Saturday Scream Queen: Jacqueline Lovell

Using the stage name Sarah St. James, Jacqueline Lovell was a very busy nude model and adult film star during the mid-1990s. She appeared in hundreds of magazine layouts and photo shoots for "adult" websites and online services, as well several dozen softcore and hardcore pornographic films.

Among the producers she worked for was B-movie maven Charles Band, first appearing in sci-fi and fantasy-themed softcore films made for his Surrender Cinema production unit, but later showing herself to have talent for acting beyond disrobing and moaning on cue when she appeared in the Band-directed horror classics "Hideous!" and "Head of the Family".

Lovell gave birth to a daughter in 2000 and for a time left show business to focus on her family. Since 2005, however, she has been taking small parts in television shows and low-budget horror movies.

Click here to read reviews of a few of Lovell's films at The Charles Band Collection.

'When Evil Calls' isn't much past its novelty

When Evil Calls (2007)
Starring: Jennifer Lim, Sean Pertwee, Chris Barrie, Lois Winston, Gemma Chan, Lucy Barker, Dominique Pinon, Rick Warden, Oscar Pearce and Luke Lynch
Director: Johannes Roberts
Rating: Four of Ten Stars

A deal that one girl (Lim) makes with an evil spirit (Pearce) unleashes death and mayhem via text messages in a British high school.


"When Evil Calls" is a film version of the first-ever horror series produced for broadcast over cellphones. Each of the 20 episodes was 2-3 minutes long, offering up sex and gory violence brought on by evil magic--magic that causes wishes to come true in twisted and bloody ways. Here, they have been linked together with framing sequences featuring Sean Pertwee as a crazy janitor who is relating the horrible events and trying to be more and more like the Crypt Keeper as he gets more and more drunk.

Given its history, I acknowledge it as a novelty and probably even as a milestone. However, as a movie--and this is how I came to it and how most people will come to it--"When Evil Calls" is a run-of-the-mill low-budget horror effort with predictable and/or far-fetched stories that we've seen done better elsewhere, but which manages to rise slightly above similar material due to a better-than-usual cast. (Chris Barrie was particularly fun as the most oblivous school headmaster ever.)

However, when they were cutting the movie together, they should have trimmed parts of the original episodes. There was an annoying repetion in the film--over and over again, it established the content of text message recieved by victims of the evil magic received, something even the dimmest viewer would be aware of after the third or fourth time. I understand why that detail has to be reestablished every time a new episode is released in a serial, but there's no need for it when the pieces are packaged as a whole.

It also occurs to me that a better title for the film (and the original series) would have been "When Evil Texts". That is, after all, what is going on.

As a curiosity, the film might be worth seeing. Otherwise, I'm sure there are better things out there for you to spend your time on.

'Darkness' is condusive for sleep

Darkness (2003)
Starring: Anna Paquin, Lena Olin, and Iain Glenn
Director: Jaume Blaguero
Rating: Three of Ten Stars

Regina (Paquin), a troubled teen, moves with her family to a house with a dark and mysterious past in the countryside. Soon, strange events start to occur--whenever darkness settles over the house, it's as though a transformation takes place and other residents start to appear. Her parents (Olin and Glenn) remain oblivious to the growing danger and terror, so Regina comes to the realization that it is up to her to unlock the secrets hidden in the house's past if the evil growing within it is to be stopped before it consumes her family.


"Darkness" is a movie that tries to be a haunted house story and fails miserably. The primary reason for this is the same that doomed the Worst Big Screen Release Horror Movie of 2005 "Boogeyman" (my review, at Movies You Should Die Before You See); build-up without pay-off does not make a horror movie, it makes audiences bored. The same true of spooky images of shadowy figures standing just out of view of the principle characters--if nothing comes of them, they stop being disturbing. Some of these would-be horror movie makers would benefit from watching a horror movie or two, I think.

