LEPRECHAUN: BACK 2 THA HOOD

MYTHOLOGY: No magic flute. Not a lot of crazy powers. Just gold, near-invincibility, and super-strength (for his size anyway). This is a stripped down Leprechaun, and I appreciated the change from the last film.

Also, we get a little explanation about the other leprechauns. Apparently, this guy is the last of his kind. Which is for the best, apparently.

BEST DEATH SCENE: Someone gets stabbed by a bong. Bong water turns red with blood. How come no other movie has thought of this before?

VERDICT: This is perhaps the most inept movie in the series, and it’s no surprise that they stopped with this one, but holy crap is it more fun than the previous installment. It adds some necessary physical comedy (pot-related, of course), and the main characters actually have some real-world issues besides “I want to be a rapper, maybe.” I think this installment definitely gets a bad rap. But it’s soundtrack is filled with bad rap, so I guess it’s fitting.

LEPRECHAUN IN THE HOOD

MYTHOLOGY: The magic necklace that turns the Leprechaun into stone is back. (Last seen in part 3.) The Leprechaun now has a magic flute. He is also stronger than in previous installments, controlling people’s minds and making their hearts explode.

WORST DEATH SCENE: Anything involving the transsexual character is mean-spirited and depressing. Not cool, Leprechaun. Not cool.

BEST SONG: This movie ends on a serious high note as the surprisingly victorious title character raps. Lep in the hood come to do no good! It’s not exactly Tupac, but whatever.

VERDICT: My least favorite installment in the series. I didn’t enjoy watching this movie, even if individual scenes are fun and clever. The acting was passible, and the Coolio cameo was the most random thing to ever happen in this series, but the trouble-making, anarchic vibe of the previous installments in mostly lacking.

Then again, the rap number…

LEPRECHAUN 4: IN SPACE

MYTHOLOGY: The Leprechaun is a space creature now. He can transport his soul through urine. By this point in the series, they aren’t even trying for consistency anymore.

BEST DEATH SCENE: The Leprechaun popping out of the guy’s crotch was at least unusual. And the assistant getting his head into a pizza was as Looney Tunes as you could get.

VERDICT: This movie is exactly what you’d expect from the title. It is stupid and nonsensical and proud of it. Like the others, this one is fun almost all the way through. My main gripe is that the climax involves a completely unnecessary mutant spider. Why? We don’t need the extra complication. A space-leprechaun is crazy enough.

LEPRECHAUN 3

MYTHOLOGY: Leprechaun bites will give you Leprechaun magic. A necklace can turn the Leprechaun into a statue. Leprechauns are all about dirty limericks, apparently.

BEST DEATH SCENE: The magician getting sawed in half. That’s as old as they come, but seriously… so, so good. The topless television robot lady was good too.

VERDICT: The funniest out of the entire franchise. Coming from someone who has been to the Vegas strip several times, this film’s depiction of Las Vegas is almost 100% BS, but so what? The jokes are dirty, the main character is dorky-cute, and the murder scenes are consistently insane.

LEPRECHAUN 2

MYTHOLOGY: Doesn’t like certain kinds of metal. Obsessed with finding a wife. Really, really old.

BEST MAKE-OUT SCENE: The leprechaun licks his new wife on the face. That’s how Irishmen say hello. Best tongue scene since Freddy Krueger in Nightmare 1.

VERDICT: I frequently skip over this one in my re-viewing habits, but it’s just as funny, goofy, and scary as the first one. Warwick Davis seems to be having the time of his life, even if the other actors are uniformly awful.

The LA setting is actually an improvement over the single barn from part one, expanding the scope of the story and making everything feel more important somehow. (Sort of like the change in epic-ness from Critters 1 to Critters 2 or Alien to Aliens.)

The Leprechaun-finding-a-wife storyline was cheesy fun, but I’m glad they dropped it for future installments. I’d rather not think about the mechanics of that situation.

LEPRECHAUN (Part One)

MYTHOLOGY: Comes from Ireland. Doesn’t like four leaf clovers. His magic is tied to his gold. Obsessed with making shoes.

BEST DEATH SCENE: Jumping on the pawn shop owner with a pogo stick. Great product placement, too.

VERDICT: This movie will always have a soft spot in my heart. It hasn’t aged well over time, particularly Jennifer Aniston’s Valley Girl schtick and basically everything that comes out of her mouth. But the movie still rides a very fine line between horror and cheese that still works. It never forgets that it’s trying to be a fun, scary ride.

LEPRECHAUN!

I decided to start this year off right. Since I have a few days off to spend lazing around and basking in the glow of holy-crap-it's-already-2012, I thought I would spend the first few days of the Mayan death-year watching one of my favorite horror franchises back-to-back: LEPRECHAUN!

Now, I know I've talked about several of these films before (particularly the last few sequels that frankly were not my favorites), but I wanted to take a look at the franchise as a whole and try to see what new insights I can draw from movies I've seen dozens of times before. Will I change my tune? Probably. I switch my opinions on these movies faster than Warwick Davis can jump on a pogo stick. So join me for the next few days as we relive the exploits of everyone's favorite mini-killer, Chucky! I mean, Leprechaun!