Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!
Plot Summary: A group of friends vacationing in Ireland are offered up as victims for the leprechaun.
Review: Ignoring all the other films in this franchise, this entry attempts to reboot the series with a more straightforward approach rather than comedic horror. In some ways this works, but, fundamentally, this is just as bad as the rest of the sequels. Instead of the joking shenanigans of Warwick Davis' leprechaun, this new guy is essentially just a monster; this film plays like a typical creature feature. At first I couldn't understand why this movie was getting a lot of hate since it starts off quite promising. I mean, did people really prefer the blatant idiocy of the first 6 films? However, by the end I could understand why this film was considered to be shit too. After all, was anyone really begging for a seventh leprechaun movie?!
What works this time around? As I discussed in a different review, you'd think taking the plot to Ireland would have been a given by now. They don't fully utilize the setting (not that they really filmed in Ireland anyway) in a way that would explore the notion of a leprechaun's "origin." Nonetheless, I'm glad someone at least realized the obvious direction to take this series. The quality of the production looks to be decent with good cinematography; though, I do have a major gripe with the camerawork. The serious tone worked for the most part in order to make the leprechaun feel like a legitimate threat. I thought some of the hints about the leprechaun were interesting despite their lack of clarity. For example, the idea that the leprechaun was freed from a gold mine and bound by some kind of runes; that emphasis on Celtic mythology works. Overall, the technical aspects are better than I imagined, and the acting was acceptable from all players.
What went wrong? I'll start with the two biggest flaws: endless motion blur and total half-assing everywhere. The motion blur was nauseating and relentlessly abused every single time the leprechaun appeared on the screen. Obviously they had a shit costume design or something, because they used this annoying trick to mask the leprechaun's appearance. This is especially moronic when considering he is the point of this film! As for the half-assing, it's implemented at every turn of the story and production. Give us the actual origins or the damn leprechaun and not these little hints. Why is magic seemingly controlling the leprechaun yet this version is nothing more than a living monster? Speaking of which, if he dies like any other creature, why can't the locals kill it? Why the obsession with gold? Why does it also need to eat people? The parameters are never specified. The locals not wanting to kill strangers was cliched and stupid given its inconsistency. The group of friends pointlessly leaving each other to die was unnecessary; it never has plot relevance and makes you glad when they die rather than wanting to see them survive. Finally, one of the biggest grievances is the 12 minutes of credits! Are you shitting me? I've said it before: there is filler and then there is fucking filler! And, if you're wondering, yes, there is a shot at the end, but it's just the leprechaun going "boo" at the audience. It's really more of a fuck you to the audience similar to the ending of part 4.
I understand where they were coming from with this reboot, but they missed the mark. Instead of tweaking the formula, in a way that "Curse of Chucky" was able to accomplish, the filmmakers went too far from the source material. I'm not saying we needed a third outing to "tha hood," but a decent origin story for our little lad could have worked to bring this franchise full circle. On top of wasting the potential, there are countless moments of stupidity, the ending is nonsensical, the motion blur gave me seizures, and the blatant use of filler is unforgivable considering how little payoff there is in the story. Now, for the love of all that is good in this world, let this be the last sequel! The only remotely entertaining entry was part 3, so if you must have an eighth film, that should be the basis for inspiration.
Notable Moment: When the main chick accidentally takes an axe to her friend's face. Totally predictable but it was the only worthwhile kill.
Final Rating: 4/10
No comments:
Post a Comment