That said, I think "Darkness" will appeal to teenagers, but few others. They'll be able to identify with Regina, as she is the only member of her family with a brain in her head. (The father is coming unglued, her little brother is behaving strangely... yet her thick-skulled mother doesn't notice and refuses to listen when it's pointed out to her.) Yep... the Anna Paquin character will be seen as Everyteen by the 14-19 year-old set. The rest of us will be bored, as "Darkness" contains no scares, a plot that is so muddled it's hard to tell whether the actors are doing a good job or not, because one isn't really sure what they're supposed to be reacting to.

It isn't until the final 15 minutes or so that those of us who aren't teenagers will find something to entertain us in "Darkness," as the secrets of the house come to light and the plot finally stars going somewhere. FINALLY, we get something other than ghosts standing around in rooms and staring at unawares Paquin, Glenn, and Olin, and we get some genuine scares; this final sequence earns the pic a whole Star by itself. The ending of the film is also pretty chilling (even if I'm a bit unclear as to exactly what it means). Still, it's too little and way too late to save "Darkness" from being just another badly done movie.

(Note: I watched the DVD release of the "Unrated Version." I'm not sure what in it makes it "unrated"--other than, I suppose, they didn't send that particular cut to the Ratings Board--so maybe the theatrical release wasn't as tedious.)

Beware the voodoo sex dolls of 'Baba Yaga'!

Baba Yaga (aka "Kiss Me, Kill Me" or "The Devil Witch") (1973)
Starring: Isabelle De Funes, Carroll Baker, and George Eastman
Director: Carrado Farina
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Commercial photographer Valentina (De Funes) becomes the target of the twisted effections of immortal, sadistic lesbian witch Baba Yaga (Baker). As Valentina's models and friends start falling victim to mysterious curses, she turns to her filmmaker friend Arno (Eastman) for help. Will they together be able to overcome supernatural lesbianic powers as old time itself?


"Baba Yaga" is a decidedly weird movie. From beginning to end, it has a dreamlike quality about it, and as it progresses and Valentina is snared increasingly by Baba Yaga's dark powers, it starts to feel like a nightmare. Usually, films of the disjointed, somewhat pretentious variety that is represented here bug me. But here, we have a film that is so well done that I can accept the quirky, illogical and random nature of many of the events. The acting also reflects the dream-sense that permeates the film, with De Funes being particularly fun (and sexy) to watch.

Part horror movie, part bizarro softcore Euro-trash sexploitation flick, "Baba Yaga" is strange and well-makde enough that it's worth a look. The climax where Valentina is trapped by Baba Yaga and a bondage voodoo sex-doll come to life, and Arno is attempting to rescue her, is extremely well done.

I hesitate to recommend "Baba Yaga" as a film you should seek out, but I found it an interesting movie.

(Trivia: The movie is based on an Italian comic series, "Valentina". I read a few album reprints when I was a kid, and I remember them as being strange and sexy, just like this movie. De Funes' appearance is also very much like the character appears in Crepax's drawings, which are displayed during the opening credits. So, I guess this sets "Baba Yaga" aside as one of those rare successful comic book film adaptations.)




(Special Bonus Trivia: Artist Crepax based the look of Valentina on actress Louise Brooks. You can check out pictures of the real thing at the companion blog Shades of Gray by clicking here.)

'The Return' isn't really worth the trip

The Return (2006)
Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Peter O'Brien, Sam Shepard, J.C. MacKenzie, and Adam Scott
Director: Asif Kapadia
Rating: Four of Ten Stars

A traveling sales-rep (Gellar) starts having strange dreams and visions when she returns to Texas for the first time in years. When she tries to unlock a mystery that dates to her childhood, she finds herself remembering places she's never been before, and eventually being haunted by phantom voices and stalked by a phantom killer. Will she uncover the truth before she completely loses her mind?


"The Return" had a lot of potential. It still does, if someone were to edit it down to about 53 minutes. It's got good acting, gorgeous cinematography and production design, and a decent (if obvious and predictable) story... but everything is draaaaaged out and the result is that the movie is boooooooring. What tension is built disspates over drawn-out sequences, and subsequently any pay-off feels either pointless or forced.

