Rumpelstiltskin

When I rented Rumpelstiltskin I had mixed feelings about it. I had rented Pinocciho's Revenge and that sucked, so renting another childrens fairy tale turned into a horror movie was questionable. But I said what the hell, for $3.50 might as well give it a shot, and you know somethin, the movie rocked. Everyone that knows me knows, that JAWS is my num. 1 favorite movie, then came Tremors and Leprechaun, but when I rented Rumpelstiltskin, out went the Leprechaun ass first and Rumpy took over. This movie rocks. It's a mix of horror action and comedy. Max Grodenchick did an awesome job and for anyone that gave Rumpelstiltskin a bad review, well you can just go rent it again, then push the eject butten, take the movie, turn it side - ways, and stick it straight up your candy @$$!

A strange urge took possession over me and encouraged me to re-watch this epic piece of fairy-tale terror with an attitude. I can't help it, but I'm still having fun with this one. Liked it the first time, and I still do. It's from the director who brought us that other masterpiece of little people's horror, the original LEPRECHAUN. Believe it or not, both movies are just about on par with each other and equally enjoyable. If it's not clear already: Yes, we're talking B-movie tongue-in-cheek horror. But at least it was shot on real film and doesn't suffer from a cheap shot-on-video look (like a lot of B-movies from the late 90's do).

RUMPELSTILSKIN is a nonsensical take on a Grimm fairy-tale gone bad. After being imprisoned for about 500 years in a little statue made out of stone (at the bottom of the ocean, no less), Rumpelstiltskin gets set free by a grieving, young mother, who just bought the statue in some antique-store. Now our little devilish fiend wants the soul of mommy's baby, to render himself immortal.

While most mediocre horror efforts from the 90's made the mistake playing it serious when not up to the task, at least there was nonsense like RUMPELSTILTSKIN that has its idiotic heart at the right place. Main attraction is, without a doubt, Max Grodénchik as the titular little bastard, spewing one ridiculous one-liner after another. At one point he even quotes Col. Hannibal from THE A-TEAM by saying "I love it when a plan comes together", while driving an 8-wheeler and puffing on a cigar. And that's by far not his best one-liner. But who would have guessed a 15th century troll-demon would know who George Peppard is…?

If the first encounter between Shelley Stewart (the young mother) and freshly unleashed Rumpelstiltskin doesn't win you over, then I'm afraid the rest of the movie might be lost on you too. When trying to protect her baby, Shelley - who appears to be so mild-hearted and very gentle at first - begins with kicking Rumpy in the balls, then suddenly pulls out a big knife and viciously shouts "When you take one more step, I'll rip your head off and shove it up your ass!" (and she said it like she meant it). She then proceeds cutting off one of his fingers, planting the knife in his forehead and even shoving a spike-shaped broomstick into his mouth. I mean, if that doesn't put a grin on your face, I'm not sure what will.

The rest of the film is a ridiculously fun ride and the movie's pace even gets upped a bit by injecting that road-movie vibe, halfway through the film. To top it off, there's some fun make-up effects by Kevin Yagher (check out the man's resumé if you've never heard of him and you'll see he always delivers the goods).

It's harmless fun, I tell you. But stay away from it if you feel like taking yourself too seriously.

Did you ever see Leprechaun? If you answered 'yes' continue. Did you like it? If you answered 'no', get out of here fast and don't watch Rumpelstiltskin.

Sorry, that was just a quick filter to stop potential 'haters' of this movie seeing it or reading this. So if you like horror, you'll be aware that between around 1988-1996 the genre was ridiculous and terrible, bar a few noble exceptions. Only 99% of the stuff that came out was terrible. However, as a kid, it was great to be able to watch things like Leprechaun/Rumpelstiltskin and be mildly scared (mostly by the box cover) and be amused also.

I have fond memories of Rumpelstiltskin, and when I watched it yesterday I still enjoyed it. It's nothing special, but Rumpelstiltskin looks quite evil, says lines like "this ain't no fairytale" and even raises the dead once. Awesome!

You can see the director thought 'shit, look at my budget, I don't need all that', so he just decided to blow stuff up. There are some great explosions of trucks...yes, there is a Rumpelstiltskin car chase!

Criticisms. Acting: the acting was so bad, not quite 'Manos' bad, but everyone bar the mother of the baby and the cop who dies early on were terrible. Even little Rumpel is only OK, would have liked less comic humour and more sinister stuff. Plot: It's weak and sometimes it's too slow, others too fast. Like when Rumpel is unleashed the pacing goes out the window. Though I must say, there's plenty of the little guy in this movie and that's what we want to see so I can't complain. Rumpel: He's a good character, but if it wasn't for Leprechaun's cult following would they have made Rumpel more sinister? It may not have worked because he's laughable even before he speaks.

This movie works only if you suspend all belief and expect as little as possible. It helps if you're bored and just don't care what you watch also. 6/10 just because of it's faint charm and explosions. There is no horror to be found in this movie!

I did not really think much of this movie when I first saw the video in the video shop. But when I saw it.........WHAM This is a good horror, and if you showed this to a kid he would cry whenever you told him the story of Rumpelstiltskin. This is a crazy film with a weird story and a pretty average ending. I would recommend this to anyone who likes horror movies like me!. I would give this a 5 out of 10.

Rumpelstiltskin is based on story by the Grimm brothers, and it has been filmed few times before, including once starring the great midget himself Billy Barty as Rumpelstiltskin. However this version seems to be just a cheap Leprechaun rip off, you can easily imagine the baby chasing Rumpelstiltskin replaced by Warvick Davis chasing a pot of gold.

I cant say I watched this movie from beginning to end with great interest, in fact I missed the other half almost completely. So there is a change that during the second half there was some big and unique plot revelation that makes this movie rise to a classic level, but I think not. Overally Rumpelstiltskin is just your typical cheap D-grade horrorflick which is made with little or no talent or enthusiasm.

The actors are lifeless, including the guy playing the villain Rumpelstiltskin, Max Grodénchik. This is a shame because a good villain can save a lot in these kinds of movies. Too bad Grodenchik lacks the personality to make the character work. Kevin Yaghers Rumpelstiltskin make up is pretty uninspired too.

Overally.. this is a very bad and cheaply done horror film with lousy acting. 3/10 is pretty rightful rating for it. Some of you bad horror film fans might like it, but I suggest not to invest money in it.