Warwick Davis's portrayal of a vengeful leprechaun has become the stuff of legend. In the film, the leprechaun is convinced that a family has stolen his pot of gold. He sets out to hunt them down, using all of his cunning and strength. Meanwhile, the family is desperately searching for the gold, in an attempt to placate the leprechaun and keep him from harming them. Davis's performance is chilling and unforgettable, making Leprechaun one of the best horror films of all time.
The Leprechaun film was intended to be more of a straight horror film, but Davis injected comedy into his performance.
Leprechaun movie plot:
Dan O'Grady is originally from North Dakota, but in 1983 he went back to his country of birth, Ireland, where he abducted a leprechaun and stole his pot of gold. Once O'Grady hid the wealth, he learned that the evil leprechaun had followed him home and murdered his wife. With the help of a four-leaf clover, O'Grady restrains the leprechaun's powers and locks him up in a box. Before he could burn him, he had a stroke.
When his daughter Tory is a teenager, J. D. Redding hires the O'Grady farmhouse for the summer. Nathan Murphy, his 10-year-old brother Alex, and their dopey friend Ozzie Jones are working as contract workers to renovate the farmhouse. While investigating the basement, Ozzie hears the leprechaun calling for help and mistakes him for a little child. By taking out the worn four-leaf clover, he frees the leprechaun. Leprechaun tells Ozzie he's a shoemaker from Ireland who came to America in pursuit of gold. When Ozzie's attempts to convince his friends that he had seen a leprechaun turn out to be futile, he instead follows a rainbow in the hopes of finding a pot of gold at its end. Because Alex is afraid Ozzie may hurt himself, he pursues him. Ozzie witnesses the miraculous appearance of a bag holding one hundred gold coins. After Ozzie investigates it and mistakenly swallows a coin, thinking it would cure his brain, they bury the riches in a secret ancient well.
At the farm, the leprechaun gets J. D. to walk into a trap by pretending to be a cat and biting and hurting his hand. After Tory and the others take the leprechaun to the hospital, he rides a tricycle. Alex and Ozzie go to a pawn shop to check the purity of the gold. The leprechaun kills the owner, Joe, for taking his gold and polishes Joe's shoes before running away. On his way back to the farm, the leprechaun builds himself a little go-kart and gets pulled over by a police officer for going too fast. The leprechaun chases the cop into the woods, where he ends up killing the cop. The leprechaun goes back to the farmhouse and looks for his treasure while shining every pair of shoes he sees. After dropping J.D. off at the hospital, the group heads back to the farmhouse. When Nathan goes outside to see what was taken, he gets hurt by a bear trap set by a leprechaun. Outside, the group attacks the leprechaun with rocks and clubs and beats him up.
The leprechaun is shot multiple times when they find a weapon in the residence. When it doesn't work, they attempt to leave the property, but the leprechaun has wrecked the truck's engine. The leprechaun terrorizes the group after breaking the car with the go-kart until Ozzie reveals that he and Alex uncovered the pot of gold. The bag is rescued from the well by Tory, who then presents it to the leprechaun. They head to the hospital, believing that the worst is passed. The leprechaun learns that he is missing the final coin that Ozzie ate as he checks his fortune. He confronts them, assuming they have fooled him, until Ozzie tells them that O'Grady had a stroke and was committed to a nursing home. By flinging dirty shoes at the leprechaun, the gang diverts his attention, and the leprechaun is forced to go shine the shoes while Tory gets in her jeep and drives off. To figure out how to defeat the leprechaun, Tory (blog) travels to the home.
Leprechaun (blog) impersonates O'Grady at nursing home. Leprechaun chases Tory to an elevator and throws O'Grady's body down as Tory flees. Before dying, O'Grady tells her the only way to kill a leprechaun is with a four-leaf clover, which grows outside the property. Tory returns to the farmhouse to get a clover, but the leprechaun attacks. Nathan and Ozzie rescue her. Leprechaun is badly injured while trying to get the final gold coin, which Ozzie ate. Alex ties Tory's four-leaf clover to gum and launches it into the leprechaun's mouth, melting him before he can kill Ozzie. The leprechaun's skeleton says, "I want my gold" despite tumbling into a well. After Nathan pushes the leprechaun into the well, he lights both with gasoline. When police arrive, Tory is reunited with her father, marries Nathan, and has a kid. Leprechaun vows to recover every piece of his money as cops explore the well's ruins.How well did Leprechaun (1993) do in theaters?
The movie Leprechaun came out on January 8, 1993, in 620 theaters and made $2,493,020 in its first week. It made a total of $8,556,940 in the US. In April 1993, Vidmark put it out on VHS, and more than 100,000 copies were sold.
Leprechaun debate clarified
Prior to the film's debut, Trimark teamed together with the NBA, the NYSE, Domino's Pizza, and Subway to spread word of mouth about the film. Franchisees of both Domino's and Subway believed they were being taken advantage of by the companies when they joined together. Nonetheless, the advertising drive was successful, and Leprechaun is still regarded by many as a classic in its own right.
Did Leprechaun have any cinematic sequels?
Leprechaun 2 was released the following year, and it sees the Leprechaun going to Los Angeles in search of a new pot of gold. The third film, Leprechaun 3, takes place in Las Vegas, and it features the Leprechaun getting his hands on a magical coin that grants him wishes. The fourth film, Leprechaun 4: In Space, is a bit of a departure from the previous films as it takes place aboard a spaceship and features the Leprechaun battling aliens. The fifth and final film in the series, Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood, finds the Leprechaun returning to his roots in inner-city Los Angeles. Despite the mostly negative critical reception, the Leprechaun franchise has proven to be quite popular, and it remains a cult classic to this day.Trivia about the Leprechaun film
As a result of the producers' insistence that the movie should be made bloodier to appeal to older viewers, some sequences had to be reshot.
It is well knowledge that George Lucas helped cast Warwick Davis in Willow. Less well-known is the reason behind this. Davis was apparently under contract with Lucas, and Lucas had to grant Davis permission to participate in the film. Due to his contributions, he received a "special thanks" credit at the conclusion of the film. This little-known truth makes the film much more intriguing for aficionados of horror films. This is another another instance of the cultural impact of George Lucas.
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 horror movies at the end of the movie.
Warwick Davis was beginning to regret producing the film, but because Anniston's later success on TV, many people rented it, and it led to a long series of sequels. It is claimed that it was one of Warwick's personal favorites.
Leprechaun was Jennifer Aniston's first role in a full-length motion picture.
If you're a fan of horror movies, Leprechaun is definitely worth watching. It's one of those rare horror films that's actually funny as well as creepy, and it features some great performances from Warwick Davis and Jennifer Aniston. The plot may not be the most original, but the movie is still enjoyable to watch. So if you're in the mood for a good scare, check out Leprechaun. You won't be disappointed.