Last Halloween, I dedicated the season to the king of the monsters, Godzilla, by watching his first 15 movies. I called this string of commentaries, "Godzilla-Maniapalloza Extravaganza...For the Love of Godzilla. All Hail, the Monster King!" And it was fun.
I started watching Godzilla movies months before Halloween to make sure I had plenty of time to get 15 reviews finished by October.
Now, it's October again. So, I'm dedicating this season to another horror villain...Lubdan the Leprechaun. Ever heard of him?
This is a last-minute decision, by the way. He wasn't my first nor my second pick for Halloween 2023.
Initially, I was going to watch all the "Friday the 13th" movies starting in June. But that didn't happen.
I was also thinking of watching and reviewing various Dracula movies in no particular order for Halloween. Who's more of a classic Halloween icon that Dracula? Well, that didn't happen, either.
By the second week of August, I had nothing started and no solidified plans. As far as movies go, I spent the summer getting caught up on the year's new horror releases.
By luck (no pun intended) I obtained a complete set of these Leprechaun movies as a birthday present from my lovely wife. Since there's eight of them, and it's still early enough, I can definitely get through them by and through October.
So, "Leprechaun" it is. At the time of writing this, I've only ever seen the first one. I'm curious enough to see what this series can possibly do with such an odd and non-horrific character like a leprechaun.
With that said, I guess I'll call this thread "Halloween 2023's Somehow Leprechauns are scary...extravaganza!" Enjoy.
☘
The Review
 |
| Warwick Davis is Lubdan in "Leprechaun." |
Director
Mark Jones
Cast
Warwick Davis - Lubdan
Jennifer Aniston - Tory Redding
John Sanderford - J.D. ReddingMark Holton - Ozzie
Robert Hy Gorman - Alex Murphy
Shay Duffin - Dan O'Grady
William Newman - Sheriff Roy Cronin
William Newman - Sheriff Roy Cronin
It amazes me how many writers and producers out there come up with horror movies in which anything, even the most mundane objects, become vessels of deadly terror.
For instance, "Rubber" is a 2010 horror movie about a spare tire with the psychokinetic power to kill people.
"Attack of the Killer Donuts" is a 2016 horror movie with a title that speaks for itself.
The same is true for the 2019 low-budget, straight-to-DVD flick "Killer Sofa." I once reviewed a Dutch movie from 1983 about a killer elevator called "The Lift." The same idea was repeated in the 2001 movie, "The Shaft."
Even renowned horror writer Stephen King has a popular story about a killer 1958 Plymouth Fury called "Christine." He also wrote a story about a killer clothes press called "The Mangler." Director Tobe Hooper turned it into a movie in 1995.
The world of horror movies has seen killer rabbits, killer telephones, killer snowmen, killer Santa Claus, killer refrigerators, killer turkeys, killer elevators, killer video games, and killer hair weaves and extensions. Yes, hair extensions! I'm referring to the 2020 movie "Bad Hair" and the 2007 movie "Exte: Hair Extensions." Those exist! The list goes on.
This trend in horror in horror seems to be shifting towards turning popular children's stories and nursery rhymes into horror movies and slasher flicks. The most notable title of this subgenre to recently come out this year is "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey." Just today, I saw a trailer for a horror movie called "Mary Had a Little Lamb." And the same production company, Dark Abyss, that's bringing horror fans "Mary Had a Little Lamb" also released a trailer for a slasher flick called "Three Blind Mice."
For me, the "Leprechaun" movies fit perfectly into this general oddball branch of horror. My idea of what leprechauns are was shaped by the 1959 Disney movie "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" in which Leprechauns, especially King Brian (if you know, you know) are mischievous, solitary, and certainly not life-threatening.
By the way, that movie deserves a review of its own.
 |
| Jennifer Aniston as Tory. |
He tells his wife that while overseas he stole a pot of gold from a leprechaun named Lubdan (Warwick Davis) after having some kind of discussion with this mythical creature.
He buries the gold he brought home but doesn't realize the leprechaun followed him to the states by hiding in his suitcase.
