Rumpelstiltskin (1995 film)

Rumpelstiltskin is a 1995 American fantasy horror comedy film directed by Mark Jones and starring Max Grodénchik 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 as Shelly Stewart
 * Tommy Blaze as Max Bergman
 * Allyce Beasley as Hildy
 * Max Grodénchik as Rumpelstiltskin
 * Vera Lockwood as Matilda
 * Jay Pickett as Russell Stewart
 * Sherman Augustus as John McCabe
 * Valerie Wildman as Nedda
 * Jack McGee as Detective Ben Smith
 * Mark Holton as Huge Man
 * Elmarie Wendel as Gypsy Woman

Production
Mark Jones and producer Michael Prescott had initially been involved in pre-production on Leprechaun 2, but when Rumpelstiltskin was greenlit the two took producer credits for Leprechaun 2 while opting to do Rumpelstiltskin.

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 on August 21, 2001, by Republic Pictures. The film was released on DVD on January 10, 2004, by Lionsgate Home Entertainment

Critical response
AllMovie wrote, "this groan-inducing would-be camp [...] boasts some good makeup by Kevin Yagher but is still easily the worst of the '90s crop of fairy-tale horrors." JoBlo.com'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.