Lately, I’ve been watching whatever movies the podcasts I listen to cover. With Gourley and Rust covered Leprechaun a few weeks back, but I held off on watching it because it wasn’t available on any of my streaming services at the time. Then March rolls around, and the evil geniuses at Peacock decide to add seven of the eight (I know, right? Eight of these motherfuckers?) Leprechaun movies, I assume because of St. Patrick’s Day. Well, seven of those and one Vudu rental later, I watched the whole franchise because I’ve suddenly become a completionist when it comes to franchises and filmographies. No way was I going to try to write full articles about each of these movies, but I did want to at least document my ranking of the series so that my suffering wasn’t in vain.
With that, here is my ranking of the Leprechaun franchise. I’m honestly not that big of a fan of these movies (and I don’t understand how anyone could sincerely like more than half of these things), but I did find a few of them to be just goofy enough to be enjoyable. But yeah, some of these are straight up trash. Speaking of trash…
8. Leprechaun: Origins
This attempt at a straight horror reboot of the franchise just completely misses the point of these films, turning the Leprechaun into a non-speaking Descent-like creature. It’s not very good as a standard survival movie, and it’s insulting to a franchise that, before this, I thought was incapable of being insulted. I don't have anything else to add, so here’s a rant about the title.
What a dickhead title. First, one would assume this is the origin tale of the Leprechaun we all know and kind of like. That's stupid because that character's mythology changed with every film, so who cares about his origins?
Okay, it's not that. Instead this is the origin story of a new, completely unrelated Leprechaun creature. Here the subtitle implies we're going to want more of these fucking movies. What an insult to the audience.
And finally, this isn't even the origin story of this creature any-fucking-way. If this was the origin, then shouldn't it, I don't know, take place when the fucking thing was born or at least first started killing? This thing has been around long enough for the locals to be a part of it, so it's not like a new situation for them. What would the filmmakers have done if this trash had actually been popular and people wanted the actual origin story? Would that one be called Leprechaun: Origins - The Beginning? Fuck this movie.
7. Leprechaun 4: In Space
This series is mainly known for the ridiculous titles of a few entries, and this is the first crazy one. This should be stupid fun, but the low production values make it difficult to enjoy (the CG spaceship shots are so bad they need to be seen to be believed). There is a little fun to be had with the Aliens spoof it’s trying to be, and I was pleasantly surprised by a left field homage to The Fly (especially since I’m in the middle of watching all of David Cronenberg’s films [fun fact: Cronenberg shows up in an acting role in another, better slasher in space movie, Jason X]). But it was all too busy and too dumb for me. The giant Leprechaun hand giving them all the finger in space at the end was a nice touch, though.
6. Leprechaun: Back 2 tha’ Hood
Title note: the apostrophe on the “tha” doesn’t appear on Letterboxd or IMDb or anything, but it’s there on the title screen, so I included it here.
This one was apparently meant to be a return to a simpler Leprechaun with fewer random ass powers that would come and go in previous films. In that regard, it is a step above some other entries, but the problem is the return to the hood. As a franchise, Leprechaun works, sometimes, as a nomadic series. The wise-cracking monster needs a new locale to respond to or things get boring. Also, this film doesn’t have Ice T in it. For any other series, that would be a good thing, but for Leprechaun, it’s a detriment.
5. Leprechaun 2
This one just didn’t try hard enough to break new ground, aside from adding a stupid “the Leprechaun wants a wife” subplot. It’s just as forgettable as Back 2 tha’ Hood. The shoehorning in of a go-cart track just to get the Leprechaun into a go-cart again is amusing. And seeing Jack Klompus from Seinfeld with a pot of gold protruding from his stomach inched this one spot up on my list.
4. Leprechaun in the Hood
This one gets made fun of the most for its silly title, but it’s actually dumb enough to be enjoyable. You get all the requisite “Leprechaun smoking weed and talking shit” stuff, but it’s the crazy final act that saves this one for me. I was just not expecting anything that happened in the last twenty minutes.
Aside from that, the human characters drag this film down, except for Ice T. He spends most of the movie demanding that a magic flute be given to him, and it’s fucking hilarious. To hear his typical “don’t fuck with me” voice say shit like, “Y’all motherfuckers can die right here. Jump. I don’t give a fuck. But you are going to tell me one thing: where’s my fucking flute?!” makes the whole movie worth it.
3. Leprechaun Returns
This is the most recent entry, and it’s meant to be a return to form after the WWE-produced debacle, Leprechaun: Origins. For the most part it works. It’s a direct sequel to the original and covers a lot of the same ground, but with much gnarlier kills. It’s all silly and gory, and it’s what a fan probably wants from this series. Except for one thing.
Warwick Davis turned this down because he doesn’t want to make horror movies until his son turns eighteen. And that’s a shame because he is the franchise. I’m not equating the two, but for me, this is a Harrison Ford and Indiana Jones situation. Ford has said he doesn’t think anyone else should play the role once he gives it up. And I think the same should go for Davis and the Leprechaun. No offense to Linden Porco who’s doing fine work in a thankless role.
2. Leprechaun
The one that started it all, or the one with Jennifer Aniston. She’s mostly forgettable in this, but Warwick Davis isn’t. This franchise (aside from the last two) hinges on how much the audience enjoys watching Warwick Davis rummage around saying Leprechaun shit. I like it enough to watch every one of these goddamn things, so that’s saying something.
Davis truly does not get enough credit for this series. The first two of these movies were released theatrically. That didn’t happen just because of the makeup effects (though I do like the look of the Leprechaun throughout the series, except for Origins). It happens because people want to see Davis be goofy and gruesome, and this first entry he is nearly at his best.
1. Leprechaun 3
This series started in theaters, but it always belonged straight to video, as this entry proves. Leprechaun 3 was the first time the series was allowed to get truly goofy. The Leprechaun ends up in Las Vegas, for some reason, leading to pawn shops, magicians, Elvis impersonators, and overall stupid ass shit. I loved this movie as a kid, and I still found it to be the most enjoyable entry in the franchise as an adult.
There’s a fine line with a series like this when it comes to how stupid it can be before I give up on it. Leprechaun 3 is the only one that keeps getting to that line and staying on the right side of it.
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