Leprechaun: Origins

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Four American friends (played by Stephanie Bennett, Andrew Dunbar, Melissa Roxburgh, and Brendan Fletcher) are touring Ireland for the summer. They stop in a village, and end up staying in a cabin in the woods after talking to a local man named Hamish (played by Garry Chalk). It doesn't take too long before they end up being terrorized by the titular leprechaun (played by WWE's Hornswoggle). I went into Leprechaun: Origins with a sense of dread. I haven't really heard anything good about this movie (even from Leprechaun fans). From the moment this thing started, I realized I should have heeded every warning about how awful this film was. It certainly didn't help my case that I had decided to review all of the Leprechaun movies this month. Before really delving into what didn't work for me about this movie, I should start by talking about the things I actually did like (however few there are). This is one of the better acted films in the franchise, even if that really isn't saying much. Brendan Fletcher is clearly the best part of the movie. He performs circles around many of his co-stars just through sheer charisma. I also like the film's concept (which might just make the final product that much more infuriating). The village got greedy and stole the leprechaun's gold, so they now have to sacrifice outsiders to stave off the creature's wrath. This is actually premise with potential. OK, I'm done being nice. One of this film's biggest detriments is a lack of Warwick Davis. The leprechaun is nothing more than a creature. This is a thing that has no real personality or character. The effects on this thing (I don't dare call it a leprechaun). are unimpressive, to put it nicely. The actual creature looks bad. It also sees in a Predator-style gold vision. The film is poorly written and poorly directed. Any character development feels out of nowhere and unjustified. The exposition is clunky at best. While the acting is halfway decent, some of these characters are some of the most thoroughly unlikable characters I have ever seen in one of these movies. The pacing is horrible. It's a slow, plodding slog. Some of the performances work. A couple of kills are kind of cool. Everything else is horrendous. Is Leprechaun: Origins the absolute worst movie I've ever seen? No. However, it is still a piece of shit, and the worst film of the Leprechaun franchise.

2 / 10