176) Mountaintop Motel Massacre (1983)

"They know you're crazy. They're gonna send you back to the hospital. Everyone must die."

Director
Jim McCullough Sr.

Cast
Anna Chappell - Evelyn
Bill Thurman - Rev. Bill McWiley
Will Mitchell - Al
Virginia Loridans - Tanya
Major Brock - Crewshaw
James Bradford - Sheriff
Amy Hill - Prissy
Marian Jones - Mary
Gregg Brazzel - Vernon
Jill King - Lorie

I've done a decent number of reviews for horror movies released within the year. Now, I want to get back to some good old fashioned, nitty gritty, gag inducing, sick and insane, blood 'n guts, so bad they're good, fright night, creature feature horror flicks. I want to get back to the kind of horror movies, as my blog header says, you forgot about, wanted to forget about, or just haven't heard of... yet. 

I have a lot of these kind of schlocky horror movie titles listed in my go-to movies I plan to get to at some point. 

Well, recently, I stumbled upon a horror subgenre called psycho-biddy. The term sounds familiar. I'm pretty sure I've heard of it before. 

This subgenre is a label for psychological thriller flicks that center on older women who have gone insane to some degree or another. The 1990 movie "Misery," based on Stephen King's novel about the crazy and unstable Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) who holds author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) hostage comes to mind. In early psycho-biddy horror movies, these violent unbalanced older women were often depicted as being among the upper-class. 

The 1962 psychological horror thriller "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" starring Joan Crawford and Bette Davis is great example of this subgenre. 

There are a few other psycho-biddy movies filmed in the same period that pair well with "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" such as "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte," (1964) also starring Bette Davis, "What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?" (1969), "What's the Matter with Helen?" (1971), and "Whoever Slew Aunti Roo?" (1972). 

Bette Davis stars in another psycho-biddy horror movie called "Dead Ringer" (1964), also known as "Who Is Buried in My Grave?" Even the movie poster advertises it as "for 'Baby Jane' people!" 

And Joan Crawford stars in the psycho-biddy horror films, "Straight-Jacket" (1964) and "Berserk!" (1967). 

Maybe it's fitting to cast Joan Crawford in these kinds of movie considering her true life past. The 1981 biographical psychological drama movie "Mommie Dearest" which I've heard some refer to as horror, is based on Crawford's parenting. 

Anna Chappell and Bill Thurman in "Mountaintop Motel Massacre." 

Anyways, the 1983 psycho-biddy slasher flick, "Mountain Motel Massacre" is a movie I've tried watching twice before. And each time, I ended up falling asleep. That's not a criticism of the movie. Well, this time I stayed awake for the entire experience. 

The story is set in rural Louisiana. Motel proprietor Evelyn (Anna Chappell) is taking care of her motel after previously spending time in a mental hospital. Little does she know that her daughter, Lorie (Jill King), practices black magic in the basement, trying to contact her deceased father. 

When Evelyn finds Lorie in the middle of some weird ritual, she has a breakdown and accidentally kills her own daughter with a sickle. 

Not sure what to do next, she drags Lorie's body to the kitchen, calls the police, and convinces them she had nothing to do with her death. 

Of course, they believe her...except the sheriff (James Bradford). He's not convinced. 

Meanwhile, the motel she runs, called "Mountaintop Motel," is really a bunch of separate cabins used as motel rooms.

After Lorie's funeral, Evelyn is now alone at her motel. And as expected, she begins to go mad.
Rev. Bill McWiley (Bill Thurman), who presided over the funeral, checks into the motel for Evelyn's sake. 

Soon, other guests arrive. 

A guy named Robin Crewshaw (Major Brock) checks into a cabin right next to McWiley's. The two of them chat it up and have a drink in McWiley's cabin. 

Meanwhile, some newlyweds named Vernon and Mary (Gregg Brazzel and Marian Jones) arrive as they pass by on the freeway during their honeymoon road trip and need a place to crash for the night.

Later, as rain starts pouring, cousins Prissy (Amy Hill) and Tanya (Virginia Loridans) are also driving along the nearby freeway towards Nashville when their car breaks down. As luck would have it, a wealthy businessman named Al (Will Mitchell) passes by and offers these young girls a ride. 

With the rain coming down in sheets, they decide to find a motel to wait out the storm. Attempting to drive in the rain would be dangerous. 

They hitch a ride with Al, who claims to be a record producer for Capitol Records. He even has a car phone which is pretty prestigious for 1983. 

Of course, the girls leave their money and stuff in their car. So, they have to bunk with Al at the motel. They fancy themselves singers, so they see this meetup as a golden opportunity for a potentially successful career. And Al is just full of promises. 

