‘I’ll not rest till I have me gold…’
There were loads of films in the ’80s and ’90s about little bastards causing chaos. Gremlins, Critters, Ghoulies and Munchies were all variations of this theme, and that’s not to mention Chucky, who was also running amok across both decades. Leprechaun combines the fashion for little monsters with horror’s love of a gimmick, which results in a film that is pretty fun but probably not fun enough to justify the existence of seven (!) sequels (including Leprechaun 4: In Space and Leprechaun in the Hood)…
Some old guy foolishly steals the gold of a leprechaun, resulting in said leprechaun (Warwick Davis) breaking the old guy’s wife’s neck. A disproportionate punishment, perhaps, but who am I to question a leprechaun? Several years later, another guy and his daughter (played by actual Jennifer Aniston) move into the long-dormant house and accidentally reawaken the leprechaun from his ancient slumber—cue pandemonium.
Leprechaun is a horror-comedy that is never frightening or intentionally funny. Crucially, it’s also never boring. It’s fun to see Aniston committing to the part so much in this pre-fame role and Davis injects some charisma into the leprechaun that is deserving of a better movie. The murder scenes are pretty pedestrian and the special effects not so special but the eponymous leprechaun does look the part and Davis’ fiendish grin fits the role pretty well.
Mark Jones’ film is on the more tacky end of the horror movie scale but it has a place – namely as a film to watch on St. Patrick’s Day whilst demobilised on the heady combination of Guinness and Irish stew.
