"RUMPELSTILTSKIN" (2025) Makes Fairytales Fun And Frightening Again! (REVIEW)

If you grew up on Grimm’s Fairytales and Hans Christian Anderson, like we did, you know those stories were often morality tales that brought genuine scares in the fire and brimstone tradition, long before Disney cranked out watered-down animated versions for mass appeal. The oldest version of “Cinderella” portrays her as a real nasty piece of work who killed her first step-mother, so her father would marry the maid. “Snow White” ends with the Queen forced to dance herself to death wearing a pair of red-hot iron shoes. “The Little Mermaid” is straight out of Takashi Miike, where Ariel can only become human if she drinks a potion to transform her, but every step feels like she’s walking on knives. The Prince, in a move straight out of any season of “The Bachelor,” decides she’s there for all the wrong reasons and marries someone else. Devastated, Ariel throws herself into the sea, dissolving into foam the moment she hits the water. Don’t even get us started on “Snow White.” Trust us when we tell you it’s super gross, and should have started a “Me Too” movement in the 1800s. Those tales are long forgotten, replaced by singing frogs, dancing bears, and lots and lots of bunnies. We longed for a taste of the sinister nature of the original tales. That wait is over, thanks to Writer/Director  Andy Edwards, hot off the deeply twisted  “Cinderella’s Revenge,” to deliver a delightfully frightful fairytale with “Rumpelstiltskin,” his latest, and best, in what is beginning to become his wickedly wonderful wheelhouse.

SYNOPSIS: 

Once upon a time, a greedy miller (Mark Cook) promises to marry off his beautiful daughter, Evaline (Hannah Baxter-Eve), to the King (Colin Malone). But things don’t quite go to plan when his lies are uncovered and the pair are about to be locked up in a tower forever. So, they make a bold promise to the King, that Evalina will spin straw into gold using a spinning wheel… but that’s easier said than done, and they realize that they’ve made a promise they can’t keep. That is until a mischievous masked creature (Joss Carter) appears from nowhere with the offer of help. But help comes with a cost…When the woman fulfills the task, the King becomes seduced by greed and wants more gold, so in desperation, she pleads with the fiendish imp and they make a deal… her firstborn child for more gold. But everyone gets more than they bargained for when the Devil gets involved and all hell breaks loose.

Images from “Rumpelstiltskin” trailer on Trinity Creative Partnership YouTube Channel

WHAT WORKS:

Working off his own script based on the Grimm’s source material, Edwards puts a modern spin on the classic. Evalina has agency, a wicked wit, a sharp tongue, and all the wants and needs a woman might have just trying to stay out of the King’s dungeon. The script is easily the most substantial part of this film. The dialogue is playful and quick, with a natural rhythm that the actors sink their teeth into. The banter between Evalina and her father, Evalina and Rumpelstiltskin, the King, and Lothar is tight to the point of skit material. Still, it works incredibly well in the context of this interpretation. 

Baxter-Eva carries the film, giving her heroine depth and cunning not found in the original material. Joss Carter deserves particular praise as Rumpelstiltskin. Working under layers of impressive practical make-up, Carter delivers a performance that not only entertains but also elicits sympathy for the woodland imp. The film benefits from incredibly strong performances throughout. Cook, Malone, and Adrian Bouchet, as Sir Lothar, do a magnificent job rounding out the cast, making the most of their roles, and from the look of it, having a blast onscreen. The film was shot in multiple historic locations, requiring Cinematographer, Dom Hopking, to work within limited spaces and environments. His ingenuity in many interior shots and angles that add to the fairytale aesthetic impressed us.

Images from “Rumpelstiltskin” trailer on Trinity Creative Partnership YouTube Channel

WHAT DOESN’T WORK:

It’s not that there’s a lot to the film that simply does not work; it’s more a point of diminishing returns due to budget constraints. “Rumpelstiltskin” often feels like the best Charles Band movie Charles Band never made. Are there some wonky special effects? Sure. Are they offset by some remarkably accomplished practical? Yes. What’s achieved with the budget for the film is incredibly impressive, but you can only dress up specific locations so much. It’s a testament to the cast and crew that, although a low-budget film in every sense of the word, this movie transcends the typical pitfalls accompanying that moniker and deserves to be sought out by horror audiences. 

Images from “Rumpelstiltskin” trailer on Trinity Creative Partnership YouTube Channel

SUMMARY:

Andy Edwards may be painting himself into a corner as the go-to for fantastically fractured fairytales, but I don’t think he’d mind. Based on what we just watched with “Rumpelstiltskin,” we’d happily sit through his renditions of any fairytale he’s likely to tackle next. He has a knack for blending the old world style with a modern sensibility that results in an incredibly fun viewing experience. We’re excited to see what he has in store for us next.

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