FrightFest Glasgow 2025: ‘Rumpelstiltskin’ Review
Stars: Hannah Baxter-Eve, Colin Malone, Adrian Bouchet, Joss Carter | Written and Directed by Andy Edwards
Once upon a time, a miller attempted to marry his daughter off to the King by promising she could spin straw into gold. With the help of a demonic imp, she completes the task, but the King becomes greedy and wants more. So she promises the imp her firstborn in return for yet more favours. But when it comes time to honour her bargain, dark forces merge when the Imp makes a deal with the devil
Produced by Paranoid Android Films, whose bold statement of, “Our budgets may be low, but our concepts are high” promises a good time to viewers willing to take a punt on this new spin on the tale of Rumpelstiltskin.
Opening in medieval times, in dark and mysterious woods, awash with dire warnings and dead things, we find millers daughter, Evalina (Hannah Baxter-Eve), having some fun with the local woodcutter’s son – straight from the off, this isn’t your fairy tales of old – eviscerated animals, haunted forests and outdoor sex, put us firmly in horror territory. And then we’re introduced to The King (Colin Malone) – a callous, uncaring drunkard, whose penchant for offing his wives when failing to deliver a male heir, is nattily illustrated early on in the first act. Alongside his counsel, Sir Lothar (Adrian Bouchet), The King raises taxes on the poor, from the confines of the Royal Court, while putting out an advert for a new wife, even as his previous other half’s warm blood drips down a pike in the courtyard.
On with the story, and Evalina and her father pose as gentry (attempting to become the new Queen), get quickly caught and Dad spins the most terribly thought out of lies, and promises The King, that his daughter, can indeed spin wool, into gold. Luckily for Evalina, inhabiting the dark corners of her dungeon is an imp, powerful with dark and ancient magic, whose talents helpfully include forging gold out of Dad’s bullshit story. Alas, this being both fairy tale and horror movie, The King’s demands for gold grow, Evalina becomes increasingly desperate, and the imp’s working conditions develop a devilish tinge…
Going in, I expected little from Rumpelstiltskin; the trend of taking license-free properties, and spinning cheap budget, genre-cliché drivel has really ramped up in recent years – Mickey Mouse murders and Winnie the Pooh death-dealing, have left me dubious, as to the cinematic value of these odd filmic creatures. Fortunately, the efforts of a good cast, economical cinematography, excellent production and creature design, and some fun dialogue, make this particular fairy tale, worth 90 minutes of your life.
Writer/Director, Andy Edwards (and fellow Sheffield Hallam Film Studies alumni!) makes the most of every penny of his limited budget. Locations, production and costumes are convincingly medieval, calling to mind Hammer Horrors of old – by keeping the film locked to a few locations, the period detail is convincing and the courts of kings and the straw huts of the poor folk, all seemingly belong in a higher budget piece.
Rumpelstiltskin’s script playfully mixes the expected Olde English, with a dash of Guy Ritchie-isms. Both King and Evalina provide a fun and colourful dialogue, with liberal use of f**ks and c**ts being thrown at each other! The screenplay doesn’t take itself too seriously and only gets better with the arrival of the title character.
From the dark, emerges: Rumpelstiltskin. Superbly designed in full-body make-up, the creature draws favourable comparisons with the orcs of Peter Jackson’s, Lord of the Rings trilogy. Of course, the monster is only as good as its performance, and in Joss Carter, Rumpel is a delightfully menacing character. With a dose of Gollum, Carter enthusiastically plays his imp as a cockney Pennywise, an insidiously playful performance, physically small, but cunning and deceitful, Carter eats up the dialogue and chews his way through every scene. In this character, Andy Edwards may have his own franchise icon, in the same vein as the Wishmaster series.
Not to be outdone, Hannah Baxter-Eve, as Evalina, leads the film with a fiery, determined performance. No shrinking violet, Evalina takes issue with her role in a patriarchal society that doesn’t allow women to read, and sees women’s only use, as breeders. Baxter-Eve brings a forked tongue, a physical performance and a determination that lends itself to the strong female characters of James Cameron and John Carpenter – Evalina would be right at home blasting xenomorphs, or tackling Michael Myers.
Rounding out the talented cast, Adrian Bouchet (Sir Lothar) and Colin Malone (The King) have fun in the villainous roles of the king’s court – Malone especially spits his lines at the camera with a venom, that makes him a truly despicable, unlikable human-being.
Rumpelstiltskin does have its weaker points. While tightly edited, pacing is slightly off, with the final act slowing right down, when you want to see it running to its final moments. And the ending happens so quickly, that you might think that the production ran out of cash! The dark magic of the Elder Gods, intriguingly introduced via the nefarious imp, is also underdeveloped – perhaps lore that could be explored in future instalments?
In spite of its limitations of budget, Rumpelstiltskin delivers a fun hour and a half. With a cast and crew committed to making every penny, production choice and scene matter, I look forward to watching the career trajectories of all involved.
An unexpected little slice of spindled gold.
