It's been said that Leprechaun is one of the all-time great "bad" horror movies. All of it from the ridiculous narrative to the over-the-top acting to the cringe-worthy visual effects is a disaster. It's a mystery how it all works, but the end result is an enjoyable and engaging movie. Jennifer Aniston, in her cinematic debut, fares surprisingly well, and Warwick Davis is fantastic as the leprechaun. Leprechaun is a great film to see if you like cheesy horror flicks. Avoid going in with the expectation of being afraid, since this film is more likely to make you chuckle than scream.
Warwick Davis' depiction of an enraged leprechaun has become legendary. In the film, the leprechaun believes that his pot of gold has been taken by a family. He sets out to find them, using all of his wits and muscle. Meanwhile, the family is urgently looking for the gold to appease the leprechaun and prevent him from injuring them. Davis' performance is both terrifying and iconic, elevating Leprechaun to the ranks of the finest horror flicks of all time.
Leprechaun was supposed to be a horror film, but Davis inserted comedy.
Leprechaun movie plot:
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.
After ten years have passed, J. D. Redding decides to spend the summer at the O'Grady farmhouse with his daughter Tory, who is now a teenager. The farmhouse is now being repainted with the aid of contract workers Nathan Murphy, his 10-year-old brother Alex, and their friend Ozzie Jones, who is considered to be somewhat dimwitted. While Ozzie is scouring the basement, he overhears the leprechaun calling for help and mistakes him for a little child. He frees the leprechaun from the carton by removing the worn out four-leaf clover that was inside of it. Ozzie learns from the leprechaun that he is really an Irish shoemaker who emigrated to the United States in the hope of making his fortune. Ozzie notices a rainbow after his attempts to convince the others that he had seen a leprechaun were unsuccessful. He decides to follow the rainbow in the hopes of finding upon a treasure chest along the way. Alex follows him because he is worried that Ozzie would hurt himself in some way. A bag holding one hundred gold coins mysteriously materializes in front of Ozzie. After Ozzie examines the gold and mistakenly consumes a coin while doing so, they conceal it in an old well in the belief that this would restore Ozzie's mental capacity.
At the farm, the leprechaun gets J.D. to walk into a trap by pretending to be a cat and biting his hand. After Tory and the other kids take the leprechaun to the hospital, he rides a tricycle. When Alex and Ozzie go to a pawn shop to check the purity of the gold, the leprechaun kills the owner, Joe, for taking his gold and polishes Joe's shoes before running away. On his way back to the farm, the leprechaun makes himself a little go-kart, but a police officer stops him for going too fast. The leprechaun chases the police officer into the woods, where he kills the officer. The leprechaun goes back to the farmhouse to look for his treasure while shining every pair of shoes he sees. After taking J. D. to the hospital, the group heads back to the farm. When Nathan goes outside to look for the thieves, he gets hurt by a bear trap set by a leprechaun. The group attacks the leprechaun with rocks and clubs outside.
The leprechaun is shot many times after a weapon is discovered in the residence. They attempt to leave the property when it fails, but the leprechaun has wrecked the truck's engine. After destroying the car with the go-kart, the leprechaun terrorizes the group until Ozzie reveals that he and Alex uncovered the pot of gold. Tory retrieves the bag from the well and presents it to the leprechaun. They go to the hospital, certain that the worst has passed. As he tallies his treasure, the leprechaun learns he is missing the last coin that Ozzie consumed. He confronts them, assuming that they have deceived him, until Ozzie tells them that O'Grady had a stroke and was admitted to a nursing home. By tossing dirty shoes at the leprechaun, the gang diverts his attention, and the leprechaun is compelled to polish the shoes as Tory drives away in her jeep. To learn how to kill the leprechaun, Tory visits the residence.
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 successful was the 1993 film Leprechaun when it was released in theaters?
Clarification of the Leprechaun dispute
Trimark collaborated with the NBA, NYSE, Domino's Pizza, and Subway in the months leading up to the film's release. Because franchisees felt exploited, the Domino's and Subway collaboration proved contentious. The marketing campaign was successful, and Leprechaun is still a cult favorite.
Prior to the film's debut, Trimark teamed together with the NBA, the NYSE, Domino's Pizza, and Subway to spread word of mouth about the film. Franchisees of both Domino's and Subway believed they were being taken advantage of by the companies when they joined together. Nonetheless, the advertising drive was successful, and Leprechaun is still regarded by many as a classic in its own right.
Did Leprechaun have any cinematic sequels?
Leprechaun 2 was released the following year, and it sees the Leprechaun going to Los Angeles in search of a new pot of gold. The third film, Leprechaun 3, takes place in Las Vegas, and it features the Leprechaun getting his hands on a magical coin that grants him wishes. The fourth film, Leprechaun 4: In Space, is a bit of a departure from the previous films as it takes place aboard a spaceship and features the Leprechaun battling aliens. The fifth and final film in the series, Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood, finds the Leprechaun returning to his roots in inner-city Los Angeles. Despite the mostly negative critical reception, the Leprechaun franchise has proven to be quite popular, and it remains a cult classic to this day.Leprechaun movie trivia
The producers reshot some sequences to make the picture gorier for older viewers.
It's well-known that George Lucas helped get Warwick Davis the part of Willow. The reason why is not as well known. Davis had a contract with Lucas, so Lucas had to give Davis permission to be in the movie. So, at the end of the movie, he was given a "special thanks" credit. Horror movie fans will find this little-known fact about the movie even more interesting. It's another example of how George Lucas has affected pop culture.
The leprechaun was supposed to run away to Ireland at first. But there was one problem: Warwick Davis, an Irish actor who played the leprechaun, did not have a work visa. In order to film the last scene, Davis had to get a visa in just three days, which is usually impossible. The office of Vice President Dan Quayle was able to speed up the process, which allowed Davis to finish filming on time. At the end of the movie, Quayle was given a "special thanks" credit 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 series of sequels. It's said to have been one of Warwick's favorites.
Jennifer Aniston debuted in Leprechaun.
Leprechaun is a must-see for every aficionado of the horror genre. (this one) Warwick Davis and Jennifer Aniston provide outstanding performances in what is perhaps one of the few horror flicks that manages to be both hilarious and spooky at the same time. In spite of its derivative narrative, the film is entertaining. Look into Leprechaun if you need a good fright. In other words, you won't be let down.