Film Review: LEPRECHAUN 4: IN SPACE (1997)

Where else is a poor Leprechaun to go but "Leprechaun 4: In Space" (1997). In this film Warwick Davis returns as the title creature but this time he is never mentioned as a Leprechaun but as simply an alien creature. It seems that in this futuristic sci-fi film the Leprechaun has kidnapped the Princess of another civilization and it is up to a military strike team to rescue her, only she doesn't seem to really want to be rescued. This riff on "Aliens" (1986) is filled with endless clichés and bad acting and even worse action scenes.

Brian Trenchard-Smith returns to direct this ludicrous entry in the franchise but to be honest once you go to Las Vegas ("Leprechaun 3") there's not anywhere else to go but space. This film has bad acting, bad technical designs and bad special effects including the half-man/half monster-spider at the end. It seems like the filmmakers just threw everything in this film hoping that something would eventually click and the less mentioned about the Giant Leprechaun at the end, the better.

The film suffers not only because of the budgetary constraints but also the lack of any originality. It seemed like the film was trying to be a parody of other films instead of being its own thing. This film (like so many straight to video sequels) also suffers because the filmmakers behind them don't try to craft a film that can actually be good and entertaining. Instead they borrow scenes from other more established films creating a pastiche of a film that no one really cares about. That is what this film is.