Cinderella’s Revenge review.
The glass slipper is on the other foot.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Cinderella’s Revenge
Directed by Andy Edwards
Written by Tom Jolliffe
Starring Lauren Staerck, Natasha Henstridge, Stephanie Lodge, Beatrice Fletcher, Megan Purvis, Darrell Griggs and Mike Kelson
Cinderella’s Revenge Review
It’s understandable that you may find yourself suffering from public domain horror fatigue. While the two Winnie-the-Pooh movies (so far) have stolen the headlines…we’ve seen more than our share of similar takes on childhood memories of late. Unlike those Poohniverse films…Alice in Terrorland attempted to utilize the themes of its source material to tell a psychological horror story. Mostly, however, we’re just getting kid’s stories forced into slasher movies. Mary Had a Little Lamb and Three Blind Mice, for example. Cinderella’s Revenge can lay claim to something that none of these others can. Its source material is ripe for a revenge thriller. How it goes about delivering one…well…that’s what we’re going to talk about today.
Cinderella’s Revenge is so confident that the age-old folk tale fits the revenge horror model it retells nearly the entire thing. The first half of the movie is dedicated to the mostly familiar story of Cinderella and her wicked stepfamily. There is a ball thrown by Prince Charming. A fairy Godmother (Natasha Hentstridge) pops in to grant a wish (or two). A glass slipper is left behind. It’s a story that you already know. A full half of Cinderella’s Revenge is a simple, low-budget, version of that story.
Which makes Cinderella’s Revenge interesting to discuss. There’s a battle going on between what’s right for the story and what’s right for enjoying it. A brief recap of the Cinderella tale would have more than sufficed the build towards the revenge aspect of the story. That would have been the preferred path for the most entertaining version possible. There is, however, something to be said for committing to the full Cinderella experience. You understand this Cinderella’s world completely. The characters don’t have to rely on childhood memories of their archetypes. Cinderella’s Revenge knows that the classic story fits where this new one is heading perfectly. So why change or truncate it?
That’s the debate you are likely to have running through your head during the first half of Cinderella’s Revenge. It presents nothing new in the way of the fairy tale until after Prince Charming’s ball. Well…it opens with a scene that you won’t find in the Disney animated classic. A scene that ensures you understand just how evil this wicked stepmother is. After that, however, you spend plenty of time watching a rerun. The choice that Cinderella’s Revenge makes works for the presentation of a complete narrative. It’s also largely a bore to watch.
Lauren Staerck gives a fine, committed performance as the classic princess-to-be. Henstridge is fun as a modern fairy godmother free from the constraints of linear time. She makes references that befuddle the horse and carriage era Cinderella. Unfortunately, they’re never as funny as they should be. What the fairy godmother does, however, is to ask a question that everyone asks themselves at one point or another in their lives while watching a Cinderella adaptation. Don’t you just want to kill these horrible people?
That question (paraphrased here) sets Cinderella’s Revenge onto its second half. The revenge story for a character who has deserved one the whole time. Cinderella receives a mask from her fairy godmother that gives her the strength to exact her vengeance. She also says it will hide her identity from her targets (and herself) to help her deal with the emotion of taking human lives. That never works even a little bit. Not only does every single target immediately recognize their attacker…Cinderella herself is in no way protected from the internal fallout. She just happens to like it.
We’re still dealing with a low-budget problem when the movie shifts into its revenge stage. It’s still a lot more fun than the first half. Staerck pulls the switch off well. She’s the highlight of the piece…and does everything she can to keep things engaging while the story refuses to innovate. Everything is done in service of the second half…when you’ll (hopefully) be excited to see some of the worst characters from your childhood get their long-awaited comeuppance. By choosing to tell the full classic story before shifting to its a horror ending…Cinderella’s Revenge gives you the whole package. It’s just not as exciting to watch as a larger focus on the vengeance would have been.
Scare Value
If you’ve ever wanted to see Cinderella exact bloody revenge on the horrible people in her life…Cinderella’s Revenge gives it to you. Eventually. Whether it makes the right call for entertainment value is up to you. The cast commits to the concept…which helps make up for the budgetary constraints. Just be prepared to relive a full, bland retelling of a story you’ve heard a million times before having any fun.
2/5
Cinderella’s Revenge Link
Buy tickets on Fandango