Lubdan kills his wife and then demands his gold back from O'Grady.
In retaliation, O'Grady uses a four-leaf clover to hold the leprechaun back as, evidently, four-leaf clovers keep a leprechaun's powers at bay.
He traps Lubdan in a crate, nails it shut, and dumps gasoline over it. Before O'Grady can light it on fire, he has a deadly stroke.
Before dying, he leaves the clover on top of the crate to keep the little guy from escaping.
Ten years later, J.D. Redding (John Sanderford) and his daughter, Tory (Jennifer Aniston), arrive at the now abandoned house to rent it for the summer.
At the same time, Nathan Murphy (Ken Olandt), his kid brother, Alex (Robert Hy Gorman) and their special needs friend, Ozzie (Mark Holton), have been hired to fix up the place. Alex and Ozzie start by painting the home.
Ozzie ventures down into the dusty old basement as he hears a child crying for help down there.
He pinpoints the cries as coming from the crate.
When Ozzie accidentally brushes off the four-leaf clover, Lubdan frees himself.
He tells Ozzie that he's a shoemaker by trade desperate to find his gold. This becomes a running gag as Lubdan is often slowed down by the need to shine and repair shoes throughout the movie. I guess this makes him obsessive compulsive.
Terrified, Ozzie runs out to tell everyone what he just witnessed. Of course, nobody believes him.
He then notices a rainbow off in the distance and runs to find the rainbow's end.
Alex chases after him. They both end up finding a bag of gold hidden in an abandoned pick-up truck at the end of the rainbow.
From there, Lubdan will do whatever it takes to be reunited with his beloved gold...even kill. He chases everyone around trying to find his stash while they all try to take him down. But his magic is tricky enough to make that nearly impossible. You can't catch a leprechaun, after all.
It's the same cat-and-mouse kind of horror seen again and again. What's supposed to be scary is really goofball nonsense, with a wee bit o' blood and gore mixed in.
I think the cast knew how ridiculous the premise this this movie is, and just went along with it for the fun.
"Leprechaun" is nothing more than corny popcorn horror and humor.
I think it's well remembered for starring a young Jennifer Aniston before she was Rachel on TV's "Friends."
It also stars Warwick Davis previously seen in "Return of the Jedi" and "Willow."
And Mark Holton also stars in this movie. I only know Holton from two other roles - Francis Buxton from "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" and Chubby in "Teen Wolf" and "Teen Wolf Too."
The gore factor is salted with Lubdan's cheesy comedic methods to take out his victims.
In one scene, he kills a pawn shop owner by hopping on him with a pogo stick simply because Alex and Ozzie loaned him one of his gold coins to date and appraise.
It's a movie meant to be enjoyed simply for the mere nonsense of it all.
What's even weirder than a deadly leprechaun killing anyone who has his gold, is that the movie has spawned five sequels plus a 2014 reboot called "Leprechaun: Origins."
In 2018, a direct sequel to this first movie was released called "Leprechaun Returns."
Dylan "Hornswoggle" Postl takes over the role of the Leprechaun in "Leprechaun: Origins" as Warwick Davis plays the titular character in all the previous films.
And while Warwick Davis doesn't return for the 2018 sequel, Mark Holton does.
This isn't the first fairy tale or urban legend director Mark Jones, who has a history in television directing, turned into horror. Aside from directing "Leprechaun 2" in 1994, in 1995 he directed the horror comedy "Rumpelstiltskin" which also stars Mark Holton.
As far as Leprechaun goes, Jones was evidently inspired by the 1988 film "Critters" which I previously reviewed, as well as Lucky Charms breakfast cereal. I can definitely see that. Though there's little in this movie that's magical or delicious.
"Leprechaun" is a movie that audiences have to take at face value. Obviously, it's ridiculous. But it leaves the impression that it's trying to establish something lasting in the horror genre. I think it did so rather successfully, all things considered. Otherwise, it has to be viewed for the mere fun of watching something this absurd.
No comments:
Post a Comment