Leprechaun * (1993, Warwick Davis, Jennifer Aniston, Ken Olandt, Mark Holton, Robert Gorman) – Classic Movie Review 13,983

Mark Jones’s gory 1993 American dark comedy horror film Leprechaun stars Warwick Davis an evil, vengeful leprechaun who believes a family has stolen his pot of gold. Jennifer Aniston co-stars in her first major film role.

Writer/ director Mark Jones’s gory 1993 American dark comedy horror film Leprechaun stars Warwick Davis and Jennifer Aniston in her first major film role.

An over-the-hill pop star called J D Redding (John Sanderford) and his spunky teenage daughter Tory (Jennifer Aniston) move for the summer into one of those houses you only find in horror films to find and release an evil, sadistic Irish imp (Warwick Davis) who has been trapped there for a decade. The leprechaun strikes back because he believes his pot of beloved gold coins were taken.

Contract workers Nathan Murphy (Ken Olandt), his 10-year-old brother Alex (Robert Hy Gorman) and their dim-witted friend Ozzie Jones (Mark Holton) help to re-paint the North Dakota farmhouse. Ozzie hears the leprechaun’s cry for help in the basement and accidentally frees the leprechaun.

The family try to locate his gold to mollify him as he hunts them down.

Leprechaun is unlucky for some. This bloody, nasty-toned, ineffectual killing spree chiller is low on wit and imagination. A teen-style folk adventure like Willow (which also starred Davis) is overlaid with gory horror (gruesome makeup by Gabe Bartalos) and some dark humour, but the strange bedfellows mixture just doesn’t work.

Nevertheless it was financially successful, earning a US gross of $8.556 million against a $900,000 budget, and was followed by five sequels: Leprechaun 2 (1994), Leprechaun 3 (1995), Leprechaun 4: In Space (1997), Leprechaun in the Hood (2000), and Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood (2003). A reboot called Leprechaun: Origins was released in 2014, and then Leprechaun Returns was released on DVD on December 11, 2018, as a direct sequel to the first film. 

Mark Jones conceived it as a straight horror film, but Davis put humour into playing his role, and later reshoots added more gore aimed at older audiences. So more comedy, more blood, a wobbly, unpleasant mix.

Inspired by the Lucky Charms commercials and the film Critters (1986), Jones brought his concept to Trimark Pictures, and it became their first production released in cinemas.

The Lucky Charms breakfast cereal features a leprechaun mascot called Lucky.

Leprechaun was filmed at Valencia Studios, California, following Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Multiple violent scenes were filmed at Big Sky Ranch, where those nice TV shows Little House on the Prairie and The Waltons were shot. 

 Aniston has expressed embarrassment over the film.

The cast are Warwick Davis as The Leprechaun, Jennifer Aniston as Tory Redding, Ken Olandt as Nathan Murphy, Mark Holton as Ozzie Jones, Robert Hy Gorman as Alex Murphy, David Permenter as Deputy Tripet, William Newman as Sheriff Roy Cronin, Shay Duffin as Dan O’Grady, Pamela Mant as Leah O’Grady, Dan’s Wife, John Sanderford as J D Redding, John Voldstad as Joe.

Release date: January 8, 1993.

Runtime: 92 minutes.

© Derek Winnert 2026 – Classic Movie Review 13,983

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com