Category: Horror

Synopsis

In ancient Ireland, Lubdan the Leprechaun (Warwick Davis) seeks a bride to celebrate his 1,000th birthday. He promises to free his servant, William O'Day (James Lancaster), once married, except Lubdan's intended bride is O'Day's daughter. While O'Day manages to stop him, Lubdan vows to marry one of O'Day's descendants on his 2,000th birthday. Cut to 1990s Los Angeles, where Lubdan sets his sights on O'Day's descendant, Bridget Callum (Shevonne Durkin). She's unhappy because her boyfriend, Cody Ingalls (Charlie Heath), is focused more on his work than her. Cody and his drunken boss Morty (Sandy Baron) run a haunted tour that's scamming people hoping to see celebrity gravesites. Soon, Lubdan goes on a killing spree as he tries to abduct Bridget and make him his bride. Will Cody step up and save his girlfriend, or will Lubdan finally get his bride?

Review

Say what you will about the first Leprechaun, but at least it had an undeniable charm. The filmmakers put in more effort than you'd expect for a low-budget horror-comedy about a killer leprechaun. Sadly, Leprechaun 2 lacks the energy and fun that the original had, though it isn't entirely awful. As with the first film, Warwick Davis is the highlight of the movie and the main reason to watch. You can tell he's having a blast playing this character, and Gabe Bartalos' makeup effects are still top-notch. There are also some fun gags here, including a guy hallucinating that a twin-bladed lawnmower is the lead actress's breasts. Plus, seeing character actors like Clint Howard, Kimmy Robertson, Tony Cox, Billy Beck, and Michael McDonald is a treat. Also, The Leprechaun's layer is a nifty bit of production design, even if there are some prominent styrofoam rocks.

Sadly, the rest of the movie is dull and uninteresting, not helped by the lackluster leads. Shevonne Durkin, who coincidentally appeared in Tammy and the T-Rex that same year, can't act to save her life. She might be pretty, but her delivery is so flat that it makes you appreciate Jennifer Aniston in the original. It doesn't help that Charlie Heath is a wet blanket as her boyfriend, Cody, who's uninteresting and bland. It's the typical "guy who's too focused on work neglects his love interest" storyline we've seen hundreds of times. Sandy Baron has funny moments as Cody's drunken boss, Morty, like him exploiting the "30 minutes or free" pizza rule. There's also a cool effect where he wishes for The Leprechaun's gold, and the pot grows in his stomach. Unfortunately, little moments like that can't save an otherwise dull movie.

I know it seems like I'm expecting too much from a movie called Leprechaun 2, but I'm not. I only want a goofy, occasionally creepy, killer leprechaun movie, and I barely got that watching this. To the film's credit, Rodman Flender's direction isn't too bad, and he does throw in some creative touches. There's some foggy scenery, the aforementioned underground layer, and some colored lighting added to create an eerie mood. Plus, having The Leprechaun's layer in Harry Houdini's old house has tons of potential that sadly gets wasted. For as much fun as the cast and crew had, it's a shame the audience won't experience that same feeling. Even at slightly under 90 minutes, the pacing drags, and the movie feels longer than it is. Overall, Leprechaun 2 isn't the worst sequel, but it's a step down from the original, which wasn't that good either.

Buy Leprechaun 2 from Amazon: https://amzn.to/4bMWjaE.

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