"Hmm, there's beautiful big money to make with horror movies about ugly little creeps
" That's what writer/director Mark Jones must have thought after the release of "Leprechaun" in 1993 and, since other directors were already making sequels to his horror movie, he promptly started writing a script revolving on another midget committing nasty and gruesome deeds. There are quite a number of similarities between "Rumpelstiltskin" and "Leprechaun", even aside from the titular characters' short length. Both movies revolve on unworldly creatures one from the Irish mythology and the other a medieval fairy tale character being unleashed in modern civilized times. They're both fanatically searching for something that righteously belongs to them, whether it's a pot of gold or the soul of a firstborn baby, and they are eager to butcher a whole lot of people whilst firing off one cheesy and ludicrous one-liner after the other. I vividly remember reading and listening to the fairy-tale version of "Rumpelstiltskin" as a child. It was one of my favorite macabre stories, what with its 15th Century rural setting and a plot containing elements like child kidnapping and emotional blackmail. The film version opens in these dark medieval times, but then quickly jumps forth in time towards the violence-infested streets of LA in the 1990's. Rumpelstiltskin is locked away in a magic stone, but he's set free when a mourning mother sheds a tear on the stone and wishes for her recently killed husband to come back from the dead and meet their son. When the wish is granted, hideous little Uncle Rumpel (as he hilariously refers to himself once or twice) claims ownership of baby John. The rest of the film depicts Rumpelstiltskin chasing after mother, child and a TV host guy who says equally retarded stuff as the evil dwarf. "Rumpelstiltskin" is fairly enjoyable 90's horror shlock, but you obviously cannot expect a good or even half-decent movie. Mark Jones seemingly hesitated about what he wanted to achieve as well, as the opening sequences (with the tragic death of a young policeman and his struggling being left behind at eight months of pregnancy) are serious-toned and melodramatic, but then as soon as Rumpel shows his hideous face the movie turns into a fast-paced and almost slapstick type of horror comedy. The little creep pretends to be Arnold Schwarzenegger in "The Terminator" because he smokes big cigars and consecutively steals a heavy motorcycle and a gigantic petrol truck. There are a couple of imaginative killings, but don't expect any gore. Max Grodénchik isn't as menacing as Warwick Davis was in "Leprechaun" especially the voice isn't creepy enough but he definitely is ugly enough for the job. Lead actress Kim Johnston Ulrich is very good, but all her direct colleagues Tommy Blaze and particularly Allyce Beasley only evoke sentiments of irritation.
Review of Rumpelstiltskin