Back in Crenshaw's cabin, Evelyn peaks in through a trap door on the floor. When the coast is clear, she releases some cockroaches in his room, 

In the newlywed suite, Mary is getting ready to hit the sack as Vernon is relaxing on the bed. Evelyn sneaks underneath their cabin and releases a poisonous snake into their room unbeknownst to the couple. The snake makes its way towards Vernon, and bites him on the face. Mary freaks out and tries to call a doctor. But the phone doesn't work. 

She runs to the main office and runs into Al just after he checks in. 

Mary tells him what happened, and he calls a doctor. 

Everyone is generally uneasy in their rooms. McWiley is awoken with rats in his cabin and tries killing them all.  

But in Al's room, he and the girls, especially Tanya, start getting loose with themselves. 

Before anything happens, the girls lock themselves in the bathroom to freshen up and argue over who's going to sleep with Al. Tanya's willing to go to bed with him if it'll lead to a record deal. 

But Prissy remains in the bathroom. 

As Tanya and Al begin fooling around, Evelyn sneaks into the bathroom through a trapdoor and slashes Prissy's throat with a sickle. She takes her body down into the basement. 

Tanya hears the ruckus, but when she opens the bathroom, Prissy is gone. All that remains is blood splatter on the wall. 

Soon, some of the guests discover the trap doors and begin to figure out what Evelyn has going on. So, it's up to someone to stop her and get to the bottom of these massacres.

This is nothing more than a hack n' slash flick where all the bad acting and plot devices are enjoyed for the sake of a cheap fright.

It's clear the guests are going to die. But how it all plays out is what keeps audiences tuned in. It's definitely a poor man's "Psycho." Very poor!

But watching this movie makes me glad I set this blog up in the first place. This is the place where shlock like "Mountaintop Motel Massacre" has a memory hole to fit into and remain. 

Not a Review Necessarily - My Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire trailer reaction

The 2021 film "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" was a decent third installment to the 1984 horror comedy "Ghostbusters" and it's 1989 sequel "Ghostbusters II." I wrote about my thoughts of "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" in the local newspaper, noting that it "works as a tribute to the original film." I even gave it 3.5 out of five stars. 

Now a fourth Ghostbusters movie is on the horizon, titled "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire." And the trailer for it dropped November 8th. 

Based on the trailer, this new Ghostbusters movie looks like something unlike the other movies, save for the Ghostbusters squaring off with the paranormal. Where "Ghostbusters Afterlife" is a retread of the 1984 film, namely to restart the franchise with new characters, part four looks like something all on its own. 

The trailer starts off lighthearted as "Cruel Summer" by Bananarama appropriately plays on top scenes of beach goers enjoying the New York City summer. Of course that's interrupted as an ominous sky begins to loom over the city, coming in off the beach and engulfing everything with ice. 

It looks like New York City is under a bit of a frozen spell in the middle of summer. Patton Oswalt's character voices over the trailer, stating "for the first time in New York history, people froze to death in the middle of July." That's a lot of death and destruction!

"Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" looks darker and more sinister than before.

My fear, however, is that the plot of a frozen Manhattan is a setup for a preachy flick about climate change. We've had too many of those, and they're pretty much all crappy movies. 

Thankfully, the official synopsis of Frozen Empire gives me some reassurance. 

It reads, "The Spengler family returns to where it all started - the iconic NYC firehouse - to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who've developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second ice age." 

James Acaster in "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire."

But a recent article in "Rolling Stone Magazine" speculates a plot about climate change.

I want a paranormal story with the Ghostbusters, no matter how old they are, doing what they do best - telling jokes and busting ghosts. 

I don't want to spend money on admission just to be lectured again about climate change and saving the planet, yada yada yada. I want to escape for an hour and half, and just be entertained. 

That was my big gripe over the 2019 movie "Godzilla: King of the Monsters." It's a preachy flick about that same topic. I've heard it all before.

The trailer offers some images that, like so many other fans, has me anxious and excited to see this new movie. 

For instance, the characters from "Afterlife" dawn red winter coats that are a new part of the Ghostbusters uniform. 
One new character, played by James Acaster, is also sporting this red winter coat along with a name patch similar to those on the Ghostbusters coveralls. Some on social media speculate this might be baby Oscar from "Ghostbusters II" all grown up. Others think the name on his coat looks like it reads "Melnitz" which may indicate he's related to the Ghostbuster's receptionist, Janine Melnitz, played by Annie Potts in parts one, two, and in Afterlife. 

I even read that this mysterious character might be related to EPA agent Walter Peck, played by William Atherton in "Ghostbusters."

Incidentally, Atherton is supposed to reprise his role in this new movie. 

As for the new specter tormenting New York City, it's appearance is really intriguing. It show's up twice in the trailer. 

In the first brief glimpse, the monster looks like its attaching horns into its head. 

A fellow Ghosthead I chatted with on Facebook seemed certain this new ghost is "Garaka" which he surmised thanks to some leaked concept art. 

"Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" concept art.

