Synopsis: Leprechaun features a malevolent leprechaun who loses his pot of gold to a stranger. He spends the next decade lying in wait for the perfect opportunity to use a combination of trickery, magic, and brute force to reclaim his spoils at any cost. (My synopsis…not IMDB for once)
Review: ‘Leprechaun’ fills the end of the rainbow with some on-screen gems.
For as much as horror movies love to recast everyone’s favorite holidays, there is a short list of films that even faintly correlate to St. Patrick’s Day. In the spirit of the season, I turned to Mark Jones’ 1993 film Leprechaun hoping for a little luck. Not having watched this film for years, what I regained was a profound appreciation for this film.
The film focuses on the Leprechaun’s pursuit of his lost gold through murderous means. In doing so, the film wonderfully encapsulates horror in a cheesy casing by having the leprechaun pursue his victims on a tricycle, pogo stick, miniature car, go-kart, skateboard, roller skates, and even a wheelchair.
And close to my own heart is the fact that this slasher is so OCD that he cannot give chase when there is cleaning to be done! While the one-liners are bountiful, they never superseded the fact that this is still a horror film. It follows suit with the genre by having a putrid monster, absent adults, ineffective authorities, a female role who fights back and of course…gore. (Severed hands, gouged eyes, bear traps and lots of biting)
Leprechaun stars not only Jennifer Aniston in her premier feature length role, but also her lovely L.A. Gear sneakers. It was no wonder that the producers thanked L.A. Gear as Aniston’s timeless pink and white sneakers found their way on screen practically more than anyone else. Nonetheless, Aniston packs a punch as a lovely leading lady who transforms from spoiled rich girl to gun-toting, leather clad badass who delivers a well-played F-bomb.
In a nice break from the film tropes of the 80s, there are no ill-fated victims being punished for having pre-marital sex or drinking an Old Milwaukee. In another break from tradition, I think the leading male (Nathan) falls down more times than Tory (Aniston) while running from the villain. Leprechaun maintains a steady pace, memorable deaths, and delivers some great one-liners. All in all, contrary to many other reviewers I whole-heartedly recommend this to any fan of horror comedy. After all these years, it still raises the heartrate just like a shot of good Irish whiskey.
R | 92 min | 1993 | (USA) | Mark Jones
Grade: B+
You can stream this early Jennifer Aniston gem on Amazon:
