CINDERELLA'S REVENGE (2024) Is Bloody And Twisted, But Not Much Else
The fairy tales we are often taught at a young age are based on far more adult and darker stories. The Disney-fication of the Grimm Fairy Tales has washed away a lot of menace and malice those original stories are known for. Much like The Canterbury Tales, these stories often served dual purposes as entertainment as well as morality lessons. Over the years some filmmakers have attempted to bring the darker side of these stories to the masses with varying degrees of success, but none has ever permeated through pop culture like the Disney versions have. So when we got word of the new fairy tale turned horror movie, Cinderella’s Revenge, we were keen to see how this story would be twisted and terrifying. Does it live up to those modest expectations, or is “Cinderella’s Revenge” another middling attempt at reviving nostalgia?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Cinderella is pushed too far by her evil stepsisters and stepmother, which causes her to switch out her glass shoes and use the assistance of her Fairy Godmother to seek bloody vengeance.
HOW IS IT?
When you think about some of the most wicked fairy tales of all time, where does “Cinderella” rank on that list? Treacherous stepfamily, living things transforming into inanimate objects, and a fairy godmother who can grant wishes with her magic. It has all the characteristics from which a solid horror story could be extracted, but unfortunately, “Cinderella’s Revenge” isn’t it. The aforementioned ideas are either touched on briefly or are mangled with so much meta-humor that one can’t help but roll their eyes at it. Andy Edwards has a history of churning out Full Moon-esque horror films, but not the kind from the early '90s heyday, that fall victim to the same traps that Band’s films do; they try too hard and make outrageously bad jokes that never land.
The story here is pretty much as you remember from the Disney film and other variations, albeit with some intentional 4th wall-breaking humor and an interesting twist on the story’s resolution. Cinderella (Lauren Staerck) is stuck with her stepfamily after the passing of her father, and they treat her like absolute shit until her fairy godmother (Natasha Henstridge) shows up to grant her wishes, albeit murderous ones. The first half of the film speaks to previous iterations, and “Cinderella’s Revenge” deviates wildly for the remainder by introducing a mask that gives Cinderella a thirst for “bloody” revenge. If you read that last line and are having a faint recollection of the 1994 Jim Carrey film, The Mask you wouldn’t be mistaken. The entire premise of “Cinderella’s Revenge” is based on the same concept as that film, along with the other elements of the original Cinderella story. It’s a move so odd and ill-fitting of the film, that one has to wonder why it is even there in the first place. Why does Cinderella need a mask to take revenge, and more importantly, how is that more interesting than her just getting fed up and losing it? “Cinderella’s Revenge” has no interest in answering these questions and is chock full of extremely strange choices that take the viewer out of the film…like the horse-drawn chariot being replaced with a fucking Tesla, groan.
The most tragic thing about all of this is that the cast gives an outstanding performance considering the material they have to work with. Cinderella is sympathetic, and her stepfamily is atrocious, but their performances feel too good for a film that refuses to take itself seriously enough to deliver anything compelling or fun. There is so much material to work with here that just doesn’t get used. Like the influence of the fairy godmother being less positive and more murderous, but not doing anything with her ability to do magic aside from manifesting a mask. This extends to the prince charming elements as well as the stepfamily, they all feel underutilized for something that calls itself “Cinderella’s Revenge”. While the stepfamily is awful, their antics never reach the heights of terror or depravity that they need for Cinderella’s turn to be less morality-based and more unhinged. It all just feels like a wasted opportunity to tell a bunch of bad jokes and draw people in with the trend of horrifying children’s stories for the 21st century. It’s a shame too, because with a better script and a more focused story, this could’ve been a really fun and brutal retelling of a rather soft story.
LAST RITES
“Cinderella’s Revenge” is the epitome of a wasted opportunity. A great cast can’t do enough to save the film from an awful script with some of the oddest narrative choices we have ever seen. What could’ve been a bloody and brutal retelling is more of a cringe-inducing attempt at blending humor and horror.
THE GORY DETAILS
Directed By
Written By
Starring
Where can you watch it?
CINDERELLA’S REVENGE releases only in theaters on April 26th, 2024!
Stay up to date with “The Dark Side Of Pop Culture” by following Macabre Daily on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
