It is often perplexing why the horror genre is so awash with titles that have been so badly written, so sloppily produced, that they are released, flop, then are pulled quicker than it takes you to say ‘Candyman’ three times in a mirror. I mean not to besmirch the haunting Candyman in that little simile, as what I am comparing it to, Leprechaun 3, towers high above it in terms of being an absolutely terrible movie.
Leprechaun 3, released in 1995 starring Warwick Davis (who played the Ewok Wicket in Star Wars and a number of roles in Harry Potter) as the titular Leprechaun, is the third in the Leprechaun series; other titles include Leprechaun 4: In Space, Leprechaun: In the Hood (starring Ice-T), and, unsurprisingly, Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood. The series is a testament to how easy it was to produce a low budget, direct-to-video film back in the 1990s, yet quizzically, while having a perfect 0 percent rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, holds a 4.5/10 on the Internet Movie Database- listen and you can hear the creators hoping it attains cult status!
The films begins with a one legged man pawning a Leprechaun statue that happens to have a medallion placed around its neck. Speaking to the pawn shop owner, he stresses never to touch the medallion, and leaves. Naturally, the medallion gets a good touching, and the Leprechaun springs to life, going on to engage in a murderous rampage throughout Las Vegas.
Vegas is a perfect location for the film (the first and second instalments took place in Ireland and L.A); the filmmakers are perfectly able to take advantage of the casino culture and high stakes mentality of Sin City, moulding this with the traditional Irish pot-o-gold folklore that permeates the franchise. It all seems a little trite, however. Scott (the lead character), a student who recently travelled to Vegas and who is granted a wish when he discovers one of the Leprechaun’s gold pieces, has a terrible gambling problem from the film’s outset, and when bitten by the Leprechaun during an encounter, begins to display Leprechaun-like tendencies such as quoting limericks in an Irish accent. At this point of the film I began to realise that visiting an actual casino, such as River Belle, would be more exciting than the endless rigmarole of Leprechaun 3.
The film culminates in a rather tedious manner; pretty much every member of the cast is granted a wish, thus creating a weird sequence that includes the character Loretta having her lips, chest and buttocks inflated by the leprechaun, subsequent to her asking for her 20-year old body back. Then she explodes.
You should watch Leprechaun 3, if not for the ‘stellar performances’ or ‘perfect fusion of horror and comedy’, then for the great, triumphant feeling that results from realising this is probably the worst film you’ll ever see.
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