By Mark Hockley
The storyline is familiar: Rumplestiltskin helps a girl impress the King by spinning gold from straw, but has to promise her future child in payment.
A low-budget horror version of the fairytale, the director/writer Andy Edwards has similar credits, such as Cinderella’s Revenge and Punch. I haven’t seen either of those features, and on the strength of this effort, I doubt I ever will.
The production design is adequate, aiming for a low-key, functional look. The lack of vibrancy does become a bit dreary after a while, though. More problematic is the acting style, often reminiscent of a children’s TV series, if a regular smattering of curse words were permitted. In terms of performance, Mark Cook as the Miller is overly exaggerated and Hannah Baxter-Eve does her best with a poorly written role as the heroine, Evalina.
Whatever the original intention was, I wouldn’t label this as horror. It’s all very coy and has no sense of danger or dread. The title character looks like a mini orc, and there is little action, gore or intensity.
When an old children’s story is adapted for the horror genre, it’s reasonable to expect something vaguely horrific. That’s not the case here.
I’m baffled as to why anyone would think taking this lightweight approach was a good idea. At times amateurish, at others simply bland, Rumplestiltskin fails to deliver any kind of entertainment as far as I’m concerned.
Bloody Flicks 