In fact, because the movie is such a meandering mess, the whole experience is one of emptiness and pointlessness. It's neither scary nor romantic enough to birng about the sort of emotions in the viewer that it is hoping to inspire. Even the climax--where this feeling should dissipate and be replaced with relief and maybe even happiness--has an empty sort of feeling to it. (I wish I could explain more, but doing so might give the movie away completely... and I try not to give too many spoilers in this forum.)

The film also suffers from the fact that we don't really get to know any of the characters in it. Even Gellar's character is a bit of a cypher... although given her nature that's forgivable. But her father, her "rescuer", and even her pursuer should have been developed more. This might have helped to raise the tension a bit, and it might even have helped justify the running time.

"The Return" would have made a great "Twilight Zone" or "Night Gallery" episode. It could even have been a decent movie--all the elements are here, they're just not used properly. As it stands, the film is worth seeing so you can admire the beautiful camerawork and production design. Just don't expect an exciting viewing experience.

Journalism student receives tip from ghost

It was a toss-up whether to post this review here or at the Watching the Detectives blog. The presense of the ghost made me choose to post it here.

Scoop (2006)
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Hugh Jackman, Woody Allen, and Ian McShane
Director: Woody Allen
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Sondra (Johansson), a bubble-headed journalism student, is contacted by the ghost of recently deceased journalist Joe Strombel (McShane). He wants her to write the scoop he didn't have a chance to: That the dashing and handsome man-about-town Peter Lyman (Jackman) is actually a serial killer. With the help of a third-rate magician (Allen), Sondra goes about getting close to Lyman in order to gather the evidence needed to prove Strombel's accusation from beyond the grave, and get her scoop of a lifetime. But what will Sondra do once she starts falling in love with Lyman?


"Scoop" is a lightweight mystery comedy. The mystery isn't really much of a mystery, and the comedy is of a type that will make you smile rather than laugh.

The characters are, for the most part, well enough acted and the story moves along in a straight-forward fashion, unburdened by a desire on the part of the writer/director to show off his cleverness by throwing in either painfully predictable "twists", or developments that are completely unsupported by the plot. Allen avoids the very thing that dooms many movies of this type that are being made by younger, hipper filmmakers. My hat is off to him for not trying to make this movie seem any deeper than it is, but simply letting it stand as the plain little movie that it is.

I am also impressed by the way that an element of the film that bothered me at the beginning turned out to be one that I very much enjoyed by the end. There are scenes of characters on board Charon's barge as it crosses into the Afterlife, and the first couple of times Allen cut to this mystical scene, I was irritated, because I didn't feel it fit the nature of the film, despite the fact thee's a ghost popping in and out of the story. I felt it was too much of a fantasy element for a film that is, basically, grounded in the modern, everyday world.

However, by the end of the film, Allen pays off the River Styx scenes to the point where, looking back, they're probably the funnest part of the film.

One thing that isn't as fun is the character Allen plays in the film. His character is so socially awkward and downright dumb that it's painfully embarrassing to watch him attempt to mingle at the parties Sondra drags him to in her quest for dirt on Peter Lyman. It also doesn't help anything that there doesn't seem to be a connection between Allen and Johansson on screen--yes, they are delivering lines from the same script on the same set, but there's no sense that either actor is really paying attention to what the other actor is saying or doing. There's no spark between the two, and the comedic timing of every scene they have together is likewise off.

(It's tempting to say that Allen has "lost it" now that he's in his 70s, but this isn't so. He does fine in his scene with McShane, and he's okay when interacting with bit players and even Jackman... there simply seems to be something absent between him and Johansson. However, Allen must be happy with the result, because Johannsson is starring in at least one more Allen production.)

I think anyone who enjoys watching the lighthearted mysteries from the 1930s and 1940s will get a kick out of "Scoop". Those out there looking for a film with "twists" or lots of sex and violence are going to be bored. (Although Johansson fiills out a swimsuit quite nicely.)

