Leprechaun is one of those classic horror movies that is so bad that it's good. The story is crazy, the actors are over the top, and the special effects are so bad that they are laughable. But somehow, it all comes together to make a film that is fun and entertaining. As the leprechaun, Warwick Davis does a great job, and Jennifer Aniston is surprisingly good in her first movie role. If you like campy horror movies, you should definitely check out Leprechaun. Just don't go into this movie expecting to be scared. You're more likely to laugh than to scream.
Warwick Davis's portrayal of a vengeful leprechaun has become the stuff of legend. In the film, the leprechaun is convinced that a family has stolen his pot of gold. He sets out to hunt them down, using all of his cunning and strength. Meanwhile, the family is desperately searching for the gold, in an attempt to placate the leprechaun and keep him from harming them. Davis's performance is chilling and unforgettable, making Leprechaun one of the best horror films of all time.
Davis added humor to what may have been a more serious horror role in the Leprechaun picture.
Leprechaun movie plot:
After visiting his homeland Ireland in 1983, Dan O'Grady returns to North Dakota. O'Grady learns after burying the riches that the leprechaun murdered his wife. O'Grady uses a four-leaf clover to trap the leprechaun. He's dead before he can burn him.
The O'Grady farmhouse is rented by J. D. Redding and his daughter Tory, now a teenager, ten years later. Nathan Murphy, his 10-year-old brother Alex, and their dopey friend Ozzie Jones are working as contract workers to renovate the farmhouse. While exploring the cellar, Ozzie overhears the leprechaun calling for help and mistakes him for a little child. As soon as the old four-leaf clover is freed from the carton, the leprechaun is free to go. The leprechaun tells Ozzie that he's a shoemaker from Ireland who came to America in quest of better opportunities. Ozzie fails to convince the others that he saw a leprechaun, but he does spot a rainbow, which he follows in the hopes of finding a pot of gold at its end. Worried that Ozzie would hurt himself, Alex decides to pursue him. With a wave of his wand, a bag holding one hundred gold coins appears before Ozzie. After Ozzie examines the gold and accidentally swallows a coin, thinking that doing so would cure his brain damage, they bury the loot in a deep, ancient well.
The farm leprechaun fools J. D. by pretending to be a cat and biting his hand. Tory and the others transport the leprechaun to the hospital. Alex and Ozzie visit a pawn shop to inspect the gold's purity. The leprechaun kills the owner, Joe, for stealing his gold and polishes his shoes before departing. On his way home, the leprechaun constructs a go-kart and gets caught for speeding. Leprechaun chases policeman into woods and murders him. The leprechaun returns to the farmhouse and shines every shoe he sees. After dumping off J. D., the group returns to the farm. Nathan is injured by a leprechaun-set bear trap after discovering the house ransacked. The gang beats the leprechaun with rocks and clubs outside.
When they find a gun in the house, they shoot the leprechaun many times. When it doesn't work, they try to leave, but the leprechaun has broken the engine of their truck. After crashing the car with the go-kart, the leprechaun scares the group until Ozzie admits that he and Alex found the pot of gold. Tory gets the bag out of the well and gives (this site) it to the leprechaun. They go to the hospital, certain that the worst is over. As the leprechaun counts his money, he realizes that Ozzie ate the last coin he had. He threatens them because he thinks they're trying to trick him, but Ozzie tells them that O'Grady had a stroke and was sent to a nursing home. The gang distracts the leprechaun by throwing dirty shoes at him. The leprechaun has to go shine the shoes while Tory gets in her jeep and drives away. Tory goes to the house to learn how to kill the leprechaun.
How did Leprechaun (1993) do in theaters?
How successful was the 1993 film Leprechaun when it was released in theaters?
The movie Leprechaun came out on January 8, 1993, in 620 theaters and made $2,493,020 in its first week. It made a total of $8,556,940 in the US. In April 1993, Vidmark put it out on VHS, and more than 100,000 copies were sold.
Leprechaun debate explained:
Trimark teamed with the NBA, NYSE, Domino's Pizza, and Subway to promote the video. Domino's and Subway's cooperation was contentious because franchisees felt exploited. Leprechaun remains a cult favourite thanks to a great marketing strategy.
Did Leprechaun have any cinematic sequels?
The next year, Leprechaun 2 was published, with the Leprechaun traveling to Los Angeles in pursuit of a fresh pot of gold. The third film, Leprechaun 3, is set in Las Vegas and sees the Leprechaun acquiring a magical coin that gives him desires. The fourth picture, Leprechaun 4: In Space, takes set onboard a spacecraft and includes the Leprechaun confronting aliens, which is a break from the previous films. Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood, the fifth and final film in the series, has the Leprechaun returning to his beginnings in inner-city Los Angeles. Despite generally bad critical reviews, the Leprechaun series has proved to be highly successful, and it is still considered a cult classic today.
Leprechaun movie trivia
After the producers insisted on making the movie scarier so it would appeal to older audiences, several scenes had to be reshot.
George Lucas cast Warwick Davis in Willow. Less-known is why. Davis was under contract to Lucas, thus he needed authorization to appear in the film. As a consequence, he received a "special thanks" credit. This fact makes the movie more interesting for horror aficionados. It's another illustration of Lucas's cultural effect.
Leprechauns were meant to return to Ireland. Warwick Davis, who played the leprechaun, lacked a work visa. Davis required a visa in three days to shoot the last scene, an impossible job. Davis finished shooting on time thanks to Vice President Dan Quayle's administration. Quayle was credited with "special gratitude" for his work.
Warwick Davis began to regret creating the picture, although Anniston's eventual popularity on TV led to additional rentals and sequels. It was allegedly Warwick's favorite.
Leprechaun was Jennifer Aniston's first picture.
If you're a lover of horror flicks, Leprechaun is absolutely worth seeing. It's one of those rare horror films that's genuinely humorous as well as disturbing, and it boasts some terrific performances from Warwick Davis and Jennifer Aniston. The narrative may not be the most creative, but the movie is nonetheless pleasant to see. So if you're in the mood for a nice fright, check out Leprechaun. You won't be disappointed.