Since the 1970s, Mark Jones has worked in television primarily as a writer for animation and live-action. His credits include Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, Heathcliff, The Fall Guy, The A-Team, Misfits of Science, and The Highwayman. While he had some success, Jones wanted to be a filmmaker, so he decided to make a low-budget horror movie. He made the central figure an evil leprechaun, taking inspiration from Lucky Charms commercials and films like Critters. Jones brought the idea to Trimark Pictures, and they agreed to finance what would become their first in-house production. Jones hired Warwick Davis, who was in a dry spell after making 1988’s Willow, for the lead role. With a roughly $1 million budget, the movie was shot in Valencia Studios and Big Sky Ranch between October-December 1991. After an aggressive marketing campaign from Trimark, Leprechaun hit the silver screen in January 1993.
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Synopsis
Dan O’Grady (Shay Duffin) returns home from Ireland after stealing gold from an evil leprechaun (Warwick Davis). Unfortunately for him, the leprechaun managed to follow him home, and he wants his gold back. O’Grady overpowers the leprechaun with a four-leaf clover and locks him in a crate, only to suffer a stroke afterward. Ten years later, J.D. Redding (John Sanderford) and his daughter Tory (Jennifer Aniston) rent O’Grady’s house for the summer. J.D. hires contractors Nathan (Ken Olandt), 10-year-old Alex (Robert Hy Gorman), and dimwitted Ozzie (Mark Holton) to re-paint the house. While exploring the place, Ozzie finds the leprechaun’s crate and accidentally brushes off the four-leaf clover, freeing him. Soon, Ozzie and Alex discover the leprechaun’s gold at the end of a rainbow and stash it away. Determined to reclaim his gold, the leprechaun goes on a rampage as our heroes fight to survive the tiny terror.
Review
Leprechaun is a ridiculously silly horror-comedy with a laughable monster and a nonsensical plot, and that’s perfectly fine. Sure, this movie is no masterpiece like The Exorcist or Rosemary’s Baby, but it doesn’t have to be. Mark Jones and his crew wanted to make a comedic fantasy slasher, and they mostly succeeded at it. With such a low budget, the filmmakers do a decent job of making the film look dynamic. There are colored lighting, tilted angles, low-angle shots, and running POV shots to help keep the pacing going. Admittedly, the film’s first half drags as we’re introduced to the main cast and their plotlines, which aren’t that exciting. Aside from the five-minute opening, the leprechaun doesn’t show up until roughly 30-40 minutes in. But when he does, the movie gets more ridiculous and fun as the leprechaun wreaks havoc.
The film’s real highlight is Warwick Davis as the evil Leprechaun, and he’s having the time of his life here. He delivers ridiculous lines with such devilish glee that it almost feels like he improvised most of his dialogue. What helps are the makeup effects by Gabe Bartalos, which look impressive given their limited budget. Of course, the most noteworthy cast member aside from Davis is a then-unknown Jennifer Aniston, who’s decent, if unmemorable. Ken Olandt is ok as Jennifer’s love interest Nathan, even if he looks like a knock-off version of Kevin Bacon. Mark Holton has some funny moments as the dim-witted Ozzie, and Robert Hy Gorman has the movie’s best line. At over 90 minutes, the film goes by quickly, despite a few dead spots. Overall, Leprechaun is hardly the next great horror classic, but it doesn’t have to be, and that’s perfectly fine.
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