Movie Info
Movie Name: Leprechaun: Origins
Studio: WWE Studios
Genre(s): Horror
Release Date(s): August 22, 2014
MPAA Rating: R
It can’t get worse than this…righ?
College students Sophie (Stephanie Bennett), Ben (Andrew Dunbar), Jeni (Melissa Roxburgh), and David (Brendan Fletcher) travelling in Ireland head to the small town for their last fling before returning home. When they learn the city has a secret history, they decide to stay the night and investigate at the behest of one of the townspeople named Hamish (Garry Chalk) and his son Sean (Teach Grant). When night falls, the students learn that the town has a secret they have been hiding and a fight for survival begins.
Directed by Zach Lipovsky, Leprechaun: Origins is a monster horror movie. The film is the seventh entry in the Leprechaun franchise which ended with Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood in 2003, but it is considered a relaunch of the franchise. It received a small theatrical release and received negative reviews.
The Leprechaun movies aren’t good…but they are kind of entertaining. The first one set the tone, but the tone started to change with Leprechaun in Space and took the franchise a completely different direction with the final two films Leprechaun in the Hood and Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood…but they still remained goofy comedy-over-horror movies. Leprechaun: Origins returns to horror and is the first only straight-up horror film of the franchise.
Sophie…you’re a crappy friend
The story feels a bit like a cross between The Descent and the Evil Dead remake. It is essentially a “trapped in the woods” type horror story with the characters trying to escape the monstrous leprechaun and the town. It has some surprises (I particularly like the “let’s kill it” plan by Sophie that goes awry in the worst way), but the plot is unfortunately largely predictable on the whole…but the fact that it isn’t just Warwick Davis doing one-liners is a nice change.
The cast is largely forgettable. Stephanie Bennett is ok as the final girl (it is obvious at the beginning since the story focuses around her) but her supporting cast is rather weak. Oddly, the movie didn’t go the route of many horror films by having them all be horrible people though it felt like for a bit that they would (or at least ugly Americans that look down on the people). Garry Chalk gets the role of the “bad human” and Teach Grant is the obvious one having doubts. The film was considered a project piece for the WWE’s Dylan “Hornswoggle” Postl who played the Leprechaun, but the Leprechaun is barely seen and has no personality like in previous outings.
It’s irony…he had no spine
The film is rather gory and brutal which is also different than other Leprechaun films which largely were comedies. The Leprechaun is taking no prisoners and out to kill for gold. The Leprechaun itself resembles the anamorphic humanoid creatures of other films like The Descent and Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. It is just monstrous and fast…and I wish that it had been developed more in that sense.
Leprechaun: Origins is a kind of traditional throwback to horror movies with no humor and no holds barred horror. Since it does go ruthless, I wish the film had just pushed it more to give it more of its own persona, and I feel that the Leprechaun tie actually hindered the film instead of helped it. Leprechaun: Origins could have been a nice stand-alone horror movie, but instead it is part of a franchise. Leprechaun: Origins was followed by the made-for-TV Leprechaun Returns in 2018 which serves as a direct sequel to the original Leprechaun film.
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