Happy St. Paddy's Day, me laddies!

It's St. Paddy's Day as I write this, so here's a bonus review to celebrate: My take on the original "Leprechaun" movie!

Leprechaun (1992)
Starring: Warwick Davis, Jennifer Aniston, John Sanderford, Ken Olant, Robert Hy Gorman, and Mark Holton
Director: Mark Jones
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

An angry leprechaun (Davis) goes on killing spree while searching for his stolen pot o' gold.

This may come across as damning with faint praise, but "Leprechaun" remains the best movie that Jennifer Aniston has been in, and she actually shows that she can act. (The tight pants she wears also help bolster her performance.)


With the bashing of an overratd star out of the way (although she wasn't a star yet when she made this film), how does the rest of the movie measure up? Fairly decently. The evil, murderous leprechaun of the title dispatches his victims with a level of gore and glee that only Freddy Krueger can match... and some of the characters are so annoying you're almost happy to see him bump them off. (On the other hand, the characters that we're supposed to be rooting for, are well enough scripted and acted that we care if they live or die.)


The film goes a great job of balancing comedy and horror, but it sags a bit in the middle, and the ending threatens to sputter and stall as it's gearing up for the climax. With some 10 or so minutes snipped out here and there, this could be one of the great horror comedies. (Maybe the TV version does just that, although I suspect they've edited out the wrong bits. This is one film where I'd hate to see the gore edited out... some of it's intermingled with the movie's funniest moments.)

The leprechaun is in da hood!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I'm reviewing the very strange horror/comedy "Leprechaun in the 'Hood". (I'll review the sequel tomorrow.)

Leprechaun 5 (aka "Leprechaun in the 'Hood") (2000)
Starring: Warwick Davis, Ice-T, A.T. Montgomery, Rashan Nall, Red Grant and Coolio
Director: Rob Spera
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

The story presented revolve around three struggling rappers (Grant, Montgomery and Nall) who steal the magical flute that was the key to the runaway success of crimelord/recording mogul Mack Daddy (Ice-T). Before they can take advantage of their new opportunities, however, trhey find themselves hunted by both Mack Daddy and the revenge-hungry leprechaun (Warwick) from whom Mack Daddy originally stole the flute.

A rapping leprechaun shouldn't work, but somehow it does in this film. The horror elements are chilling and the comedic elements are howlingly funny. This isn't Shakespear, but Mack Daddy and the Leprechaun sharing a joint, and the Leprechaun performing a rap song with zombie hooker backup singers are noteable moments in the history of comedy.


The film really succeeds due to the strength of the talented cast, all of whom show equal talent for comedy and drama. Ice-T is, of course, Ice-T--no matter what his character may be called--but he does a fine job at lampooning himself and his image.

If you're looking for a strange movie that will be a hit at pretty much any Bad Movie Night, you can't go wrong with the this one. It's a very different film from the original in the series, something which can either make or break a sequel, but I think it's well worth the time devoted to watching it. It's a rare, well-done horror/comedy.

(While I'm thinking about it... why are there dramedies but no homedies ?)

'Back to tha Hood' is a return to crappiness

We wrap up the run-up to St. Paddy's day with the fifth (and so far final) sequel to "Leprechaun". But with the Harry Potter series coming to an end, Warwick Davis is going to have to make a living somehow....


Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood (2003)
Starring: Warwick Davis, Tangi Miller, Page Kennedy, Sherrie Jackson, Donzaleigh Abernathy and Laz Alonzo
Director: Steven Ayromlooi
Rating: Four of Ten Stars

Emily (Miller) and her ghetto peeps (Alonzo, Jackson and Kennedy) find a treasure chest belonging to an evil leprechaun (Davis). When they start spending the leprechaun's cheese on bling and hoopdies, he claws his way back from the very depths of Hell itself to recover what is his in the most gangsta of ways.


"Back 2 tha Hood" is a step down in quality from the previous film in the series, with an illogical setup (what is the magical lair of a leprechaun who protected the treasure of European kings doing under South Central Los Angeles?), a cast of pimps, ho's, drug dealers crooked cops and potheads that mostly unsympathetic and therefore the leprechaun seems more like he's doing a public service than being evil (only two characters "don't deserve what's coming to them" out of the whole cast), and the jokes just aren't that funny.

Then there's the fact that the novelty of the leprechaun killing gangbangers and potheads wore off with "Leprechaun in the 'Hood". A clever angle can go along way to obscuring other shortcomings, but this film doesn't even have that. (I wondered in my review from yesterday why there aren't any homedies. I think this film has explained why such a category doesn't exist.)

Like "Leprechaun 4", this is a film that probably gets funnier as you get drunker. Also like "Leprechaun 4", it's a film that you can skip without missing much. It is a little better, but not by much.

Monster o' the Irish goes inter-stellar

As a run-up to St. Patrick's Day, I'm posting reviews of some of the "Leprechaun" movies.


Leprechaun 4: In Space (1997)
Starring: Warwick Davis, Rebekah Carlton, Brent Jasmer, Miguel A. Núñez Jr., Tim Colceri and Guy Siner
Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith
Rating: Three of Ten Stars

The efforts of a space-faring evil leprechaun (Davis) to woo an alien princess (Carlton) are interrupted by a group of mercenaries and a mad scientist who carry off both the princess and the gold. The leprechaun doesn't take kindly to having his treasures stolen, and he goes about executing gory and bizarre revenge.


Take a second-rate horror comedy and cross it with a third-rate sci-fi monster flick and you have "Leprechaun 4."

I give the filmmakers credit for coming with a crazy idea--which reportedly came about when an executive at Tristar Pictures had Tom Hanks' face on a poster for "Apollo 13" replaced with the Leprechaun's face--even if the end result isn't quite up to the original film. I also give them credit for having the insight for taking a creature that had basically been played out as a straight horror property over the course of the previous films and going all-out comedic with it.

Unfortunately, for all the credit I give them, it doesn't change the fact that the film is rather dull during its first half. It isn't until late in the movie, after the leprechaun retrieves his princess and unleashes a second monster on the spaceship, that things get interesting. And even then, the film is a little too slow movie, never reaching the level of energy that the concept requires. The jokes never come fast enough for the viewer to not guess the punchline before it arrives, and the gore is nowhere near plentiful enough. In fact, it's near non-existent.

It's a movie that will inspire a few laughs if you're sober, but it is funnier if you have a few beers onboard and the brain isn't quite as sharp as it might otherwise be.