Warwick Davis's leprechaun performance is legendary. Leprechaun believes a family stole his gold in the film. He hunts them with cunning and power. The family searches for riches to appease the leprechaun and protect him from hurting them. Davis's terrifying performance makes Leprechaun a classic horror flick.
The movie about the Leprechaun was supposed to be more of a straight horror movie, but Davis made it funny with his performance.
Leprechaun movie summary:
After visiting his birthplace Ireland in 1983, where he kidnapped a leprechaun and stole his pot of riches, Dan O'Grady returns to his home in North Dakota. O'Grady realizes after burying the treasure that the wicked leprechaun had tracked him home and killed his wife. O'Grady subdues the leprechaun's abilities and imprisons him inside a container using a four-leaf clover. He had a stroke before he has the chance to burn him.
Ten years later, J. D. Redding leases the O'Grady farmhouse with daughter Tory. The farmhouse is being repainted by Nathan Murphy, his 10-year-old brother Alex, and their dimwitted buddy Ozzie Jones. While examining the cellar, Ozzie misidentifies the leprechaun as a child. He frees the leprechaun by removing the old clover. Leprechaun tells Ozzie he's an Irish shoemaker who came to America for his money. After failing to convince others he saw a leprechaun, Ozzie spots a rainbow and follows it in search of a pot of gold. Alex follows Ozzie out of worry for him. A bag of 100 gold coins appears before Ozzie. Ozzie examines the riches and swallows a coin, thinking it would cure his brain. They conceal it in an ancient well.
The farm's leprechaun fools J. D. into slipping into a trap by impersonating a cat and biting and injuring his hand. After Tory and the others take him to the hospital, the leprechaun rides a tricycle. When Alex and Ozzie go to a pawn shop to inspect the purity of the gold, the leprechaun kills the owner, Joe, and polishes Joe's shoes before fleeing. On his way back to the farmhouse, the leprechaun builds himself a go-kart and gets pulled over by a policeman for speeding. The leprechaun chases the policeman into the woods, where the leprechaun eventually murders the cop. The leprechaun returns to the home in search of his wealth, sparkling every shoe he sees. After leaving J. D. off at the hospital, the group returns to the farmhouse. When Nathan goes outside to check after finding it robbed, he is injured by a leprechaun-set bear trap. Outside, the gang assaults and beats the leprechaun with rocks and clubs.
As soon as they find a gun in the house, the leprechaun is ambushed and shot many times. They attempt to leave the property after it becomes clear that it won't work, but the leprechaun has already wrecked the engine of the vehicle. After crashing the car with the go-kart, the leprechaun causes the group to be in fear until Ozzie reveals to the leprechaun that he and Alex found the treasure chest. Tory is the one who descends into the well and retrieves the bag, which she subsequently presents to the leprechaun. They make their way to the hospital, certain that the worst is behind them. During the process of counting his fortune, the leprechaun learns that he is short one coin since Ozzie ate it. He threatens them since he is under the impression that they have tricked him, but Ozzie stops him by explaining that O'Grady had a stroke and was sent to a nursing home. The group is able to distract the leprechaun's attention when they throw dirty shoes at him. As a result, the leprechaun is compelled to go shine the shoes while Tory gets into her vehicle and drives away. Tory travels to the home in order to get information on 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 did Leprechaun (1993) perform in theaters?
On its first theatrical date of January 8, 1993, in 620 theaters throughout the United States, Leprechaun earned $2,493,020. It went on to make $8,556,940. Over 100,000 copies have been sold since its April 1993 VHS release by Vidmark.
Leprechaun controversy 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 help promote it. Many people thought that the franchisees were being taken advantage of by Domino's and Subway when they worked together. But the marketing campaign worked, and Leprechaun is still a favorite among a certain group of people.
Did Leprechaun have any cinematic sequels?
The next year, Leprechaun 2 was published, with the Leprechaun traveling to Los Angeles in pursuit of a fresh pot of gold. The third film, Leprechaun 3, is set in Las Vegas and sees the Leprechaun acquiring a magical coin that gives him desires. The fourth picture, Leprechaun 4: In Space, takes set onboard a spacecraft and includes the Leprechaun confronting aliens, which is a break from the previous films. Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood, the fifth and final film in the (blog) series, has the Leprechaun returning to his beginnings in inner-city Los Angeles. Despite generally bad critical reviews, the Leprechaun series has proved to be highly successful, and it is still considered a cult classic today.Leprechaun facts
After the producers insisted on making the movie scarier so it would appeal to older audiences, several scenes 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 intended to flee to Ireland. The Irish actor portraying the leprechaun, Warwick Davis, has no work visa. Davis required a visa in three days to shoot the last scene, which is impossible. Vice President Dan Quayle's administration sped up the procedure, and Davis finished shooting on time. For his contributions, Quayle earned a "special thanks" credit.
Warwick Davis was starting to regret creating the picture, but since Anniston's eventual success on TV, many people rented it, and it led to a lengthy series of sequels. It is reported that it was one of Warwick's particular favorites.
Jennifer Aniston made her feature film debut in Leprechaun.
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.