'Rise' is a decent vampire flick

Rise: Blood Hunter (2007)
Starring: Lucy Liu, Michael Chiklis, James D'Arcy, and Margo Harshman
Director: Sebastian Gutierrez
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Features reporter Sadie Blake (Liu) is raped and murdered, but that's only the beginning. She wakes up in the morgue as a vampire, and soon sets out to take revenge on those who killed her and to stop them from doing what they did to her to anyone else. An obsessed police detective (Chiklis) who lost his daughter to the same killers (Harshman) is also on their trail, but will they help each other, or ruin each others quests?


"Rise: Blood Hunter" plays as if it was scripted from the outline of someone's "Hunter: The Reckoning" or "Vampire: The Masquerade" RPG campaign. If you understand what that entails, you'll either know this movie is for you right now, or you'll know it absolutely isn't.

(The title is sort of a dead giveaway if you've seen any of White Wolf's Storyteller games over the past 15 years. There's also the fact that Liu character tells her editor that the "vampires" she just published an article about were a bunch of wanna-bes that were playing "like D&D... but with nipple-rings" makes me believe even stronger there's a gaming campaign somewhere in this film's evolution.)

That aside, it's basically a paint-by-numbers modern-day vampire flick, with a victim who rises from the dead and wants to retain her humanity while getting revenge for her condition. It's an engaging enough movie, but there's nothing terribly original here, and there won't be any surprises for well-seasoned horror fans. (And those White Wolf gamers will find even fewer surprises... although that may be a selling point.)

There's nothing all that bad about the flick, but there's also nothing to make you go "wow!" while you're watching it.

Technically, it's a very pretty movie. The camera-work is decent, and the director has a good notion of now to stage and pace an action flick. He's a little less adept at invoking horror and dread, having to rely mostly on "Boo!"-type scares, although the scene where Liu's character wakes up in the morgue shows that Gutierrez might be able to produce a scarier movie. It's definately the horror high point of the film. (On the other hand, he probably should not attempt comedy. The two scenes that are clearly intended to be comic relief fall flatter than a pancake.)

Acting-wise, the film is mostly decent. Everyone is playing figures more than characters, except for Liu... and she demonstrates that she probably should stick to light-weight action roles or utter coldhearted bitch parts. She was at her weakest when she was trying to portray emotions such as sorry or uncertainty, with only the scene where she calls her mother on the phone after her "death" being the only such scene where her performance is convincing. She does fine as the hardbitten, vampire-asskicker, but her range seems to fail her otherwise.

In the end, I think lovers of slick-looking, Beautiful People Vampires movies will enjoy this film. (You'll enjoy it twice as much if you prefer playing Toreador or Ventrue Clan vampires in White Wolf games.) It might be worth seeing for the rest of you horror and action fans out there, just don't expect anything you haven't seen before.

Wes Craven tries to recapture Freddy Success with 'Shocker'

Shocker (1989)
Starring: Peter Berg, Mitch Pileggi, Cami Cooper and Michael Murphy
Director: Wes Craven
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

The dreams of a teenaged psychic, Jonathan (Berg), leads to the arrest and eventual execution to a TV repairman who was also a prolific serial killer (Pileggi). But when the maniac is put to death in the electric chair, his paranormal powers are awakened... and he becomes a malevolent force made of pure electricity and resumes his murder spree. Can Jonathan stop the mass-murderer a second time before he kills everyone he loves?


"Shocker" is a gory action/comedy with some horror elements, but it is really more of an action film. It's a movie that teenagers--and adults who never quite made it past 16 mentally--will appreciate for its goofy, brainless quality. Anyone who likes to engage the brain while watching a film will quickly want to turn off the DVD player in disgust.

The film suffers first and foremost from the fact that it was obvious why it was made: Writer/director Wes Craven was waving a bottle around in an attempt to capture the same lightning that led to the creation of Freddy Krueger and the highly successful "A Nightmare on Elm Street" film series. However, where the the Freddy phenom grew out of a film that feels like a genuine artistic effort (not to mention being a damn scary movie), "Shocker" feels like a calculated effort to create another "film franchise". Even as a kid, I noticed the shadow of the marketing machine lurking just beyond the edge of the frame... and watching the film again some 20 years later, it's distractingly evident.

