''Rumpelstiltskin'' is a 1995 American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

horror

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Mark Jones and starring

Max Grodénchik Max Grodénchik (born November 12, 1952), also known as Michael Grodénchik, is an American stage, film, and television actor, best known for his role as Rom, a recurring character on the television series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. Biogr ...

as the title character.

Plot

In the 15th century, Rumpelstiltskin is imprisoned inside a small jade figurine. In modern-day Los Angeles, the recently widowed wife of a police officer, with baby in tow, finds her way into a witch's shop and purchases a certain figurine, resulting in the cackling beast being freed and demanding possession of the baby.

Cast

Kim Johnston Ulrich Kim Johnston Ulrich (born Kim Charisse Johnston) is an American actress. Born Kim Charisse Johnston, she is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George P. Johnston. She graduated with an Associate of Arts degree in fashion merchandising from Modesto ...

as Shelly Stewart *Tommy Blaze as Max Bergman *

Allyce Beasley Allyce Beasley ( Tannenberg) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as rhyming, love-struck receptionist Agnes DiPesto in the television series ''Moonlighting''. From 2001 to 2007, she was the announcer on Playhouse Disney, a mor ...

as Hildy *

Rumpelstiltskin "Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; german: Rumpelstilzchen) is a German fairy tale. It was collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of ''Children's and Household Tales''. The story is about a little imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a g ...

*Vera Lockwood as Matilda * Jay Pickett as Russell Stewart *

Sherman Augustus Sherman Augustus (born January 10, 1959) is an American actor, martial artist and former National Football League, NFL player. He is best known for his role as Nathaniel Moon in the AMC (TV channel), AMC series Into the Badlands (TV series), Into ...

as John McCabe *Valerie Wildman as Nedda * Jack McGee as Detective Ben Smith *

Mark Holton Mark Douglas Holton (born April 2, 1958) is an American actor, best known for portraying Francis Buxton in '' Pee-wee's Big Adventure'' (1985), Chubby in the ''Teen Wolf'' film series and Ozzie Jones in ''Leprechaun'' (1993), and ''Leprechaun Ret ...

as Huge Man *

Elmarie Wendel Elmarie Louise Wendel (November 23, 1928 – c. July 21, 2018) was an American actress and singer best known as Mamie Dubcek on the NBC sitcom '' 3rd Rock from the Sun''. Early life Born on a farm in Howard County, Iowa, one of five siblings, ...

as Gypsy Woman

Release

''Rumpelstiltskin'' was not a success at the box office, it made only $306,494, with its widest release being 54 theaters. The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

on August 21, 2001, by

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

. The film was released on

on January 10, 2004, by

Lionsgate Home Entertainment Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered in ...

Critical response

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

wrote, "this groan-inducing would-be

camp Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

..boasts some good makeup by Kevin Yagher but is still easily the worst of the '90s crop of fairy-tale horrors."

JoBlo.com The JoBlo Movie Network includes a website, JoBlo.com, which focuses on news, film reviews, and movie trailers; and YouTube channels that focus on trailers, movie clips, celebrity interviews, original content, and as film distribution. Early da ...

's Arrow in the Head reviewed the movie in 2019, stating that "Listen, ''RUMPELSTILTSKIN'' is no award-winner, we all understand that. However, the movie is much better than the 10% box-office return it suffered on its already modest budget. It’s fast, fun, funny, gory, and knowingly pokes fun of itself as nothing more than a dark farcical fairytale." Most reviews by the general public are polarized, both citing the film's absurdity as the deciding factor in their opinion. Fans of the movie would say that ''Rumpelstiltskin'' is a prime example of the "movies so bad that they're actually good" genre.

References

External links

* * * 1995 films 1995 horror films American supernatural horror films Films scored by Charles Bernstein Films set in Los Angeles Films based on Rumpelstiltskin 1990s comedy horror films 1995 comedy films 1990s English-language films Films directed by Mark Jones 1990s American films Horror films based on children's franchises {{comedy-horror-film-stub