I couldn't find anything online to confirm this except for a blurb on the Ghostbusters wiki page about a character called "Hob Anagarak" - a monster that appeared in the episode "Cold Cash and Hot Water" from season two of the animated series "The Real Ghostbusters." However, they're clearly not the same two characters as Hob Anagarak is a fire deity who "has the ability to breathe and control fire, has incredible strength, and can teleport away from danger. It was said Hob Anagarak could have reduced whole cities to charcoal." 

The horns on that thing, which you can barely see in the blurred shot of it walking into the firehouse, makes me think of Bullwinkle J. Moose. 

Still, the Ghostbusters News website has an article that claims "Frozen Empire" is said to have taken inspiration from "The Real Ghostbusters." 

Actor Kumail Nanjiani, who appears in the trailer, posted the following on X - formerly Twitter; "Also I am a huge fan of The Real Ghostbusters (the animated series) and that show was a point of reference for this movie. The filmmakers wanted to make a long episode of the animated series. So if you love that show as I do, be excited." 

I guess the animated series has content that's worth pulling inspiration from in order to make an entertaining live-action movie with the original Ghostbusters along with the new characters. I hope there's more originality thrown into the new movie rather than ideas recycled from the cartoon. 

Whoever this big scare is, I appreciate something new and original for the franchise rather than rehashing old characters from before. 

Even so, I think it would be great to see Rick Moranis return, even if briefly, as Louis Tully from parts one and two. Still, I doubt his return as he's very selective about the roles he's offered nowadays.

Gil Kenan, who worked as a writer for Afterlife, sits in the director's chair this time after Jason Reitman directed the previous movie. Kenan directed the 2006 animated horror comedy "Monster House" which isn't a bad film. I enjoyed it, as did my kids.

He also directed the 2015 "Poltergeist" remake. The less said about that flop, the better! I saw it when it was released, and don't remember anything about it. He also directed the Christmas movie "A Boy Called Christmas," which is also a decent enough picture. So, being a decent enough director, I think Kenan's presence adds a little promise to this next Ghostbusters movie. We'll see, of course. 

There's a spectacular shot of Ecto 1 blaring down the streets of New York City in the trailer! And it's restored. I'm excited to see her in action again.

Plus, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Bill Murray return. That's always a welcomed sight, especially for Murray who seemed reluctant to do any more Ghostbuster movies after the second film. 

Though I can't help but have my doubts that part four will be any good as the original film's success is true lighting in a bottle, and both part two and "Afterlife" are hit and miss, I'm still anxious and curious to see where "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" takes the franchise. As of now, "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" is set for release on March 29, 2024. 

175) Down in the Cellar (1983)

Director
Jan Švankmajer

Cast

Monika Belo-Cabanová - Little girl
Ol'ga Vronská - Washer woman
Aleksandr Letko - Man with candy

After sitting through the horror comedy "Leprechaun" and the seven nonsensical films that followed, I wanted to get to something meaningful, deep, and worthy of attention. 

A year or two ago, while employed at a local library, I managed to find an interlibrary loan DVD of short films by Czech filmmaker Jan Švankmajer.

I stumbled upon Švankmajer a couple years ago while watching a YouTube video that showcased ten strange and unusual films, or something like that. It was one of those top ten videos. This video presented one of his films called "Virile Games" also known as "Mužné hry" or "Male Games." It's a live action/ stop motion short film from 1988. I wouldn't do it any justice if I tried describing this film. It just needs to be seen. Švankmajer describes himself as a surrealist, and it shows in his films like "Virile Games."

But it spurred me to look into his other works, many of which are available on YouTube. So, I did. 

It wasn't until later that I looked to see if his films are available on DVD. 

Švankmajer is a surrealist film maker whose works can be whimsical, unsettling, nightmarish, profound, reflective or relatable, intriguing, and humorous. 

He uses a variety of art forms such as clay, puppetry, cutout figures, random objects, and actors to make his movies. What's even more impressive is that when he uses live actors, he'll often animate them through stop-motion techniques. His short film "Breakfast" which is part of his three-part "Food" film series is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. And when I say "impressive" I mean that sincerely. Other film makers such as Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton have taken inspiration from Jan Švankmajer. 

He's made films, both short and feature length, from the 1960s up to 2018's feature film "Insects" being the last title I can find of his.

On top of these artforms, he's a master at editing and the use of sound effects. Most of his films have no dialogue. In these cases, communication is done through visuals. It's amazingly effective and so meticulously constructed! His style fits all elements masterfully together into films that are strange, unforgettable, and simply remarkable. 

The two-disc DVD set I found through the library was "The Collected Shorts of Jan Svankmajer." It includes 14 of his films including "The Fall of the House of Usher" based on the story by Edgar Allen Poe, "A Game with Stones," "Et Cetera," "Punch and Judy," "The Flat," "Death of Stalinism in Bohemia," and "Food." 

One of these films in that set has stuck with me. I've watched it several times already on YouTube, even moments before writing this post. 