The obvious hope that this would be the "pilot episode" for another series of movies means this film rates among the worst trash. It's somewhat redeemed by the fact the cast are pretty decent actors--I was startled to see Mitch Pileggi in a COMPLETELY different role than anything he's played since--the idea of a "technological ghost", and by the pure insanity of the nature of the final showdown between our dashing young hero and the insane, disembodied serial killer. (I won't go into detail, because if the film seems interesting to you, it's far better if you are surprised.)

Later this year, we'll be treated to a remake of "Shocker" (IMBBPro lists it as "Wes Craven's Shocker"). While it undoubtedly will suck as badly as the majority of the idealess, vapid remakes that so many filmmakers are producing these days, this is one of those movies that could be improved by a remake. IF they make a movie that's viewed as "let's just make a great movie" instead of the launch pad for a series.

Saturday Scream Queen: Jennifer Love Hewitt

Jennifer Love Hewitt is perhaps best known to horror movie fans for her role as Julie in slasher flicks "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer", but she is also the star of the long-running television series "Ghost Whisperer" where she plays a woman who sees dead people, talks to them, and convinces them to travel to the afterlife before they start tormenting the living.

A talented actress, as well as very beautiful (even if a friend of mine likes to point out that she wears too much eye make-up), Hewitt started her career as a child actress on television, but made a successful transition into life as an adult actress, moving from playing teenagers menaced by killers in horror movies to playing a mother in her current series.

Although Hewitt's film roles have mostly been in comedies, she is returning to big screen horror with the upcoming film "Dead Whispers" that is slated to start filming in April of this year. She will reportedly play a young woman troubled by voices and haunting nightmares.

Tomie returns again and again and again

Tomie: Another Face (1999)
Starring: Runa Nagai
Director: Toshirô Inomata
Rating: Five of Ten Stars

One of the greatest talents to ever work in horror comics is Japan's Junji Ito. His tales never fail to send a chill down a reader's spine, and his style is one that even those who "hate" manga will be able to appreciate. (If you're a horror fan and you've never experienced Ito's work, go immediately to Amazon.com by clicking here and order one or more of his books. You're missing out of pure horror genius.)


Ito's most famous creation is that of Tomie, a mysterious teenaged temptress who makes men and boys fall in love with her and drives them insane so they eventually murder her and destroy themselves. Once the carnage is over and before the horror has subsided, Tomie rises from the dead to start the cycle all over again. It doesn't matter how efficiently her body is disposed of... Tomie ALWAYS comes back.

Ito's comic has been adapted into nine different movies as of this writing and they vary greatly in quality.

The first "Tomie" movie (review here) was so awful and boring that it nearly put me off any others in the series. However, my love of the "manga" tales led me to give what I believed to be the next installment--"Tomie: Replay" (review here)--a try. I'm glad I did, because it's a far superior movie, and it calls attention to a fascinating aspect of the monster that is Tomie that even Ito's original tales did not bring into such clear focus.

However, I recently discovered that there was a made-for-TV (or possibly direct-to-video) effort released shortly after the first theatrical "Tomie" film, "Tomie: Another Face". When I further learned it was an anthology film, it became even more of a must-see for me, as I love that format.

The first tale is what you'd call a "standard Tomie story". It's set in a high school setting, and she's one side of a love triangle with the story's narrator... who has lost her boyfriend to Tomie. Tomie's already dead when the story starts, but she returns to prevent the narrator and her boyfriend from reuniting. This, in turn, leads to some drastic high school romance drama that would give even Romeo and Juliet pause. It's a somewhat dull story, but it's got a punchy ending that more than makes up for its overall tepidness.

In the second tale, a professional photographer, who has spent his professional life trying to capture the image of a mysterious woman he developed a crush on while in school, encounters a young girl who looks just like her. Her name turns out to be Tomie and she agrees to model for him so long as he makes her look beautiful in the pictures. Needless to say, things end badly for the shutter-bug. The creep factor is far higher throughout this segment of the film, and, once again, we're given great ending. Unfortunately, despite being built around an element that's appeared in several Ito stories--photos always reveal Tomie's unnatural nature, as well as the fact that her beauty is barely skin deep--this tale presents her in the role of a tart from the beginning. Tomie just isn't Tomie when she's got make-up caked on and is dancing for dollars in dive bars.

