Leprechaun 2 Reviews

What's a dumber idea than a movie about a killer leprechaun? A second movie about a killer leprechaun. At best, this sequel marks only a very slight improvement over the financially successful original. In the year 994, the leprechaun (Warwick Davis) finally has his once-a-millennium chance to take a bride. Legend dictates that any girl who sneezes three times without anyone saying "God bless you" is fair game, but the imp is cheated out of his chance by William (James Lancaster), the father of his intended. Killing William, the leprechaun swears to return in 1,000 years to claim William's prettiest descendant, who, in 1994, turns out to be beautiful teenager Bridget (Shevonne Durkin). The wee fiend isn't the only one with his eye on Bridget; she's also being wooed (in vain) by Cody (Charlie Heath), who runs a "Dark Side of Hollywood" tour for his alcoholic uncle Morty (Sandy Baron). After killing Bridget's boyfriend Ian (Adam Biesk), the leprechaun tricks her into fulfilling the three-sneeze requirement and spirits the terrified girl to his underground lair. He then discovers that Cody has come into possession of a piece of his gold, and furiously sets out to retrieve it. Learning that wrought iron can stop the enraged elf, Cody manages to trap the fiend in a heavy safe, but Morty tries to exploit the situation by demanding the legendary pot of gold. The leprechaun causes the treasure to form inside Morty's stomach, and the old man is forced to free the leprechaun, who bloodily removes it. The imp then sets out to stop Cody's rescue of Bridget, but after a pursuit through the tunnels, Cody kills him with an iron spear. Considering how ludicrous the original LEPRECHAUN was, the sequel had nowhere to go but up, and the presence of director Rodman Flender (whose 1991 chiller THE UNBORN was one of the best latter-day Roger Corman productions) was a promising sign. But it's clear that Flender was thwarted by the impoverished budget, rushed production (Christmas '93 movie marquees are visible in this early-April '94 release), and lousy script. Credit writers Turi Meyer and Al Septien for making this story something more than a parade-of-victims, slasher-style flick. Now discredit them for the script's awkward development, lame dialogue, ridiculous mythology, and crude attempts at black humor. There are a few clever moments scattered here and there (particularly when the mini-monster encounters some little people playing St. Patrick's Day leprechauns in a bar), but they're mostly tangential to the prosaic main action. Davis at least seems to be having fun in the title role, but while Durkin is undeniably gorgeous, her acting leaves a lot to be desired, and she's subjected to some of the least convincing body doubling in cinema history. Cynically contrived even by schlock horror standards, LEPRECHAUN 2 proves that good things don't always come in small packages. (Graphic violence, nudity, sexual situations, profanity.)