Written And Directed by Mark Jones
Lubdan: "I'll not rest til I have me gold. Curse this well that me soul shall dwell, till I find me magic that breaks me spell."
It's been thirty years since the release of this movie and it was time to tackle this one. I've avoided it for a long time and now, thought it was time to finally watch it. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised here.
Yes, I know it's a franchise with some truly horrible sequels to follow but for an opening entry, this was a lot better than it had any right to be. I'm being serious here. I really did like this one.
Anyways, we venture into 1983 where Dan O'Grady (Shay Duffin) returned from Ireland back to North Dakota after his mother's funeral. His wife was concerned with his merriment and it's not long before it's revealed that he stole gold from a leprechaun named Lubdan (Warwick Davies). Yeah, not a bright idea on Dan's part.
The leprechaun wasted no time in killing Dan's unfortunate wife and even when trapped in a chest with four leaf clover keeping him prisoner, it's Dan who suffered a stroke and ended up in a retirement home. That's just the first ten minutes of the movie.
The majority of the movie jumped ten years and a father/daughter duo named JD (John Sanderford) and Tory Redding (Jennifer Aniston) moved into the O'Grady. Along with the hunky Nathan (Ken Olandt), his younger brother, Alex (Robert Hy Gorman) and slow witted Ozzie (Mark Horton), it's not long before Lubdan gets released from that chest.
Once the antagonistic Leprechaun is on the loose, the fun factor for this movie goes up several notches. Between being compelled to clean shoes, searching for his gold and having too fun killing various people in inventive ways, it's up to Tory and the lads to get rid of the Leprechaun for good.
It's definitely something of a group effort with Tory not only having to find four leap clover but also having her faith restored and Ozzie proving to be a lot smarter than expected. Of course while Lubdan does get his just desserts, a sequel was already in mind with that last shot.
- Yes, this franchise has spawned seven sequels (with a prequel in there too) and is getting the reboot treatment because, why not?
- Lubdan does not care for Lucky Charms. I genuinely laughed at that scene.
- A movie about an Irish mythical creature where the lead actor happens to be British. Had to point that out. Warwick Davies is great though.
- Chronology: 1983 and 1993, the latter being the same year as the movie's release.
For a film so maligned, I expected so much worse and found myself rather amused with what I watched. I genuinely think Leprechaun is an entertaining film that veers between sheer daftness and nice bits of horror. The lead villain is a blast to watch and the protagonists are likable. It worked for me.
Rating: 7 out of 10
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