It's called "Do pivnice" or "Down in the Cellar" produced in 1983.  

Monika Belo-Cabanová in
Jan Švankmajer's short film, "Down in the Cellar."

The short centers on a little girl, played by Monika Belo-Cabanová, who reluctantly heads to the dark dirty cellar of her apartment with her basket, a flashlight, and the cellar key to fetch potatoes. 

As she heads down the apartment stairs, an older man (Aleksandr Letko) wearing a hat and tie is walking up. The only sound in this scene are their footsteps. The man's footsteps are heavy. Hers are soft and careful. As the man passes her on the steps, the camera cuts to a closeup of her eyes wearily watching him make his way past her. Her eyes alone are shy, cautious, and curious. The man stops and turns around to look back at her with a short smile on his face. He looks inside her basket, to get a clue of what she's up to. He reaches and pulls out a piece of candy from behind her ear. But she's not having any of it and runs down the steps. 

A washer woman (Ol'ga Vronská) is scrubbing the floor at the bottom of the steps and looks up at her as if to say, "where do you think you're going?" 

Seeing that the girl has a cellar key, this woman nods in approval and lets her pass. 

When the girl reaches the top step down to the cellar, a black cat with golden yellow eyes is laying on the bottom step looking up at her, just daring her to pass. 

As she slowly moves towards the door, one cautious step at a time, the cat runs into the cellar. 

From there, the girl's fears and imagination take hold. There's a part where she finds both the man and woman she just encountered living down in separate parts of the cellar amongst the coal. It's a strange scene, and one that could easily be inspired by a fever dream, or childhood fear. She watches the man brush his teeth and get ready to sleep as he lays down in a bed of coal. His niche in the basement is set up like a makeshift bedroom. 

He covers himself with coal like it's his bedsheet. But he sits back up and looks at the girl, gesturing for her to come in and rest as well. He points to a crib against the wall and invites her to use it. 

As she backs up, shaking her head, she turns to see the same woman as before in another niche made up to look like a kitchen. 

This woman is using the coal to make pastries. That is, she cracks two eggs and adds a little water to a bowl full of ground up coal. She mixes it to create a "dough" and then starts to knead it. Then she cuts out circles in this black dough to make biscuits. It's a surreal, unsettling and haunting scene. 

Ol'ga Vronská in "Down in the Cellar."

The absence of dialogue contributes to that dreamlike feel. 

I think the reason this short film clicks with me is because it reminds me of the basement in my boyhood home. Our basement was partially subterranean as my house was built on the side of a hill. Part of the basement had an unfinished dirt area. The rest of it was dusty, dark, and packed with stuff...like normal basements. It was a part of the house that scared me, and to this day, I still have dreams about it. My younger self can relate to this young girl and her imagination.

In an interview with the International Film Festival in Rotterdam, Švankmajer said, "Dreams play a big role in my life. Dreams play a big role in the life of any surrealist. Of course, they are also reflected in my films." 

Everything in the cellar has its attention on this little girl, even the lid of the potato bin. The black cat is also following her around, giving the impression that it's the mastermind behind the girl's active imagination.

And it ends on a chilling note, at least through the eyes of a young child. 

When finally leaving the cellar, she trips over the cat as it sits on the steps waiting for her to stumble, and all the potatoes fall out of her basket and go rolling back into the cellar. 

It's as though the cat knowns her fears and is there, like a demon, keeping her from escaping the darkness of the cellar. She stares back into the darkness before heading back into the cellar to gather up the potatoes. And that's when it ends. 

The young actress playing the little nameless girl conveys her anxieties and determination effectively through her eyes and mannerisms. 

She's very meticulous about where she stands and aware of what's around her. Švankmajer includes shots of her feet standing on the edge of the stairs, frozen in place with trepidation before she ventures forth. He uses stop motion animation to portray her fears. She doesn't cry or scream. Rather she takes pauses to compose herself and build up her confidence before continuing. In one instance, she takes a moment to stare at her reflection in a dusty old mirror, and then sticks her tongue out at herself.  

The lighting is primarily from her flashlight, although other scenes definitely demand more lighting. 

Švankmajer is careful in the execution of this short film. The imagery has staying power in the audience's memory. Like other Švankmajer films, "Down in the Cellar" makes an impression. 

While this short film depicts horror elements - namely, fear - it's a stretch to call it a horror movie. A horror movie as I understand it attempts to inflict fear into its audience. "Down in the Cellar" is about fear. It's easy to imagine ourselves in the girl's place. The premise, animation, and simplicity make it that much more of an effective film. It's a masterpiece of a short movie.  

174) Leprechaun Returns (2018)

Halloween 2023's Somehow Leprechauns are Scary... Extravaganza!  (The Final Leprechaun... For Now) 

"Twenty-five years! I've got a lot of killing to make up for." 

