Yep, you guessed it – with St. Patrick’s Day upcoming, I had to watch Leprechaun…again. This one has been in the vault for me for a while and isn’t my favorite, but one I do enjoy. Let’s talk about this classic 90’s mash-up “horror” movie.
I like the setting of this movie. The abandoned house in vacant North Dakota is perfect for a horror movie. If I had my way, I would live somewhere like this – where there is nothing for miles. Anyway, the setting worked well. I also liked the fact that Jennifer Aniston is in the lead role. It’s always cool to see huge name actors/actresses’ early roles. I can’t ever seem to picture her before Friends. The old LA Gear shoes she wears bring back a lot of memories too. Not that I wore LA Gear, but I remember the style and the shoes.
Another thing to be said about this movie is that it is basically a lot of movies put together. What I mean is this. You have Chucky from Child’s Play represented in the small leprechaun running around doing the bad stuff, the small cars and pogo sticks used by the Leprechaun remind me of Killer Knowns from Outer Space, and you have your pick of vampire movies with the four-leaf clover folklore tied in to match crosses and wolfsbane. There are the classic slasher elements of the day too demonstrated in this film. For instance, people get the ax in odd ways and they are left to be found by other people. This movie is standard slasher/horror and was good enough for a few sequels.
Going back to the four-leaf clover folklore I mentioned. I think this is the most irritating thing about this film to me. I get it that you must have some challenging way to kill this little creature. It couldn’t be as simple as the 12 gauge, which of course is used and found to be ineffective. Of course, I think this is the problem any viewer of Child’s Play always had. Anyway, back to the little green guy with rotting teeth. I’m not an expert on Irish culture but, having to find a 4-leaf clover and touch him with it to kill him was an irritating stretch to me. Also, he was a shoe freak? I know that Aqua Teen Hunger Force pitched this idea too in Season 1. Perhaps there is some research for me to do here?
I enjoy this film as a holiday horror tradition but otherwise, I don’t watch it. In the end, though, I’d rather get pinched than deal with this guy. Lucky for me, I have always been good at finding 4 leaf clovers, have some in my wallet, and I have a 12 gauge! If I happen to run into the Leprechaun, it will be a short film.