Leprechaun is a classic horror film that is so terrible it's fantastic. The narrative is ridiculous, the acting is ridiculous, and the visual effects are hilariously terrible. But, in the end, it all comes together to make a pleasant and amusing picture. Warwick Davis plays the leprechaun well, while Jennifer Aniston performs admirably in her feature picture debut. If you like campy horror films, then Leprechaun is a must-see. Just don't expect to be afraid; this film will most likely make you chuckle rather than scream.Legend has it that Warwick Davis played a furious leprechaun. In the film, a leprechaun thinks a family stole his riches. He uses his cleverness and might to find them. Meanwhile, the family searches for riches to appease the leprechaun and prevent him from hurting them. Leprechaun is one of the finest horror flicks because of Davis's terrifying performance.
Davis added humor to what may have been a more serious horror role in the Leprechaun picture.
The basic premise of every Leprechaun film is this:
Dan O'Grady goes back to his home in North Dakota in 1983 after visiting his birthplace, Ireland, where he kidnapped a leprechaun and stole his pot of gold. After O'Grady buried the treasure, he found out that the bad leprechaun had followed him home and killed his wife. O'Grady uses a four-leaf clover to stop the leprechaun's magic and put him in a box. He had a stroke before he could set him on fire.
Ten years later, J. D. Redding leases the O'Grady farmhouse with daughter Tory. The farmhouse is being repainted by Nathan Murphy, his 10-year-old brother Alex, and their dimwitted buddy Ozzie Jones. While examining the cellar, Ozzie misidentifies the leprechaun as a child. He frees the leprechaun by removing the old clover. Leprechaun tells Ozzie he's an Irish shoemaker who came to America for his money. After failing to convince others he saw a leprechaun, Ozzie spots a rainbow and follows it in search of a pot of gold. Alex follows Ozzie out of worry for him. A bag of 100 gold coins appears before Ozzie. Ozzie examines the riches and swallows a coin, thinking it would cure his brain. They conceal it in an ancient well.
The farm's leprechaun fools J. D. into slipping into a trap by impersonating a cat and biting and injuring his hand. After Tory and the others take him to the hospital, the leprechaun rides a tricycle. When Alex and Ozzie go to a pawn shop to inspect the purity of the gold, the leprechaun kills the owner, Joe, and polishes Joe's shoes before fleeing. On his way back to the farmhouse, the leprechaun builds himself a go-kart and gets pulled over by a policeman for speeding. The leprechaun chases the policeman into the woods, where the leprechaun eventually murders the cop. The leprechaun returns to the home in search of his wealth, sparkling every shoe he sees. After leaving J. D. off at the hospital, the group returns to the farmhouse. When Nathan goes outside to check after finding it robbed, he is injured by a leprechaun-set bear trap. Outside, the gang assaults and beats the leprechaun with rocks and clubs.
The leprechaun is shot many times when they discover a firearm in the home. When it doesn't work, they try to leave the property, but the leprechaun has destroyed the truck's engine. The leprechaun terrorizes the gang after smashing the vehicle with the go-kart until Ozzie admits that he and Alex discovered the pot of gold. The bag is retrieved from the well by Tory, who then offers it to the leprechaun. They go to the hospital, certain that the worst is past. The leprechaun realizes that he is missing the last coin that Ozzie ate as he counts his wealth. He threatens them, believing they have duped him, until Ozzie informs them that O'Grady had a stroke and was sent to a nursing facility. By hurling filthy shoes at the leprechaun, the gang diverts his attention, and the leprechaun is forced to go shine the shoes as Tory gets in her jeep and drives off. To find out how to slay the leprechaun, Tory goes to the house.
The leprechaun poses as O'Grady at the nursing home. The leprechaun follows Tory to an elevator and, as Tory runs away, hurls O'Grady's bloody corpse down the elevator shaft. O'Grady warns her that the only way to kill the leprechaun is with a four-leaf clover, which just so happens to grow in a large patch outside the farm, before passing away. Tory goes back to the farmhouse to look for a clover, but the leprechaun attacks and she is saved by Nathan and Ozzie. The leprechaun is wounded severely while attempting to obtain the remaining gold coin, which Ozzie confesses to having eaten. Alex uses a four-leaf clover that Tory discovered, attaches it to a wad of gum, and fires it into the leprechaun's mouth, causing him to melt away before he can murder Ozzie. Despite falling down the well, the leprechaun's skeleton gets out and declares, "I want my gold." After Nathan forces the leprechaun back into the well, he uses gasoline to ignite both objects. When the police show up, Tory is reunited with her father, marries Nathan, and they have a child. The leprechaun swears he won't stop until he finds every single bit of his wealth while the police search the well's wreckage.How well did Leprechaun (1993) do in theaters?
Leprechaun came out in 620 theaters on January 8, 1993, and made $2,493,020 in its first week. It made a total of $8,556,940 in the United States. It came out on VHS in April 1993, and over 100,000 copies were sold.
Defining the Leprechaun Controversy
Was Leprechaun reinvented?
Did Leprechaun have any cinematic sequels?
Leprechaun 2 was published the following year, and it shows the Leprechaun heading to Los Angeles in pursuit of a fresh pot of riches. The third picture, Leprechaun 3, takes set in Las Vegas, and it includes the Leprechaun getting his hands on a mystical coin that gives him wishes. The fourth picture, Leprechaun 4: In Space, is a bit of a departure from the other films since it takes place onboard a spacecraft and involves the Leprechaun fighting aliens. The fifth and final film in the series, Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood, has the Leprechaun returning to his origins in inner-city Los Angeles. Despite the generally unfavorable critical reviews, the Leprechaun series has proved to be highly successful, and it remains a cult favourite scary movie reviews to this day.Film trivia: Leprechaun
After the producers insisted on making the picture gorier to appeal to older viewers, some sequences had to be re-shot.
George Lucas is well-known for his involvement in the casting of Warwick Davis in Willow. The reason why is less well-known. Davis was reportedly under contract to Lucas, and Lucas had to grant him permission to participate in the film. As a consequence, towards the conclusion of the film, he was granted a "special thanks" credit. This little-known truth adds to the film's appeal among horror lovers. It's simply another illustration of Lucas's cultural effect.
Leprechauns were meant to return to Ireland. Warwick Davis, who played the leprechaun, lacked a work visa. Davis required a visa in three days to shoot the last scene, an impossible job. Davis finished shooting on time thanks to Vice President Dan Quayle's administration. Quayle was credited with "special gratitude" for his work.
Warwick Davis was starting to regret making the movie, but many people rented it after Anniston became popular on TV, which led to a long line of sequels. It is said to have been one of Warwick's favorite songs.
Leprechaun was Jennifer Aniston's first picture.
If you're a lover of horror flicks, Leprechaun is absolutely worth seeing. It's one of those rare horror films that's genuinely humorous as well as disturbing, and it boasts some terrific performances from Warwick Davis and Jennifer Aniston. The narrative may not be the most creative, but the movie is nonetheless pleasant to see. So if you're in the mood for a nice fright, check out Leprechaun. You won't be disappointed.