Leprechaun takes the idea of the classic slasher and mixes a strange antagonistic leprechaun, played by Warwick Davis, into the formula. The result is this funny and ridiculous film. The film opens as an American Irishman, Mr. Grady, returns home from a trip to Scotland. He arrives and tells his wife that they are rich! He claims he has found a leprechaun's gold. Grady goes out to hide the gold. Unfortunately, while he is gone the leprechaun shows up and kills his wife. Grady returns to the house to find the leprechaun. He manages to subdue the leprechaun and lock him in a crate in the basement. There, he puts a four leaf clover on the box, the only thing to hold the leprechaun at bay.
He runs out to tell everyone what he has seen but no one believes him. A rainbow appears and Ozzie runs off to find "the pot of gold." at the end. Alex follows to try to get him to come back to work. They find a bag of gold and plan to keep it a secret. Ozzie accidentally swallows one of the coins which we all know will cause a great deal of problems later on down the road.
Back at the house Tory's father is trying to get an animal out of the knot in a tree. He thinks he can hear a cat in there. But when he gets a serious bite wound on his hand, Tory and the others rush him to the local hospital. They leave him at the hospital over night and return home. It is there that more accidents are happening. They soon realize that it is the work of the leprechaun trying to get his gold back. Unfortunately, they can't fulfill the creatures demands because Ozzie has swallowed one of the coins. So in order to defeat him they must find a four leaf clover and attack him with it.
The film isn't written very well, the dialogue is trite and cheesy, and the lore/logic is just completely out the window. However, I think the film makers came into this movie already well aware of this fact. Despite the stupid theme and the silly writing job, the movie somehow manages to be an enjoyable cult classic. It generally received negative reviews but grossed well in the theaters. And to people like me it is any enjoyable classic that I will watch at least once a year.
Viewers have to have a taste for the stupidity to enjoy this film. If they come in understanding that it will be a silly film (and I hope they do considering the title alone) then they will be more likely to enjoy it. The only real downside is the strangeness of the "lore" they have come up with for the leprechaun. None of it makes sense and it seems pretty shoddy throughout the film. But this is all to be expected in a horror film of this quality. Personally, I enjoy it and see it as a Saint Patrick's Day classic!
Summing it Up
Deaths: 4
Language: 4
Gore Factor: 3
Sex Factor: 1
Scare Factor: 2
Fun Factor: 4
Overall Rating: 4