Greenes
Please don't spend money on this.
Ketrivie
It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.
SeeQuant
Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction
PiraBit
if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
MaximumMadness
One of the most genuinely jarring and confusing things in the world of film is the shocking amount of people don't "get" the highly entertaining but problematic 1993 release "Leprechaun." It's honestly dumbfounding. The movie is constantly tossed around by wannabe- elitists like a joke, while they scoff and smirk while quipping "How can a movie about a killer leprechaun be scary?" It's the go-to every single time someone tries to put together a list of bad horror movies. And it's generally looked down on as a complete and utter failure due to lacking any real thrills or shocks and having such an inane concept.But honestly... How do people not understand that this is a comedy? It's a movie about a wisecrack-spewing, psychopathic leprechaun, for god's sake! It's most well-known sequel takes place in "tha hood"! If your tongue is not planted firmly in your cheek, you're not watching it correctly."Leprechaun" of course follows an evil Leprechaun (played delightfully in campy performance by Warwick Davis) who sets his sights on a young woman named Tory (Jennifer Aniston) and a group of contract workers lead by Nathan (Ken Olandt), who are fixing up the farm house where Tory is staying with her father for the Summer. Obsessed with getting back his pot of gold that was stolen by dim-witted contractor Ozzie (Mark Holton) and his 12-year-old friend Alex (Robert Hy Gorman),the leprechaun starts to pick off townsfolk one by one in a bloody and hilarious war to get back what is rightfully his. And so our heroes must band together and try and solve the mystery of where this little green menace came from... and how to stop him once and for all!Written and directed by Mark Jones, the film is genuinely quite funny at times and has a really light tone. He keeps the humor flowing quite well, and even when the film tries on occasion to throw some actual scenes of horror at the audience, it never goes too far. Jones' characters are quickly defined and are endearing enough to make you want to root for everyone's safety. The dim-witted Ozzie in particular is very likable with his innocent heart and good intentions, and you'll definitely also get a kick out of the foul-mouthed young Alex for sure. For being such a low budget release (rumored to cost less than a million dollars), the production is also relatively stylish and there's some nifty effects and adequately revolting sequences of blood and gore to keep the horror crowds happy.The cast is a lot of fun. Warwick Davis is just perfect in the role of the devilish bundle of terror, and you can tell he's having an absolute blast with the part, hamming it up just the right amount and throwing in plenty of amusing wisecracks. There's a reason the character became so memorable, and it's Warwick's dedication to the role. Aniston charms in her first major starring role and she's very decent in her performance. You can definitely see hints of her immense talent that would later be showcased in more major roles in the future. Ken Olandt is good as Nathan, and although his character is perhaps the most stock, he is well cast and definitely enjoyable. Mark Holton and Robert Hy Gorman end up nearly stealing the show, however. As I mentioned above, Holton is very likable as Ozzie and he's easily the most endearing of our four lead protagonists. And Gorman is a very good child actor and he gets some really fun zingers.However, despite competent direction, great characters and genuinely decent performances, the film does have some big problems that knock off major points. Even though the film is clearly trying to be comedic, it can't quite settle on the proper tone during some key scenes. It occasionally feels a bit too juvenile in some scenes, while feeling a bit too mature in others. It also really gets bogged down in the third act, having to put too much focus on resolving the story and tying up loose ends. It ends up losing that sense of spunk and lightness that made the first two acts so entertaining- to the point that it just stops being fun for the last twenty or so minutes. I also do think that a few of the "horror sequences" feel a bit out of place and conflict with the style established in the rest of the movie. They don't go too far, they just feel a bit inorganic.As it stands, "Leprechaun" is not a great film. But it is a decent bit of fun. It's constant lambasting at the hands of harsh critics and harsher audiences is very unfounded, and it seems that far too many people are not in on the joke of it all. This movie isn't trying to be a great cinematic experience in horror... it's a quirky, comedic bit of insanity with some good laughs and one or two genuine creeps thrown in for good measure. And for my money... it's the best killer- leprechaun movie out there.I give "Leprechaun" an every-so-slightly-above-average 6 out of 10. If you happen to catch it on TV, definitely give it a watch. Just know enough not to take it seriously.