*Spoilers ahead*

Director
Steven Kostanski

Cast
Taylor Spreitler - Lila Jenkins
Pepi Sonuga - Katie
Sai Bennett - Rose
Linden Porco - The Leprechaun
Mark Holton - Ozzie Jones
Emily Reid - Meredith
Ben McGregor - Andy
Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins - Matthew

Nowadays in the horror genre, there are a fair number of horror sequels being released which negate previous sequels regardless of how many there are, and what sort of plot points they establish in a franchise. Who cares about all that? 

If there are any horror sequels that deserve negating, it's the Leprechaun sequels starting with part two all the way to part six, "Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood." Hey, let's toss the seventh film "Leprechaun: Origins" into the negate pile, too. Why not? 

"Leprechaun Returns" is a direct sequel to the first movie with no regards to all the previous installments in between. What luck! 

This time it's bloodier, gorier, and horrific-er. 

In this last Leprechaun movie, college student Lila Jenkins (Taylor Spreitler) is heading to the same old house in North Dakota as seen in part one. She, and other college students, are going to work on the house as a project to make it green, environmentally speaking. Get it? Going green! You know... cause "leprechauns." Yuck, yuck. 

The house is now owned by their school, Laramore University. 

While waiting at the bus station for her ride which doesn't come, Lila runs into Ozzie Jones - the same Ozzie from part one, played again by Mark Holton. He seems to recognize her but can't place where he has seen her before. Ozzie also offers her a ride to the house.

At first, she's apprehensive and declines to go as he's a little odd, and she doesn't know him. However, as her sorority mates aren't showing up, she agrees. 

In his truck, Ozzie finally realizes that Lila is Tory Redding's daughter. That is, Tory from the first movie played by Jennifer Aniston.

Unfortunately, Tory died from cancer before the story begins. 

When they get to the house, Ozzie is understandably weary about being there especially after the events from part one. Still, knowing that the leprechaun is dead and hasn't shown up in 25 years gives him a little peace of mind. 

While helping unload Lila's luggage, he accidentally drops his phone nearby the well where they dropped the leprechaun's remains years ago. 

When he goes to retrieve it, water from the well explodes up all over Ozzie. 
As he scrambles to his car and is driving away, Lubdan the Leprechaun (Linden Porco) begins forming inside him. 

Ozzie pulls over and runs into the woods where the Leprechaun tears his way through to spring back to life.  

Linden Porco takes over the role of the Leprechaun in "Leprechaun Returns."

Back at the house, Lila meets her sorority sisters- Katie (Pepi Sonuga), Rose (Sai Bennett), and Meredith (Emily Reid).

Meredith, who happens to be a partying stoner, brings some guys along with her - Matt (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins) and Andy (Ben McGregor) who has the hots for Katie. 

Obviously, they're all fodder for Lubdan, stuck in and around the house as he tries to pick them off one by one. He still wants his gold back. He hasn't forgotten about it. But one of the girls found it earlier in the rusted truck it was left in yeas ago. She used it to finance the house project through a bank back in Bismark.  

Lila keeps seeing Ozzie's ghost who helps her take down the leprechaun.  

Lubdan makes his presence known to everyone in the house. 

And when the girls think they have the upper hand over the leprechaun, Lubdan pops back into action. Evidently, the only way to kill him off is to destroy every last part of him. Otherwise, he'll spawn from whatever pieces of him are left. 

Lubdan is much more menacing and brutal towards his victims than before. This makes up for his being generally non-frightening. He's more of an annoying nuisance, albeit deadly when he wants to be, than terrifying. 

In a few scenes, he even pauses to allow some of the sorority girls take selfies with him.

The oddball leprechaun in "Leprechaun: Origins" takes that award for coming close to being terrifying. 

Considering the source material, and what the movie is given from part one, this is not a bad follow up. As a horror comedy, it's alright. 

Mark Holton is entertaining as he plays an older version of Ozzie. In the first movie, Ozzie is dimwitted and a bit slow. He comes back now seemingly wiser and much more cautious. At first the idea of his character being a ghost throughout the story came across as stupid. But it keeps him in the story, and gets some laughs, so I appreciate that. 

In the scene where Lila rides back to the house in Ozzie's truck, he has images of four-leaf clovers plastered all over in the inside of his truck. Clovers are Lubdan's weakness.

"Are you Irish?" she asks.

"No!" he says without any hesitation.

"Fond of the culture?"

"Not at all!"

Linden Porco is just as quirky as Warwick Davis's Lubdan, though Porco maintains a more sinister and angrier demeanor for the titular character. He's more determined, darker, angrier, and hellbent on getting his gold back while inflicting his deadly revenge.     

He speaks in limericks just as before, most of which are lewd.  

Lubdan kills a lot more for its own sake, and for the thrill, as well as for the sake of inflicting revenge for his gold. 

One point of continuity is Lubdan's obsession with shoes. It's another detail from part one that doesn't really come about in the following films.  