In the third tale, we find another Tomie standard set-up... a nebbish loser is wrapped around her finger, and she uses him as the means to kill someone who is immune to her charms or otherwise onto her evil nature. In this case, the target of her wrath is a former coroner who witnessed one of her many resurrections two years earlier and who has been researching and stalking her ever since. The climax to this third tale is one that Ito himself could have cooked up, and viewers will chuckles with mingle with Tomie's fading laughter as the credits being to role. (And that's not a spoiler.... Come on, you know that no one will ever truly destroy Tomie!)

"Tomie: Another Face" is a solid low-budget horror film. While the cinematography is a bit weak and the shot-on-video feel is flat and all-pervasive, it's got a good atmospheric soundtrack and the cast all give a good accounting of themselves. The choice of the actress to play Tomie (Luna Nagai this time out) is a good choice, better than the actress who played Tomie in the original film, who looked entirely too old. (Luna Nagai may be the best actress I've seen as Tomie yet... she is great at switching between being a simpering girlie-girl and a bitch in an instant. For some reason, each Tomie film seems to have a different actress in the part. Maybe they are used as vehicles for the Japanenese Lindsey Lohan's of the Moment when they are made?)

The biggest drawback of the film is that while it stays true to the themes and overall feel of Ito's Tomie stories--something that it enhanced by the anthology format--at no time does "Another Face" manage to match Ito's work in creepiness factor. They come close at a couple of points, but the filmmakers never quite manage to equal their source material. While this may be partly due to the obvious budgetary constraints it was made under, it is also the fault of the director and cinematographer. Better lighting and tighter editing could have gone a long way to making the film far creepier.

"Tomie: Another Face" is far better than the first film in the series, but you should watch "Tomie: Replay" before you bother with this film. (Or, even better, read some of Ito's original Tomie short stories. (Unfortunately, as of this writing, all English-language editions of them are out of print. Actually, even the DVD is out of print as of this writing. But, Tomie always returns....)

'Dead Birds' is scary, but not scary enough

Dead Birds (2004)
Starring: Henry Thomas, Nicki Aycox, Isaiah Washington, Patrick Fugit, Mark Boone, Jr., Michael Shannon, Muse Watson and Harris Mann
Director: Alex Turner
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

A band of outlaws who have violently robbed a bank during the American Civil War, hide out in the manor of a deserted plantation to rest before making their way to Mexico. They soon learn that while human beings may not live there, other creatures do.


"Dead Birds" blends standard elements of haunted house tales and monster movies, puts them in a Civil War setting, and presents them in an atmospheric film that unfolds with a steady pace that is punctuated by horrorfic, shocking moments.

While there are a few clunky moments--the way the curse upon the plantation is revealed and the way a couple of the characters are written out both feel like not enough thought was put into how to properly fit them into the flow of the movie--the overall tone of the film grows steadily more nightmare-like: it's a film that starts darkly and things only get worse. The artful camerawork and excellent use of lighting and sound is also at a level that is all-too-rarely-seen in horror movies these days. The same is true of the acting... there isn't a single actor who appears in the movie who doesn't come across as completely believable.

Unfortunately, the ending leaves a little bit to be desired. After a fantastic build-up, made all-the-better in restrospect because the final scenes of the movie have been very carefully foreshadowed from the time the outlaws first reached the edge of the cornfield surrounding the manor, inconsistencies in how the curse manifests itself in regards to a couple of the characters serves to muddy and undermine what should be the most shocking moment of the film. Those above-mentioned clunky moments rattle quite loudly as far as the "shock ending" goes.

"Dead Birds" is a well-acted and well-directed horror film. It is one of the best efforts in recent years, but it fails to fully realize its potential at the end. It's still worth a look if you enjoy horror movies.

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 ?)