Leprechaun

With St. Patrick's Day coming up, I thought it would be fun to review the Leprechaun movies. Here is the first one!

When you think of St. Patrick's Day, you think of non-stop drinking, the "green river" in downtown Chicago, parades and well, a lot of green. Can't forget about leprechauns though they kind of are just "around" with not a lot of influence on things. Leprechaun the film is kind of like that. It is really pointless and laughable and stayed in the spotlight because of it's style and most of all it's cheesiness.

Set in a farmhouse in North Dakota, Leprechaun has the same kind of feel as Critters 2. Here, an evil leprechaun (Warwick Davis) attacks a father a father, his daughter and a painting group. As the killer is a leprechaun, it is no surprise that the only way to kill him is with a four leaf clover.

One thing that is forgotten is that Jennifer Aniston is in this movie. In her very first movie role, and it is obvious at times, she is likable and obviously a very pretty actress who gets better in the later acts. Aside from her, the cast which includes Ken Olandt and Mark Holton have largely disappeared over the years but here they fit their assigned roles and deliver some cheesy acting that is fun to watch really.

I am not sure that the North Dakota setting fits the overall story very well. We see a lot of fields, woods, rusted out cars and small town settings and this is a part of the film that's get overlooked and something that I liked.

Obviously most everybody watching this movie is here to see the Leprechaun. He is played by three foot tall Warwick Davis and Davis fits the role perfectly. The character is gritty, mean-spirited with a "devil may care" attitude and Davis nails it with acting that is strange and kind of in a cult-style. He kills his victims with pogo sticks, wheelchairs and toy cars and this just adds to his bizarre character. The movie does struggle with a back-story on him that could have been avoided but really that is the only complaint I have on the leprechaun character that couldn't help liking.

I had not seen this film in a few years so I forgot about the four leaf clover idea but I think it is great. It is original, adds to the style of the film and includes a pretty funny ending.

Leprechaun is a "bad" film, but a bad film that still I still enjoyed in an odd way and definitely is a different take on this St. Patrick's Day holiday.


3/5