In one scene, he throws a pair of krocs in the trash saying "probably doing fashion a favor by killing that one." 

Taylor Spreitler as Lila Jenkins.

Taylor Spreitler performs her lead character truly well. She's likeable and easy for the audience to get invested it. Lila isn't naive and weak. She's energetic. Her character doesn't let fear cloud her judgement. 

Spreitler, and the rest of the cast, put in energy and effort into their characters. Like the first movie, the cast is clearly having fun within the premise and make the most with what they're given.

Even though Lubdan doesn't die at the end of this, and the film ends on the idea of his return, it's still a good film to end the series on though I doubt that this will be the last audiences see of Lubdan. 

In a Feb. 20, 2023 article posted on the Den of Geek website, "Leprechaun" director and creator Mark Jones is quoted as saying, “I hear rumblings that they want to do another Leprechaun. Warwick and I have talked on and off about it. He likes the idea of a Leprechaun in the Wild West. I think they should do a TV series where the Leprechaun travels the country looking for his gold.”

Maybe they should do a cross-over like, "Leprechaun vs. Chucky" or "Leprechaun vs. Krampus vs. Sam (from Trick 'r Treat) All Holiday Monsters Attack!" or some such thing. Maybe the Leprechaun can save Christmas, or be left home alone while the family takes a vacation. Maybe we'll get "Leprechaun: Reloaded," or "Leprechaun Resurrections," or "Dawn of Leprechaun, Back 2 tha Hood 3: Rise of Evil - In Space." 

As far as "Leprechaun Returns" goes, director Steven Kostanski said in one of the DVD special features that he wanted to make a goofy movie with heavier gore, yet a return to the original. 

He definitely accomplished what he set out to do. It's a monster movie with plenty of horror and comedy. 

All the typical horror tropes are there. It has the old farmhouse setting. It has young sorority girls out of their element. And mixed in is a pissed off deadly monster back from the dead. 

Kostanski keeps the spirit of the original film while maintaining a feeling and atmosphere all his own. This movie is full of effects which work for the most part.  

"Leprechaun Returns" manages to be a fun horror romp that ends the series well (for now, anyways). 

So, after watching all these "Leprechaun" movies, do I think leprechauns are scary? No, they're not. Well, they did try making them scary. But, again, they're not. Leprechaun creator Mark Jones probably knew that and went the logical route with his idea. He made it a horror comedy. Somehow, the franchise has made itself a small little niche in the genre along side some big legends. Well done, Jones.

Otherwise, that's it for Halloween 2023's "Somehow Leprechauns are Scary Extravaganza!" Somehow, I managed to get through all eight movies just before Halloween despite starting this late and deciding what movies to review at the last minute. 

I can't wait to check out another horror series next year. It can't come soon enough. Until then, Happy Halloween! 

173) Leprechaun: Origins (2014)

Halloween 2023's Somehow Leprechauns are Scary... Extravaganza!  (Part 7)   

"Cabin in the woods! What's not to like?"

Director
Zach Lipovsky

Cast
Stephanie Bennett - Sophie
Andrew Dunbar - Ben
Melissa Roxburgh - Jeni
Brendan Fletcher - David
Dylan "Hornswoggle" Postl - The Leprechaun
Garry Chalk - Hamish McConville
Teach Grant - Sean McConville

Mary Black - Mary


The powers that be in pretend evil leprechaun land decided to reinvent the wheel when it comes to these "Leprechaun" movies. This, I think, is a rare instance where a reboot isn't such a bad idea. 

"Leprechaun: Origins" came out 11 years after the previous "Leprechaun: Back to tha Hood." And this movie marks the first in the series not starring Warwick Davis in the titular role. 

"Leprechaun: Origins" could easily be its own film completely separated from ye olde campy horror comedy leprechaun movies. 

This seventh movie is all horror and no comedy. 

Nothing from the previous films is present. Even Lubdan the Leprechaun is gone. 

This leprechaun doesn't resemble the snarky, sarcastic, ugly but stereotypical leprechaun of yore.

This thing looks like something out of Mordor on a mission to do the will of Sauron. 

The movie starts with a young couple (as most horror movies do), Catherine and Francois, running from something out in a forest someplace in Ireland. Of course, it catches up and drags Francois away where it starts eating him.

Catherine tries running for her life towards a huge stone monolith in the middle of a field. But she doesn't quite make it. This mysterious creature grabs her, too, and that's the last we see of them. 

The story shifts to four American college students, David, Ben, Sophie and Jenni, who are travelling through Ireland. 

Sophie (Stephanie Bennett) is a history major interested in the monoliths out in the rural countryside. They have ancient markings carved on them which grabs her attention. 

The four of them make their way into a very small town that has a pub, as most Irish towns do.

They order a round of pints and talk history talk. 

A local old guy named Hamish McConville (Garry Chalk) overhears them speaking about history and barges in on their conversation to ramble about the history of the village. 

