Film Review: LEPRECHAUN (1993)

It's hard to believe that the original "Leprechaun" (1993) was actually not a half bad film. In '93 writer/director Mark Jones came up with a simple premise for an entertaining comedy-horror film. Why not take the mythological Leprechaun and turn him into a horror icon like Fred Kruger or Charles Lee Ray? It somewhat worked.

Warwick Davis stars as the title creature who only wants to regain his pot of gold from a thieving Irishman but soon finds himself trapped in a crate held in check by a four leaf clover which is to him what garlic is to a vampire. Several years pass before Tory Reding (Jennifer Aniston) and her father stumble upon the Leprechaun and accidentally set him free. All the Leprechaun wants is his gold and all Tory wants is to stay alive as the Leprechaun will kill anyone who gets in his way from getting his gold.

Now, there is no denying that anyone picking up this film isn't going to have tongue firming planted in cheek as it is a film about a killer Leprechaun. This being said, the production values are very good for a low budget film and the makeup and special visual effects are surprisingly well done as well. The film isn't as funny as it wants to be but Davis has a charm as the title character that is undeniable and will hold your interest from beginning to end.

The rest of the cast is surprisingly well as it is filled with people not normally associated with horror films. Besides Aniston the film also stars Ken Olandt (better known at the time for his work on the soap opera "The Young & The Restless" and the television series "Super Force") and Mark Holton (better known for his role in both "Teen Wolf" films as well as "Pee Wee's Big Adventure"). This happens to be the only entry in the long running franchise that actually tries to be a decent bit of entertainment fluff and it does a good job of it.