Leprechaun (1993)
Written and Directed by: Mark Jones
Featuring: Warwick Davis, Mark Holton, Robert Gorman
Rating: R (Horror, Violence, and Language)
Runtime: 92 mins.
Release Date: 1993 Trimark Pictures (Lionsgate)
Who doesn’t love a good cheesy horror flick??? Well if you answered no, then avoid this movie and its entire franchise. Now I am not saying this is a bad movie, as a matter of fact I really enjoy this movie, but if you are looking for an Oscar worthy performance from anyone in this film, well then you just are in the wrong place. In fact you are on the wrong blog! We don’t do Oscar worthy here at Hellful Horror. What we do is fun, enjoyable, entertaining films that can make you laugh (with corny dialogue and terrible acting), cry (some movies are just terrible and make you sad that you wasted your time), and give you a lifetime of memorable quotes (that you can use to poke fun at your friends and even yourself). Now with the being said, Leprechaun is a fun movie that has all the classic elements of a good low to no budget horror movie. Good laughs, a decent and obviously fictional storyline, and the feature film debut of one of Hollywood’s hugest stars.
We begin with the arrival of Daniel O’Grady. He pulls up in front of his run down home in a fancy limousine. Returning from Ireland, and his mother’s funeral, to find his wife on the porch stupefied by her husband’s frivolous spending. After tipping the driver, he informs his wife that while in Ireland, he captured a Leprechaun and forced him to give Dan a pot of gold. Laughing at the absurd story Mrs. O’Grady is quickly shocked to find out that Danny had sent home an urn that was not filled with his mother’s ashes but a bag of gold coins. What Mr. O’Grady doesn’t realize is that he has also brought home the evil gnome he had stolen from.
Hell-bent on retrieving his most prized possession, the Leprechaun (Warwick Davis- Willow and the Harry Potter series) uses his magical powers to quickly gain the upper hand in finding his fortune, but Mr. O’Grady has an ace up his sleeve. Trapping the wee man in a wooden crate under the power of a 4 leaf clover, and while trying to destroy the carton, Mr. O’Grady suffers a stroke and fails at putting an end to the “Little Green Bastard.” This leaves the Leprechaun trapped in the box forever…
Nathan has two helpers along to help with the painting, though they tend to mess up more than they actually fix. Alex (Robert Gorman- Mr. Nanny, Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitters Dead) is a wise cracking, smart alecky boy, and Ozzie (Mark Holton- Teen Wolf I & II, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure) is a gullible buffoon who sees the Leprechaun escape after the clover’s spell is removed. Ozzie keeps yammering about the Leprechaun, which no one believes he saw. Ozzie is an 8 year old kid trapped in a 30 year old man’s body. He supplies quite a few childish laughs, including calling the police and yelling, “Help! Help! It’s happening, the attack is on! The Leprechaun is attacking, send the Army, Navy, guns, Marines…” The deputies then mock that Ozzie had called freaking about Aliens and Bigfoot in the past. Ozzie and Alex see a rainbow and run off to try to find the end of it. They actually make it to the end of the rainbow and find the Leprechaun’s gold, taking a piece to get examined later in town for authenticity.
While the kids are off playing, Mr. Reding is attacked by a cat (the Leprechaun using a cat call). They make it back just in time to rush off to the emergency room with Tory and Nathan to get Mr. Reding checked out. Tory’s father is kept overnight at the hospital for observation and misses all the forthcoming fun.
After they return to the home, the real shenanigans begin. The house has been ransacked by the Leprechaun, Ozzie keeps trying to blame the mythical creature, but everyone is growing tired of his stories. Shortly after, Nathan goes outside to investigate a noise (see the horror elements??? Lol) and falls into a bear trap set by our Tiny Green Friend. Now the word is out, Leprechauns are real, and they are not the joyful little guys protecting their lucky charms. This magical menace continues to taunt the group looking for his precious pot.
Alex and Ozzie finally confess to knowing where the gold is and it is returned to the greedy troll. Thinking the worst is over, Tory and her friends try to relax, but the Leprechaun returns even more angered. He was short one schilling. Where is the missing schilling? Can the faction finish off the virtually indestructible gremlin? What powers does the 4 leaf clover have over this mighty midget? All this and more is answered in the comically entertaining conclusion of this children’s movie that was altered to an adult themed horror film.
Leprechaun has gone on to make several sequels. It is a fun movie to watch with an R rating, it is still pretty mild. I believe the R was only because of a few F-bombs and some bloody scenes. My four year old son loved this movie and greatly enjoyed the sequels also. This film is also easily obtainable; Wal Mart carries a 4 film set including Leprechaun 1-4 for $5. I personally think that is a small fee for a set of movies you can have fun with.
My View: 4/5 I think this is definetly worth a watch and even worth the purchase. If you totally hate it, you are only out $5 and donate it to your local library. Then you’re also helping the community.
Body Count: 4 (5 if you count the Leprechaun himself)
Nudity: 0
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