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RUMPELSTILTSKIN (2025)
3 stars
Miracle Media. Digital. Out Now
The king (Colin Malone) is on his throne drinking whilst the queen is screaming in pain as she is giving birth. It’s a girl … which displeases the king. The monarch demands to see all the eligible young ladies, so he can take a new wife, who might give him a son and heir – the local miller hits on the idea of pretending to be a nobleman and presenting his daughter Evalina (Hannah Baxter-Eve) as a lady, as he knows real ones won’t be in attendance. Unfortunately for him Sir Lothar (Adrian Bouchet) recognises them. To save his skin he claims his daughter can spin straw into gold!
The king orders a spinning wheel – except Evalina doesn’t even know how to spin. Luckily for her, in her cell she meets a strange impish forest creature who offers to help, claiming he can do the task – in exchange for a kiss. He puts her to sleep and the next morning there is spun gold on a spindle. He is of course the titular character from Grimms’ Fairy Tales (well played by Joss Carter).
She is asked to do it again, with each time the odd little man asking for more from her – until he demands her first born! Impressed by the riches she offers, she becomes the new Queen, but actively tries to not get pregnant. Inevitably we get to the well known part of the famous story… can she guess his name?
A take on the Brothers Grimm, which pushes the horror aspects to the fore and even dips into folk horror, plus adds modern swearing to the mix. Rumplestiltskin is well realised and played to the hilt by Joss Carter, even if you do expect him to say “my precious” at any minute. He’s the best thing here, though Baxter-Eve is feisty as the miller’s daughter.
Written and directed by Andy Edwards (2023’s PUNCH), this shows ambition, and they had access to a good location by the look of it, which adds value to the production. Though at times it plays like a re-enactment troupe, out for a weekend of playing, leading inevitably to some patchy acting. The film is shot in square ratio – not sure why.
Steve Kirkham
