After the Golden Age of Horror (circa Halloween to Child’s Play), we entered the Straight-to-VHS era that lasted until the Horror Renaissance (Scream). During those dark times, everything was thrown at the wall to find something that would stick and entertain the masses that had gotten disillusioned of horror. Dr. Giggles, the Ice Cream Man, the Dentist, Jack Frost, Rumpelstiltskin, Pinocchio, and more got their chance in the limelight but only two characters stuck: Candyman and Leprechaun.
Now, like any sane person, I’m a fan of Warwick Davis’ Leprechaun movies. They were good dumb fun with Davis chewing on the scenery causing delight and amusement (I won’t stand behind the Hood films). He played the part 6 times, opting not to return for Leprechaun Returns.
Now, even though this film is called Leprechaun: The Beginning, it is not an official sequel to the series. Rather, the filmmakers behind it are using the good old rule of using the uncopyrightable word to make it look like a sequel—see Amityville and Italian horror. The first hint is that the already is Leprechaun: Origins, which is technically a reboot of the series. That film was the worst Leprechaun film… until now.
The story of Leprechaun: The Beginning is about two sisters who inherit a cottage. The previous owner had a little chest filled with gold coins. That man was killed by a leprechaun. The sisters arrives at the cottage with their families. One has two daughters who I think are supposed to be in their late teens or early twenties but look way older so they might be developmentally challenged. The other couple wants to sell the house because they are having a baby, and they also look way too old to be of child bearing age.
The actors… they are actors. The leprechaun is inexcusable. Imagine if you decided to go to a Halloween party as a leprechaun and you bought a cheap mask and some green face paint. They didn’t even bother covering up the ears, neck or hands with paint and the latex is literally dangling off of the actor. The actor who portrays him also decided to not go the traditional route of portraying the leprechaun as a… you know, leprechaun, but rather copied Reece Shearsmith’s Papa Lazarou.
The film is made by ChampDog Films which has a business model I don’t understand. It churns out an endless stream mockbusters and publicdomainbusters, which are films about characters in the public domain like the tooth fairy, humpty dumpty and, of course, leprechauns.
Leprechaun: The Beginning, like everything else ChampDog Films produce, is absolute crap.
If you read this review, I would bet you’ve done more work than most of the people behind this bullshit.
