable performance.  All the actors did great, all giving top notch performances.   This is a very interesting film, as it doesn't seem like you are watching a horror film at all.  It is too clean, and pretty.  Later in the film, you'll definitely know you are watching a horror film, as Pearl does some truly awful things to her controlling Mother and her terminally ill Father. 

 Since this is a prequel, you don't have to have seen X to enjoy this film, you can definitely enjoy it for what it is on it's own.  If you have seen X, though, that does add a bit more fun to it as you know who Pearl grows up to be and you understand why she did the things she did in X. 

 This is a great film, and is definitely as good as X, but I might even go out on a limb and say it's probably actually a better made film than X.   Both are enjoyable films, so check them out if you haven't seen them yet.   This new release from Second Sight Films is a perfect way to enjoy the film in pristine picture and sound quality. 

 PEARL is available now in 4K UHD and a 4K UHD Limited Edition set.   The standard edition contains the following Special Features:

• Presented in HDR with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

• New audio commentary by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

• Bold Choices: a new interview with Director Ti West

• The Mother: a new interview with Actor Tandi Wright

• Absorb the Aesthetic: a new interview with Director of Photography Eliot Rockett 

• Going Technicolor: a new interview with Production Designer Tom Hammock

• Hollywood Goes West: a video essay by Joe Wallace

• Coming Out of Her Shell

• Time After Time 

  The Limited Edition set contains all the Special Features from the standard edition, plus the following extras:

• Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Thinh Dinh

• 120-page book with new essays by Jenn Adams, Joel Harley, Mo Moshaty, Tori Potenza, Vannah Taylor and Nadine Whitney

• 6 collectors' art cards 

CLICK HERE to purchase the 4K UHD

CLICK HERE to purchase the Limited Edition 4K UHD