If horror cinema has proven anything, it’s that it’s possible to eke out a movie from even the most ridiculous premise. Over the years we’ve had Killer Klowns that hail from outer space; all manner of mutated wildlife including rabbits, shrews and slugs; and whatever the hell Neon Maniacs was supposed to be – but while managing to knock out a bizarre premise is one thing, managing to stretch as ludicrous premise into a franchise is a whole other kettle of fish.
As of writing, the Leprechaun franchise has an impressive eight entries under its green, felt hat that’s surely pushed the very boundaries of the absurd. By my count, the title character has been to Vegas, space and the hood (twice), he’s had technically two reboots and he’s been played by three seperate actors – one of whom was a WWE Wrestler. But to trace back to the beginnings of this insanity from the Emerald Isle, we’ll have to go back to the simpler times of 1993 to witness how an icon started to rise – and by that, I mean both the Leprechaun and the career of a pre-nose job Jennifer Aniston.
Back in 1983, an overjoyed Dan O’Grady returns to North Dakota from a trip to his homeland in Ireland to reveal to his wife that they are now rich. The reason for O’Grady’s sudden wealth is that he claims that while in Ireland, he managed to catch himself a Leprechaun, thus meaning that he can lay claim to its pot of gold; but while his wife dismisses this as typical drunken hogwash, she’s about to discover that her husband has done something pretty dangerous. You see, Leprechauns love their gold even more than they do shining up shoes, and soon the couple discover that the malevolent little fucker has followed them to America to violently take back what’s his.
In the ensuing battle, O’Grady manages to subdue his cackling foe with a Leprechaun’s kryptonite – a four leaf clover, of course – and seal him up an a crate, however, after ten years pass, soon the house is rented for the summer by cityfolk J.D. Redding and his daughter, Tori, who resents being dragged all the way to the middle of nowhere. However, while she consoles herself with oggling local himbo handyman, Nathan Murphy, as he gets the dilapidated house back up to speed with the help of his 10 year-old brother, Alex, and their simple minded friend, Ozzie.
Of course, soon the inevitable happens and the Leprechaun is released from his decade long imprisonment, which means that his search for his gold picks right up from where it left off – Leprechauns are nothing if not consistent. Soon, Tori, Nathan, Alex and Ozzie are in a fight for their lives as the diminutive doom bringer now holds them responsible for his missing coins. But as the group struggle against a seemingly unkillable foe, matters are made infinitely more complicated when it’s revealed that Ozzie accidentally swallowed some of the Leprechaun’s bling.
Essentially straddling the divide between the quip laden, fantasy-based slasher work of a Freddy Krueger and a full on killer critter flick such as – well, Critters, Leprechaun is about as ridiculous a horror premise can get. Thankfully, the makers of the film obviously agreed 100% and writer/director Mark Jones dutifully steers his film into the realms of the horror comedy to fully take advantage of such an endearing dumb premise. However, as weird as it is to say about a film that features a moment where the Leprechaun kills someone by jumping on them with a pogo stick, I’ve always felt that the debut of one of horror’s more stranger icons underachieved somewhat. Obviously, a flick about a killer Leprechaun is always going to veer into so-bad-it’s-good territory, but while Jones keeps things nice and playful (Leppy is ultimately about as genuinely threatening as a disgruntled Opossum), I’ve always felt that the movie could have gone harder with merging the world building with the humour.
Take the Chiodo Brothers 1988 masterpiece of sci-fi camp, the aforementioned Killer Klowns From Outer Space which took its laughable premise and turned it into a comedic masterclass in imaginative world building. In fact, the sheer level of care an attention that was put into a film about rubbery clown aliens turning victims into bloody cocoons of candyfloss proved that even the most idiotic of premices can be turned into something special. Leprechaun, sadly can’t hope to match the Killer Klowns in either jokes or imagination, however I do genuinely believe it could have if the filmmakers had tightened up their comedy chops and took the jokes way more seriously. Also, the human characters suffer from either being bland, annoying, or in Mark Holton’s childlike Ozzie, a bit iffy.
Rather than tight gags and utilising its stupidity in a more intelligent way, the movie frustratingly relies on its title character rapidly firing out random jokes and gambles huge on the sight of a little person riding a bunch of vehicles for comedy effect (pogo stick, tricycle, skateboard, go-kart, etc.). You may be confused at why I’m taking a movie about a killer Leprechaun so seriously, but I genuinely believe that a legitimately witty horror/comedy lurks within its green, suited skim, that only manages to break through and be genuinely funny a handful of times. Take the moment where the characters hold him off by throwing him unpolished shoes – it’s funny because it fits Leprechaun lore and it’s utterly ridiculous and more moments like this would have benefited the movie greatly.
Still, I have to give credit where credit is due, and while I’ve come down surprisingly hard on a killer Leprechaun movie not being smart enough – it’s two main performances manage to pull the film through. Yes, the fact that Jennifer Aniston fought a Leprechaun to the death before she rocked up at Central Perk may be the unintentional joke that keeps on giving, but despite her humble beginnings and her differently shaped nose, you can actually see the budding talent for comic timing that went on and helped make her a household name. However, it’s Warwick Davis’ show and his debut of Wicket the Ewok helps him tremendously as he’s required to be a virtual live wire despite being buried under layers of latex and wearing buckled shoes with some truly formidable looking heels. Visually speaking, Davis is bang on the money, right down to his stripey socks and natty emerald green threads and he has to be commended for the way he hurls himself around the movie like a green, giggling ball of energy. When it comes to actually sustaining an accent, the actor admittedly struggles (Try as he may, and try as he might, Warwick’s Irish brogue, is noticably shite), but you can’t fault the man’s enthusiasm as he deals out cheesy one-liners like he’s being paid by the quip – however, for all the inconsistent one liners, the fact that the actor truly gives it his all almost makes up for a multitude of sins and again, you wish the script was sharper in order to match his efforts.
As fun as it is silly, Leprechaun is perfectly content to deliberately trawl the bottom of the barrel for camp chuckles. And yet, I’ve always thought with a snappier script, a wittier tone and some sharper editing, Leprechaun could have been a legitimately great horror comedy instead of just settling for leaning into so bad it’s good territory. Still, bonus points for cramming in a Lucky Charms joke…
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