ASK SOMEONE TO CITE A favourite fairy tale these days, and most people immediately think of a Disney-fied version of a classic like Cinderella - but when that story was first published in France in the 17th century, it was rather different. Before they evolved, spreading around the globe, these cultural cautionary tales were often sexual, violent and very weird.
We have the Brothers Grimm to blame for sanitising many fairy tales to make them more digestible for children; they're also often sexist, with inert princesses being saved by heroic princes. However, Netflix's Damsel, executiveproduced by and starring Stranger Things' Millie Bobby Brown as Princess Elodie, is a refreshing return to fairy tales rife with dark themes, violence and human behaviour that's worse than anything seen from monsters.
Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) from an original story by Dan Mazeau (Wrath Of The Titans), Damsel takes all of the typical tropes inherent to today's princess-centric fairy tales - glorious castles, lush costumes, charming suitors and happilyever-afters - and remixes them into a story told from the female point of view, one which inverts all expectations.
This story is from the March 2024 edition of SFX UK.
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This story is from the March 2024 edition of SFX UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Making Alien - Jaws in Space - Forty-five years on from its original release, Alien continues to terrify. We dissect what arguably remains the most chilling instalment in the saga
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TEENAGE DREAM
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