172) Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood (2003)

Halloween 2023's Somehow Leprechauns are Scary... Extravaganza!  (Part 6)   

"We've had our fun. Now, give me what's mine!"

Director
Steven Ayromlooi

Cast
Warwick Davis - Lubdan 
Tangi Miller - Emily Woodrow
Laz Alonso - Rory Jackson
Donzaleigh Abernathy - Esmeralda
Shiek Mahmud-Bey - Watson
Sticky Fingaz - Cedric
Keesha Sharp - Chanel
Sonya Eddy - Yolanda
Beau Billingslea - Officer Thompson
Chris Murray - Officer Whitaker

The sixth Leprechaun movie "Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood" is both a sequel to the last movie "Leprechaun in the Hood" and a general sequel to all the previous movies. 

Well, it's a sequel to the last movie in name only. Nothing from the fifth movie except Lubdan the Leprechaun (played again by Warwick Davis) and "tha hood" return in this movie. I don't even know if it's the same Los Angeles hood as before, but it's a Los Angeles hood none-the-less. Regardless, it's both a sequel in general, and a sequel to part five. Double sequel!

Speaking of returns, four-leaf clovers are used once again in an attempt to defeat the leprechaun just like the first movie. They're like what kryptonite is to Superman. This plot point, as I recall, is ignored in the previous sequels. So, one point for continuity. 

Anyways, for reasons beyond my understanding, the writers-that-be thought Lubdan needed to return to the...I mean... "tha" hood." They thought this is what audiences needed to see.

'Back to tha Hood' begins with an illustrated back story about leprechauns, their origin, and what the deal is with Lubdan being all evil and stuff.  

Evidently, an ancient king summoned a bunch of leprechauns to protect his gold. So, they did. When this king died, all the little people went back to their little homes in the forest. 

Well, one leprechaun (Lubdan, obviously) didn't necessarily want to leave the king's gold. He was obsessed with it. And after the king's death, he claimed it for his own. 

Now, that ancient leprechaun is back in the hood. How he got to Los Angeles from Ireland is beyond me. In part two, he transported to L.A. through a tree to find the distant relative of the lass he wanted to marry. So, why he decided to stick around and hide his gold in an L.A. hood is a stupid decision. But here we are. 

The story shifts to present day where Fr. Jacob (Willie C. Carpenter) has Lubdan's gold which he plans on using to finance a youth center. Lubdan, of course, cares not for youth nor their centers. He wants his gold. 

As the two of them fight, the pastor pulls out a bottle of holy water laced with four-leaf clovers. 

He banishes Lubdan, dousing him with this holy four-leaf clover water. Demonic hands come out of the ground and drag the leprechaun to Hell. Afterwards, the pastor succumbs to his injuries. 

A year goes by after the pastor's death. 

Warwick Davis returns as Lubdan the Leprechaun for the
last time to date in "Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood."

Two gal-pals, Emily Woodrow (Tangi Miller) and Lisa Duncan (Sherrie Jackson), visit a fortune teller named Esmeralda (Donzaleigh Abernathy) who warns them, especially Emily, that they'll find a great amount of wealth in the near future. However, they must reject this fortune when it comes as it will lead to a terrible evil. 

During a barbeque at the site of the unfinished youth center, Emily and Lisa, along with their stoner pal Jamie Davis (Page Kennedy) who's hangin' with Emily's ex-boyfriend and drug dealer, Rory Jackson (Laz Alonso), join in. 

Suddenly, Emily falls through a sinkhole and finds herself in a basement or some kind of substructure where Fr. Jacob hid Lubdan's chest of gold. She finds the chest as the others come to rescue her. When she brings the gold back to the surface, they split it evenly among themselves to spend as they wish. 

Little do they know that opening the gold chest has brought the evil leprechaun out of hell. He then hunts them down to get his gold back. 

As always, he'll kill anyone who gets in between him and his precious treasure. At times, he'll just kill whoever he stumbles upon. 

Lubdan also makes it a point to get a few more hits on the bong, like he did in part five, because that's what they do in "tha" hood. 

I wanted to get through part six quickly so I could get to the last two Leprechaun movies sooner than later. Those are the films I'm anxious to see the most, especially the last in the series - "Leprechaun Returns." 

Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment, but I'm hoping for one of these movies to be at least kinda worthwhile.  

Anyways, I gave a little praise to the last movie. "Back to the Hood," however, is anything but worthwhile. 

None of the characters are interesting, except Lubdan by default. Otherwise, there's nothing about them to care about or like. 

We know that Emily and Rory are planning on attending college and want out of "tha hood." But that's about all the back story we get. Otherwise, the audience is given nothing about them to take interest in. So, who cares when they die? They're just present so Lubdan has someone to get his gold back from. 

It's just one dumb cliche after another, mixed with one terrible performance on top of another. 

The whole thing is a waste of film. The only thing that's intriguing is the underlying message about greed. 

When we're introduced to Emily and Lisa, they have a momentary lament about the unfinished youth center. No money in "tha hood" means no youth center. Later, when they find the gold, they don't even bother to consider using it to finish that project. It never comes up. 

Later, Lubdan calls them out on their greed when Emily chastises him for killing people just to get his gold back.

"Don't you presume to tell me right from wrong," he says. "You compromised all you believed in once you got the gold, just like all those before you. Your kind is weak, and will always give in to your selfish yearnings."
"It brings out the worst in us, doesn't it," Emily responds. 

This is probably the peak of intelligence throughout the whole movie. I hope no one was hurt. 

As far as horror goes, this movie certainly delivers more than the previous films. The gore is ramped up. And the characters actually fight several times with Lubdan in stead of just run. It seems like everyone goes a few rounds with Lubdan. Watching thugs fist fight a leprechaun is hilarious. 

To its credit, despite all the bad writing, the movie did make me laugh a few times. 

In one scene, Lubdan starts threatening one of the local dealers named Watson (Shiek Mahmud-Bey), who's interrupted by a phone call. Watson answers and makes Lubdan wait. The conversation is clearly with his girlfriend who's upset about something. Lubdan, looking annoyed, just stands and waits for him to finish this phone call. 

While the previous movie showed a little bit of improvement, this movie is sloppy and haphazard. Things just happen with no rhyme or reason which feels more like editing issues than anything else. There's some clear incoherency.  

In one scene, Emily comes to the realization amazingly fast that a leprechaun is coming after his gold. It takes little for her to make that realization. There was no previous discussion or explanation about leprechauns. It just comes to her impressively fast. I feel like something was cut out before she comes to that outlandish, but correct, conclusion. 

Part six marks Warwick Davis's last performance to date of the titular character. 

It would be 11 years before audiences saw another Leprechaun movie. And what comes next may be what the series needs - a reboot! Otherwise, "Leprechaun: Back to tha Hood" is a mindless pointless blood fest (emphasis on "mindless") double sequel creature feature.