The basic premise of this movie isn't that bad: a really ugly, mean leprechaun is robbed of his gold and forced to lie trapped in a crate for 10 years. He comes out willing and able to kill everybody who stands in the way of his recovering his gold. That could work. Unfortunately, it doesn't in this movie.

Leprechaun is the sort of film I might expect to see from someone who took a dare that he couldn't make a horror movie in less than seven days. The movie does have one good thing going for it, though, and it's not Warwick Davis's inane portrayal of the villain. Although you may never hear her mention this film among her credits, a young Jennifer Aniston glides enticingly throughout this entire film, making one forget at times just how silly and mediocre it actually is. Aniston plays Tory Reding, a spoiled young lady from L.A. forced to spend the summer with her father in an all but condemned house in North Dakota. She refuses to stay in the nasty new house until she runs into a young painter outside who accuses her of being afraid, at which point she immediately decides to stay after all.

What no one knows is that the house's former owner not only stole a leprechaun's gold, he trapped the little bugger in a crate down in the basement, sealed with the magic of a four-leaf clover. Thanks to Ozzie, a backward but good-natured member of the far from talented Three Guys Who Paint, the little green guy escapes and goes on the rampage. The brains of the painters' outfit, a 12-year-old boy, actually finds a bag of gold at the end of the rainbow, yet still he (and everyone else) refuses to believe Ozzie's leprechaun story. The rest of the movie consists of your basic "when leprechauns attack" scenario, providing nothing resembling fright or dark comedy or anything else. There is a slight bit of blood and gore, but the leprechaun spends more time trying to be funny (with little success) than providing us with satisfying deaths. Far too many ridiculous sight gags and tricks are played, insulting the intelligence of even the youngest of viewers, and the climax occasions nothing more than a shrug of the shoulders on the part of the viewer. In the world of horror movies, Leprechaun is mediocrity personified.

- Rambles
written by Daniel Jolley
published 8 November 2003