The film's take on the story starts with a brief visit to the 15th century, when the foul-mouthed, hunchbacked, ugly creature Rumpelstiltskin had done the deal for the miller's daughter. He spun her gold, but she squelched on the deal, refusing to give him her first-born child. Things turn nasty and various dubious 'middle-ages' characters and witches give him the bum's rush out of town, eventually putting a curse on him which seals him up in a green stone figurine. He is to stay there forever - or until someone makes a wish on it. They chuck it into the sea.
Move forward to the present day (well, 1995 I guess) and the figurine turns up, unexplainedly, in a dark, back-alley curiosities shop of sorts in Los Angeles. Shelley Stewart, a young widow whose police officer husband was recently killed in the line of duty, visits the shop with her friend. She finds the strange figurine and, in a moment of grief, wishes for her husband to come back just one more time.
The wish triggers the release of Rumpelstiltskin. He appears, looking like a rotting, leather-clad version of the fairy tale character, and fulfils the wish - but with a cruel twist. Her husband briefly "returns" as himself, cons her into a night of sex, then - having had his wicked way with her - turns back into the dreaded creature, demanding his payment - her newborn baby!
The rest of the film plays out as a high-stakes chase as Shelley flees with her brat, aided by an eccentric TV show host named Max (no, really) who happened to be passing when her car broke down. Rumpelstiltskin quickly learns how to expertly ride a motorbike, then a huge lorry, as the film briefly turns into something of a Duel (1971) outing! He uses his supernatural strength and dark magic to kill anyone who gets in his way, including several police officers and bystanders.
Shelley discovers that the only way to defeat the creature is the same way he was defeated in the original tale (she and her friend rediscover the story in a book), by knowing his name. However, in this Mark Jones version, simply saying it isn't enough - he's also got to be physically destroyed while his name is spoken! You can probably imagine the outcome as the chase continues - chaos, destruction with blood and gore in its wake.
Mark Jones’ stuff often blurs the line between the terrifying and the absurd, creating a specific horror schtick that is interesting, for sure! This one is available now on various streaming services, along with the whole Leprechaun series and the likes of his Quiet Kill (2004), Triloquist (2008) and Scorned (2013). The distinctive-looking (even before makeup) Max Grodénchik (Deep Space Nine) plays the titular star, the very pretty American TV evergreen Kim Johnston Ulrich plays Shelley, Tommy Blaze is Max and Allyce Beasley (Moonlighting) is Shelley's friend, Hildy. Oh, and watch out for the gypsy woman played by 3rd Rock from the Sun’s Mrs Dubcek, Elmarie Wendel!
It's all good fun, tongue firmly in cheek throughout. It's not a fairy tale for kids (even if the dubious original was) and it's all here for the audience to have a laugh with. Once again - Friday night, beers, popcorn! Enjoy - and spare a nod to the late Mr Jones.
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