It used to be a gold mining town until the gold supply diminished. And when it did, the village population diminished, too. 

It's a leprechaun, not an Orc.

Hamish offers to take them to a cabin nearby so they can get an early start in the morning and hike to the old caverns where the gold mining took place. 

Hamish's son, Sean (Teach Grant), drives them out to a cabin where they spend the night. Little do they know that Hamish locked them in from the outside. 

That night, Jenni (Melissa Roxburgh), investigates strange noises outside. She sees some kind of creature out there, screams, and wakes everyone up. 

The four of them quickly figure out what Hamish has done. They're stuck inside! 

This mysterious creature sneaks in through the fireplace, and grabs Jenni's gold earring, ripping it out of her earlobe. 

It then chases them around the cabin until they manage to escape through a door in the fireplace. At that moment the creature grabs David's (Brendan Fletcher) leg and takes a nice bite out of it. 

They run to an empty house down the road and hide in the basement. 

Sophie finds an old book on mythical beings down there that has information about creatures called tuatha dé danann, or leprechauns. The picture in the book looks exactly like what was chasing them.

Evidently, the leprechaun chasing them had a claim over the gold that the local villagers had mined. So, the locals owe a debt to the leprechaun. 

They offer tourists to the leprechauns, along with their gold, in compensation for what they took out of the mine. 

And these four are the next offering to the leprechaun who wants every last piece of gold compensated for.

Kudos to the producers for taking the franchise out of L.A., and space, and "tha hood," and putting it back over to Ireland. It put this type of horror where it fits best - at the root. 

The story is a brutal and bloody reimagining of "Leprechaun." And the writers-that-be really went all in on the reimagining part. They definitely sat down and did some full-on reimagining. This barely resembles the original other than they both have an angry leprechaun wanting its gold, along with some young kids trapped in an old house fighting to save their lives. 

Unlike the other movies, this one has a major horror feel to it. That's primarily thanks to its cabin-in-the-woods story. But, like the previous "Leprechaun: Back to tha Hood," the characters are uninteresting and easily forgettable. The story tries to make them likeable so the audience will sympathize with them in their nightmarish plight, but it doesn't work. They're just there to be picked off one by one. 

Melissa Roxburgh in "Leprechaun: Origins."

What's even more annoying is the way the leprechaun is constantly obscured by shadows, blur, cutaways, and shaky camera work. It's effective, maybe, in the first act. By the third act, it's pointless and frustrating. 

"Leprechaun: Origins" strives to be dark, gritty, gory and horrific. For the most part, it succeeds in that regard. When I say, "somehow leprechauns are scary," this movie tries to make that true. This makes sense as director Zach Lipovsky is also a visual effects specialist. 

The leprechaun, played by WWE wrestler Dylan 'Hornswoggle' Postl, doesn't spook his victims with silly Irish styled Halloween limericks, and stating such things like "I want me gold." It snarls and chases with no mercy nor compassion. It's vicious and grotesque. It's more cryptid than mythical. 

This strange reimagining makes the movie a modern creature feature with the title "Leprechaun" slapped on it to give the film some significance and distinction among all the other cabin in the wood's horror creature features. 

It's the same story but a different style and approach. As for the title "origins," we don't get any deep insight into the "origin" of the leprechaun. "Leprechaun: Back to tha Hood" has more origin story than this movie. A more accurate title for this seventh installment might be "Leprechaun: Motives." 

Anyways, the visuals in themselves are affective and truly horrific. The same is true about the film's atmosphere.

All the typical horror tropes are there. There are the lone vulnerable college students completely out of their element, the spooky rural cabin, creepy small-towners, a working vehicle without keys, and an antiquated book with all the answers!

The writers obviously wanted to make this distinct. And, yes, it is distinct. I can't bash "Leprechaun: Origins" too much for accomplishing something different, but it's different in appearance only. The general storyline is the same as the rest of the movies, but with heavier blood and gore. There's plenty of it. Though it's a major turnaround from the previous movies, it is predictable, cliche, and really still the same old thing but with a much darker and serious tone. "Leprechaun: Origins" is a nice try at best. In the least, it deserves a participation award. 

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. 

171) Leprechaun in the Hood (2000)

Halloween 2023's Somehow Leprechauns are Scary... Extravaganza!  (Part 5) 

"Look at all these glittering goods - I've got more loot than Tiger Woods!"

Director

Rob Spera

Cast
Warwick Davis - Lubdan the Leprechaun
Ice-T - Mack Daddy

Anthony Montgomery - Postmaster P. 
Rashaan Nall - Stray Bullet
Red Grant - Butch
Dan Martin - Jackie Dee Redding
Lobo Sebastian - Fontaine Rivera
Ivory Ocean - Rev. Hanson
Coolio - Himself
Barima McKnight - Slug
Jack Ong - Chow Yung Pi

I can't believe I'm saying this but "Leprechaun in the Hood" (aka "Leprechaun 5") might be better than the previous three sequel movies. That doesn't mean I think it's a good movie. I'm just saying it's an improvement. It has more of a "creature feature" feel to it than the previous "Leprechaun" movies, all things considered. The other sequels are just goofy comedies with some "horror" simply to keep the franchise within the boundaries of the genre. 

