The way Warwick Davis played a vengeful leprechaun has become legendary. In the movie, the leprechaun thinks a family stole his pot of gold. He uses all of his smarts and strength to go after them. In the meantime, the family is looking for the gold as hard as they can to make the leprechaun happy and keep him from hurting them. Leprechaun is one of the best horror movies of all time because Davis's performance is so scary and easy to remember.
In what was supposed to be a more straightforward horror flick, Davis added some comedic touches as the Leprechaun.
Leprechaun movie plot:
In 1983, Dan O'Grady traveled to Ireland, the country of his origin, and while there, he abducted a leprechaun and stole the pot of gold that he was guarding. He then returned to his home in North Dakota. After O'Grady buried the wealth, he came to the conclusion that the evil leprechaun had followed him back to his house and murdered his wife. With the use of a clover with four leaves, O'Grady is able to control the leprechaun's skills and confine him inside a container. He had a stroke just in time to stop him from setting him on fire.
When a leprechaun on a farm pretends to be a cat and bites J. D.'s hand, he slips into a trap. He rides a tricycle after Tory and others transport him to the hospital. When Alex and Ozzie travel to a pawn shop to check the purity of the gold, the leprechaun murders the owner, Joe, and polishes his shoes before fleeing. On his way home, the leprechaun builds a go-kart and is stopped for speeding. In the woods, the leprechaun kills a police officer. While cleaning shoes, the Leprechaun returns to the farm in search of his reward. After leaving off J.D., the gang returns to the farm. When Nathan investigates the looted home, he is injured by a leprechaun-set bear trap. They thrashed the leprechaun with rocks and clubs outside.
J. D. falls into a trap when a leprechaun on a farm pretends to be a cat and bites his hand. After Tory and others take him to the hospital, he rides a tricycle. When Alex and Ozzie visit a pawn shop to inspect the gold's purity, the leprechaun kills the proprietor, Joe, for stealing his gold and polishes his shoes before departing. On his way home, the leprechaun constructs a go-kart and gets pulled up for speeding. The leprechaun murders the police officer in the woods. Leprechaun returns to the farm and seeks for his prize while polishing shoes. The group returns to the farm after dropping off J.D. When Nathan examines the plundered house, a leprechaun-set bear trap injures him. Outside, they beat the leprechaun with rocks and clubs.
When they find a gun in the house, the leprechaun is shot many times. They try to leave the property when it doesn't work, but the leprechaun has broken the truck's engine. After crashing the car with the go-kart, the leprechaun scares the group until Ozzie says that he and Alex found the pot of gold. Tory gets the bag out of the well, and then he gives it to the leprechaun. They go to the hospital because they are sure that the worst is over. As the leprechaun counts his money, he realizes that Ozzie ate his last coin. He threatens them because he thinks they're trying to trick him, but Ozzie tells them that O'Grady had a stroke and was taken to a nursing home. The group gets the leprechaun's attention by throwing dirty shoes at him. The leprechaun (blog post) has to go shine the shoes while Tory gets in her jeep and drives away. Tory goes to the house to find out how to kill the leprechaun.
The leprechaun assumes the identity of O'Grady in the nursing home. As Tory flees, the leprechaun tosses O'Grady's bleeding body down the elevator shaft after having followed him to an elevator. Before passing away, O'Grady advises her that the only way to kill the leprechaun is with a four-leaf clover, which grows in plenty outside the property. Tory returns to the farmhouse in search of a clover, but she is attacked by the leprechaun and rescued by Nathan and Ozzie. The leprechaun is gravely injured while trying to retrieve the last gold coin, which Ozzie admits to consuming. Alex takes a four-leaf clover uncovered by Tory, connects it to a piece of chewing gum, and shoots it into the leprechaun's mouth, causing him to evaporate before he can kill Ozzie. Despite plunging down the well, the leprechaun's skeleton emerges and proclaims, "I want my gold." After Nathan pushes the leprechaun back into the well, he ignites both artifacts with gasoline. Tory is reconciled with her father, marries Nathan, and has a child when the police arrive. While the cops explore the well's debris, the leprechaun says he won't stop until he recovers every last piece of his fortune.How well did Leprechaun (1993) do in theaters?
Leprechaun was released in 620 theaters on January 8, 1993, and earned $8,556,940 in the U.S. In April 1993, Vidmark released it on VHS and sold 100,000 copies.
Leprechaun debate explained:
Trimark worked with the National Basketball Association, the American Stock Exchange, Domino's Pizza, and Subway in the months before the movie came out to promote it. Many people thought that the franchisees were being taken advantage of when Domino's and Subway worked together. But the marketing campaign worked, and Leprechaun is still considered a cult classic.
Did Leprechaun have any cinematic sequels?
The next year, Leprechaun 2 came out. In it, the Leprechaun goes to Los Angeles to find a new pot of gold. In Leprechaun 3, which takes place in Las Vegas, the Leprechaun gets his hands on a magical coin that makes his wishes come true. Leprechaun 4: In Space is a bit different from the first three movies because it takes place on a spaceship and has the Leprechaun fighting aliens. In Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood, the fifth and final movie in the series, the Leprechaun goes back to his roots in (blog) the inner city of Los Angeles. Even though most critics didn't like the Leprechaun movies, the series has been very successful and is still a cult classic.
Leprechaun movie trivia
After the producers requested that the picture be made bloodier to appeal to adult viewers, some sequences had to be reshot.
George Lucas cast Warwick Davis in Willow. Less-known is why. Davis was under contract to Lucas, thus he needed authorization to appear in the film. As a consequence, he received a "special thanks" credit. This fact makes the movie more interesting for horror aficionados. It's another illustration of Lucas's cultural effect.
Originally, the leprechaun was supposed to escape back to Ireland. But there was one problem: the Irish actor who was playing the leprechaun, Warwick Davis, did not have a work visa. In order to film the final scene, Davis needed to obtain a visa in just three days - an impossible task under normal circumstances. Fortunately, Vice President Dan Quayle's office was able to speed up the process and Davis was able to finish filming on schedule. For his efforts, Quayle received a "special thanks" credit at the end of (blog post) the movie.
Warwick Davis was starting to regret making the movie, but many people rented it after Anniston became popular on TV, which led to a long series of sequels. It's said to have been one of Warwick's favorites.
In Leprechaun, Jennifer Aniston made her first big-screen movie appearance.
If you like scary films, you should absolutely see Leprechaun. It's one of those rare horror flicks that's both humorous and disturbing, with excellent performances from Warwick Davis and Jennifer Aniston. The premise isn't really unique, but the film is nonetheless entertaining to see. So, if you're looking for a nice fright, go see Leprechaun. You will not be let down.