Arriving this Friday on Shudder to test your stomach is The Ugly Stepsister, the feature directorial debut by Emilie Blichfeldt. The Ugly Stepsister retells the classic fairy tale of Cinderella from the perspective of her stepsister, Elvira (Lea Myren), who subjects herself to a variety of barbaric beauty procedures in the pursuit of a happy ever after (our review).
It’s a fairy tale with a gruesome body horror twist. This week’s streaming picks highlight other fairy tale-inspired horror movies, whether they’re direct adaptations or loosely based on them. All blend horror and fantasy to deliver cautionary bedtime tales of the bloody variety.
Here’s where you can stream these fairy tale inspired horror movies this week.
For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.
Absentia – Hoopla, Prime Video
When creating his eerie supernatural tale, writer/director Mike Flanagan drew inspiration from a few urban myths about tunnels and trolls, and that also includes the Norwegian fairy tale Three Billy Goats Gruff. So much that it directly factors into the plot. Flanagan mainstay Katie Parker stars as Callie, a recovering addict who comes to stay with her pregnant sister, Tricia (Courtney Bell). Tricia’s finally ready to accept that her missing husband is dead, but then Callie encounters a strange man in an empty tunnel, shocked that she can see him. It’s the beginning of a series of strange events stemming from the tunnel, including a supernatural bargain Callie unwittingly strikes. Leave it to Flanagan to use urban legends and fairy tales as a haunting and unsettling exploration of grief.
Fragile – Fandango at Home, Fawesome, Hoopla, Prime Video, Roku Channel
Before Jaume Balagueró teamed up with Paco Plaza to unleash one of the most terrifying movies of the decade, [REC], he proved an aptitude for delivering chills with this underseen haunted hospital fairy tale. Calista Flockhart stars as Amy, a nurse brought on to the night shift in the children’s ward at an old hospital in the process of closing. Amy has her demons to battle, but her new gig comes with a malevolent ghost. Fragile is creepy and atmospheric with effective scares, but even better is that Balagueró gives this ghost story an emotional center loosely inspired by Sleeping Beauty.
Gretel & Hansel – MGM+, Pluto TV, Roku Channel
Before The Monkey and Longlegs, filmmaker Oz Perkins reconfigured the classic Grimm fairy tale for a moodier horror story that favors style over a more conventional, straightforward narrative. Think unparalleled production design with impressive sound design and score to match, but with its story told in an unconventional and sometimes muddied way. Sophia Lillis stars as Gretel, the elder sister tasked with protecting her brother from Alice Krige‘s mesmerizing Witch. It’s a coming-of-rage sort of fairy tale.
The Pied Piper – Fandor, Fawesome, Kanopy, Midnight Pulp, Tubi
It’s not just the swift runtime, clocking in at under an hour, that sets this adaptation of a classic fairy tale apart. It’s also in the stunning stop-motion animation. Director Jiří Barta’s 1986 Czech adaptation of Pied Piper of Hamelin introduces a corrupt village consumed by greed and pettiness. When rats inundate them, they turn to a mysterious stranger who offers to lead the rats out of the town for a price. Barta’s hand-crafted feature draws from German expressionism, lending a harsh, gloomy style that suits the horror of this fairy tale well. As for the horror, it’s both grotesque and existential.
Tale of Tales – Kanopy, Paramount+, Shudder
Based on a collection of stories by Italian poet Giambattista Basile, Pentamerone, this dark horror fantasy film is an anthology that delves into the earliest versions of well-known fairytales; but not always the most obvious ones. With three stories about obsession, all taking place in one kingdom, this fairytale isn’t afraid of gruesome bloodshed. With monstrous fleas, aquatic dragons, ogres, witches, and a vain king who prefers to flay the skin of his victims, this is not a bedtime story for kids. It also boasts a large ensemble cast of recognizable talents like Salma Hayek, John C. Reilly, and Vincent Cassel.