Leprechaun

1993 horror comedy

Rating: 8/20

Plot: A mean leprechaun wreaks havoc after his gold is stolen.

This doesn't work as a comedy or as a horror film, and considering that's the two things that it's supposed to be, that's probably not a good thing. Warwick Davis's lively performance as the titular fantasy creature saves it from being a complete bust, but it's also worth watching for Friends fans for the chance to see a young Jennifer Aniston looking as cute as a fucking button in colorful shorts and for fans of either Teen Wolf or Pee Wee's Big Adventure to see Mark Holton who played Michael J. Fox's tubby teammate in the former and Francis in the latter. Of course, while Aniston shows off some of the charisma that would make her America's darling a few years later, Holton shows that he really isn't a very good actor. It's worth any time you spend with this movie to hear him say "It's a magic rainbow!" though! Worse than Holton is Robert Hy Gorman, a child actor who was also in Rookie of the Year. I can't tell whether Gorman brings Holton down or if Holton brings Gormon down, but they're in nearly every scene together and probably don't help each other out. Warwick Davis, on the other hand, gives a ridiculously good performance. He unfortunately just has a stupid script to deal with and probably shouldn't be given as many lines as he's given anyway. What should be a silent horror movie killer ends up talking even more than Freddy Krueger. Only Leprechaun isn't really as funny as Freddy. He sings a little too much, and I'm not sure if I like or dislike that he's able to mimic other people's voices. Anyway, with the exception of a scene where the leprechaun loses a hand or the scene where he pogo-sticks a guy to death, most of this is really silly. But at least the leprechaun looks good.