Here we are, we hit the end of the line in Tiny Terrors. What a big journey this has been. Again, thank you for checking this out. I hope that it's been enjoyable. Let's round out this series in style. Join me as we close out the Leprechaun franchise with Leprechaun Returns.
In 2018, Michael Myers returned to the big screen with Halloween. It was a huge success. Other studios had heard through the grapevine what Jason Blum and Blumhouse had in store. It was something that couldn't go unnoticed. I am guessing that had Lionsgate going through their library of films to see if they could try something similar. It turns out that they were in luck.
By this point, Lionsgate had bought the Leprechaun franchise. They had tried their hands at crafting two previous films. One of them was a bit of a disaster (Back 2 Da Hood) and the other just didn't hit with audiences (Leprechaun Origins). Honestly, it was a bit of a shame with Leprechaun Origins. It just provided a different take on the franchise which was a bit of fresh air at that point.
They decided that the third time was the charm. Taking a note out of Halloween's playbook, Lionsgate decided to craft a direct sequel to the original Leprechaun. Originally series creator Mark Jones was asked to return as an executive producer, however due to a financial disagreement he passed on the project. Steven Kostanski was brought in to direct the film, which was written by Suzanne Kelly. Jennifer Aniston was also asked to return, which she thanked them for doing. But she didn't return due to again financial disagreement. This led to shifting the story a little bit. And lastly, we have Warwick Davis. He was asked to return, however his views on horror had shifted after becoming a father. So he respectfully declined. This is definitely something that I will admit is a bit respectable.
The story picks up 25 years later after the original film. We meet Lila (Taylor Spreitler), the daughter of Tory Redding (Jennifer Aniston's character from the original). She's joined a sorority (which is part of an Eco-Science Premiere college) who now owns the property that was featured in the original film. They are spending their summer turning the house into a perfect living "green" abode. Basically, they trying to have the house run off of solar energy and be able to grow their own vegetables and such. Honestly, that's not a bad idea. Unfortunately for them, their presence has unleashed Lubdan the Leprechaun. Now, they are working on surviving till they can find a way to put him away.
When I first watched this film, I was highly skeptical of it. Part of me felt like it was potentially trying to capture the lightning in a bottle that was Halloween (2018). But after viewing it again, Leprechaun Returns is an interesting sequel. It does a decent job of picking things up from the first film. We also get to see Ozzie (Mark Holton) return. Unfortunately it's not for very long as he's the first to go. But he's utilized in a very interesting way later on as he's a ghost that Lila can see. So, he's around to help. His death is definitely one that was memorable as it was a very heavy handed homage to Alien with the chest burster. It's also a nice bit of continuity as Ozzie had swallowed the gold piece in the original film.
This also brings me to the Leprechaun. Linden Porco delivers a very solid performance as the Leprechaun. He is able to make it his own a little bit, but it's definitely channeling Warwick Davis. It definitely feels like it's the same Leprechaun from the first film.
Now, the whole sorority angle could have been extremely cheesy. But surprisingly, it was handled a little bit well. Even if it feels like it's the sorority girls from Sorority Row. The nice thing though is that they all feel different. They are not of the cookie cutter variety where they feel like a Stepford Wife in terms of you can't tell them apart. Also it helps that the cast in this film is pretty small. And yeah, there is an equivalent of Chugs from Sorority Row. That's honestly probably the one character that felt a bit annoying in one scene. But later on, she's not terrible.
The killings in this film are interesting. Yeah, we have the loving homage to Alien with the Leprechaun belly burster. It was handled very well and looked pretty cool. The death of the mailman did feel a little like it was thrown in at the last minute. But my question is if the Leprechaun was able to pull the mailman's head into the mailbox, why didn't it squish the mailman into it? I mean that is one way that could have went down. Instead the Leprechaun jumps into the mail truck and then backs over him. Again, it's not exactly a bad kill. It's pretty solid. Later on, we see one character get sliced in half by a giant solar panel.
Overall, all the aspects of this film seem to work together really well. Partially I wish they would have had a little more money on the budget, but it's not bad. This is definitely a sequel that is a return to form for this franchise. Plus, it's nice hearing the Leprechaun once again with his banter. There have been other entries that have been worse. But definitely a nice one to go out with. Especially as it is nicely paced.
Rating: 4 out of 5. (It's on par with the original. Better than 2, imo.)
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