Sunday, October 19, 2014

Horrors of October - Leprechaun (#19)



Leprechaun (1993)

Since I was planning on watching WWE Films' failed reboot of this infamous horror series later this month, I decided to re-watch the one that started it all. A leprechaun (Warwick Davis) busts out of the crate he was magically locked away in, still thirsting to reclaim the bag of gold that was "stolen" from it. Even though the culprit no longer lives in the house where he was imprisoned, the mythical creature instead takes his frustration out on the group of people that are currently there, including a pre-fame Jennifer Aniston and Pee-Wee/Teen Wolf-less Mark Holton. That's pretty much why this movie is still memorable to this date: The first major role for the future (overrated) A-list actress, who is frankly okay here as a Valley Girl temporarily residing in North Dakota. But what makes the movie shine is Davis, who expertly stands on the razor edge between campy and creepy as the titled villain. He's further helped by a memorable costume design and some good-for-B-movie-standards makeup. And that's all the positives I can really muster for what is a substandard fantasy horror movie. The creature's ever-expansive powers are barely explained, the body count is low (only 4 bodies present), the direction consistently moves from cribbing EVIL DEAD to straight-up Looney Tunes, there's a lot of padding, and the 90's fashion is pretty hideous/hilarious. Perfect to kill a afternoon or use as background noise. You better off having you mind blown with the later sequels, whether it is when Davis heads to space or hangs out with Ice-T in the hood.


FINAL REVIEW: 2 / 5

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