This time, Lubdan the Leprechaun finds himself in "the hood." That "hood" is in Los Angeles. There's a lot of hoods down there, evidently. And he's been to L.A. before in part two. So, he should know his way around.  

The movie starts in the 1970s as these two guys, Mack Daddy O'Nasses (Ice-T) and Slug (Barima McKnight), find a hidden chamber someplace underground. Maybe it's under the hood? I don't know.

Inside, they find a solid stone leprechaun statue with that same amulet from part three around his neck that turns him to stone. 

His pot of gold is next to him which is obviously what Mack and Slug are looking for. 

Mack Daddy takes a gold flute sitting on top of the pot of gold. And Slug takes the medallion off the statue's neck. 

When he does, Lubdan returns to life and kills Slug with his own hair pick.

Mack Daddy and Lubdan start to fight. During their scuffle, the amulet is flung into the air and lands around Lubdan's neck turning him back to stone.  

Twenty years go by. Novice rappers, Postmaster P. (Anthony Montgomery), Stray Bullet (Rashaan Nall) and Butch (Red Grant) audition at a club with hopes of heading to Las Vegas to perform and make it big as artists. Unfortunately, their speakers explode during their performance. 

So, they try pawing a guitar with a fake Jimi Hendrix signature to help pay for a new speaker, but no one's fooled by it. 

Mack Daddy stumbles across these three and decides to give them a meeting to see how good they are.  

Postmaster P tells him they want to write tunes that don't promote violence, drugs. and all that. 

Mack thinks that's "whack" as he puts it, and tells them their music needs to be more violent and gritty. So, he kicks them out of his office. 

The three of them decide to inflict revenge on Mack for humiliating them. So, they break into his office and rob it later that night. 

As they ransack his office, Mack walks in on them. Postmaster panics and shoots him. During the chaos, Postmaster steals the gold whistle that Mack stole from the Leprechaun 20 years before. And Butch unknowingly frees Lubdan from his statuary state when he snatches the gold amulet. 

The three of them escape. Lubdan comes to life and immediately searches for his stolen gold.

During his search, he turns some "flygirls" into a small army of his own zombies to go find his flute. Lubdan himself goes after the three friends as well. The three rappers soon realize the flute has power to place listeners into a hypnotic euphoric trance. Anyone in the flute's magical trance are easy to manipulate.

Warwick Davis and Ice-T in "Leprechaun in the Hood."

Also, Mack survives his gunshots and goes after the three to retaliate for their shenanigans. 

The film goes back to a more plausible scenario, even with the fantastical elements, which is seen in the first movie. Despite being about a killer leprechaun, the movie sets him in a relatable premise - the "hood" - with more relatable characters. And somehow, the movie manages to accomplish, even if just barely, making these characters interesting enough for the audience to care what happens to them. 

It's not set out in space sometime in the future, or in any other ridiculous premise. It's a movie about a creature terrorizing an otherwise normal group of characters in a rather normal scenario. It's like Jason going after the counselors at Camp Crystal Lake, or Michael Myers going on a killing spree in Haddonfield, Ill. Let's keep this kind of horror simple. After all, outrageous settings didn't work before in the "Leprechaun" films.

There's enough solidity in the movie's general plot that kept me interested. The story of three aspiring young rappers in Los Angeles trying to enter the entertainment industry and then seek revenge against the record producer who humiliates them and kicks them out is an intriguing story in itself. They're suddenly up against a killer folklore creature going after his gold. At times, Lubdan feels like a third wheel in his own movie. If he wasn't involved in the story, I'd still be interested enough to watch. 

But to tie him in, the writers came up with the whistle as something for him to find other than his pot of gold.  

Even with the Leprechaun's inclusion, the story does feel a lot more focused. Kudos to the writers for clearly trying to come up with a better story than the previous films.  

The movie still has its campiness, lame dialogue, and bad acting. There's also a scene with Lubdan smoking weed because, I guess that's what's expected if he's in "the hood." During this scene, he states, "A friend with weed is a friend indeed, but a friend with gold is the best I'm told.

I criticized the last Leprechaun movie as looking low budget, which it does. Its budget was $1.6 million.

Part five looks like it would have a bigger budget, considering the movie has a better cast with bigger names attached such as rapper Ice-T and a cameo from rapper Coolio. The budget for part five is $1.4 million. Go figure.

As the series heads farther away from being horror to being a corny comedy, this movie turns the franchise around in the direction towards being much more of a creature feature horror flick. I mean, they're all creature feature flicks. This one feels more so.