GL84
Traveling to a family-owned farmhouse, a teen and her friends inadvertently free a deadly leprechaun stored away who begins to terrorize them looking for his stolen gold coins they've found and forces them to fend off his attacks in order to leave.This one wasn't all that bad and had some good parts to it. Among the film's better elements is the fact that there's a modicum of suspense attempted here during some of the stalking scenes, keeping this one a lot more serious than expected at times. The the prologue encounter in the house during the driving thunderstorm is a prime example of that kind of creepy encounters while the tormenting done on the police officer in the woods is just as much fun with the twisted game of hide-n-seek in the rather creepy location before getting to the final twist. The house assault is even more fun with them coming back to find the mess which shows that someone's in there with them, the quick pop-up attacks to torment them as he comes out of the cupboards or begins running through the house to get at them as they continuously fail to stop him from getting in close quarters for some brutal attacks. The complacency attempt is really fun as well as once he finds what he believes to be a ruse he launches even more rather brutal sequences as he traps them inside the house in some really enjoyable features here that all piles together into the film's highlight scene. Even the finale offers up some fun with the battle in the clover patch and getting in the actual method for dealing with the creature really gives this some high-energy action to end this effectively. This is nicely boosted by the cheesy parts here in the shop owner's encounter or the chase around the retirement home that's quite goofy and cheesy, while his constant quips and limericks all round out the different attitudes here which are all fully employed here to give this a lot to like. As the kills here do get somewhat bloody and creative, there's some great positives her to make this enjoyable enough to hold it's own from the few negatives. The main issue here comes from the cheesy side of the film which isn't really depicted as scary or thrilling as instead it's more goofy than anything which isn't exactly an appreciative tone for these kinds of films. There's another small flaw is the relatively few kills here which manage to really drag the first half down by holding off the kills and tricks until the second half. It's all that really holds this one down.Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.
Wuchak
Released in 1993, "Leprechaun" is a low-budget horror/comedy about a father and daughter (John Sanderford & Jennifer Aniston) who move to a small, old house in North Dakota where they and some painters (Ken Olandt, Mark Holton & Robert Hy Gorman) encounter a devilish little leprechaun obsessed with his pot of gold coins (Warwick Davis).I've only seen the first four Leprechaun movies and this is easily the least of 'em. While the cast, locations and leprechaun are good there's only enough material here for half the movie's runtime, like maybe 45 minutes. The second half goes on and on with the leprechaun's zany antics and attacks on the cast. Being low-budget, the location is limited to the ranch house and a couple of visits into town, such as the hospital and diner. It just gets monotonous and there's simply not enough to keep the viewer's interest. The next three movies make up for this by changing the location and upping the ante with the entertainment on all fronts. "Leprechaun" is worth seeing, particularly to catch a glimpse of young Jennifer in her first theatrical movie, but it's humdrum after the first 40-45 minutes and nothing exceptional up to that point. The film runs 92 minutes and was shot in Saugus, California, near Santa Clarita.GRADE: C-
Dom Nickson
Spoiler Alert! This movie is for people who love comedy horror films. It's seriously the least scary and most funny film I've ever seen try to be scary. It's so fun seeing the Leprechaun try and kill people that are over half his height. What's even funnier is the kills themselves, there's one where he jumps on a guy to death with a pogo stick. It's nice to see a younger and better looking Jennifer Aniston as the lead female character. It's also nice to see Chubs from Teen Wolf as the dumb brained painter, Ozzy. Out of them all he's my favorite character because he was willing to sacrifice himself for the young boy at the end. I liked this film even though sometimes I don't like the idea of having a killer being somebody that's way shorter than the rest of the characters like seriously, it's not scary. I give this film a 5 out of 10 because it's the 90's when horror movies seemed to get lamer and even more ridiculous.