Leprechaun (1993)

"Try as they will, and try as they might, who steals me gold won't live through the night!"

- The Leprechaun

Leprechaun is a horror-comedy written and directed by Mark Jones and released theatrically in the United States by Trimark Pictures on January 8th, 1993. The plot centers around an evil Leprechaun in search of his missing pot of gold and the bizarre, murderous lengths he will go to in order to reclaim it. The film proved poked fun at the tradition and folklore surrounding leprechauns and included elements such as rainbows, four-leaf clovers and polishing shoes into its internal mythology. Leprechaun proved popular enough that it spawned five sequels as well as a comic book series by Bluewater Productions. All six films feature actor Warwick Davis as the Leprechaun.

Plot
Dan O'Grady has returned home from burying his mother in Ireland. Arriving drunk on the doorstep of his North Dakota farmhouse, he clamors to his wife that they are "rich". When questioned about this newfound wealth, he replies that he had stolen a bag of gold from a leprechaun. Mrs. O'Grady thinks he's crazy and goes back inside. While she's puttering about the house, Dan goes off to hide his bag of gold inside of an old pick-up truck. Little did Mrs. O'Grady know however, but an actual leprechaun had hitched a ride to the states inside of Dan's suitcase. Bursting from the luggage, he attacks Mrs. O'Grady sending her toppling down the steps into the cellar.

Dan discovers this and locks the leprechaun into a big wooden crate. He keeps him at bay by means of a four-leaf clover, which he holds like a crucifix to ward off vampires. He nails the lid down to the crate and leaves the clover on top of it. This effectively traps the leprechaun. Dousing the crate in gasoline, he tries to burn it up, but suffers a stroke before he can light a match. It matters little however, because the leprechaun is still stuck inside the crate. He sits there for the next ten years.

In 1993. J.D. Reding and his daughter Tory (Jennifer Anniston) have moved from Los Angeles to North Dakota. J.D. has purchased the old O'Grady farmhouse and plans on renovating it. Tory hates it and makes her feelings known as she shambles around cobwebs and tarantulas. Walking outside of the house, she meets Nathan. Nathan, his little brother Alex, and their mentally retarded friend Ozzie own a business called Three Guys That Paint. Nathan takes an instant shine to Tory. Tory accidentally knocks over his can of paint thinner, and Nate takes this opportunity to hit on her. She’s attracted to him and decides to give the house a second chance.

While all this is going on, Alex drops a can of blue paint onto Ozzie. Ozzie is pretty upset and has to go inside to clean up. After washing his face, he hears a faint voice crying "Please, let me out" from down in the basement. He goes downstairs and finds the crate. Unwittingly, he knocks the four-leaf clover off of the lid allowing the leprechaun enough power to break free. He tackles Ozzie and claims that he wants his crock of gold. Ozzie manages to escape, but only because the leprechaun’s powers are too weak to stop him.

Running outside, he tells Nathan, Alex and Tory that a leprechaun attacked him. Naturally, the group doesn’t believe him. He then sees a bright rainbow in the sky and takes off after it, believing that he might find a pot of gold at the end of it. Alex takes off after him in order to bring him back. The two reach the end of the rainbow where they find an old battered rusted truck. Inside the cab of the truck is a brown, leather satchel containing one-hundred gold pieces. The two are elated and wonder if the gold coins are genuine. Testing their authenticity, Ozzie bites down on one of the coins, but accidentally swallows it. Returning back to the house, they decide to hide the gold in the old O'Grady water well. They don’t plan on telling the others about their find.

Meanwhile, Tory is standing next to the painters' truck when something claws at her legs. Her father thinks that it's a cat and goes off to find it. He reaches his hand into the hollowed remains of an old tree trunk where the leprechaun is waiting. The leprechaun takes a big bite out of his hand and he has to be rushed to the hospital. At this point, the others still believe that it was a cat that bit him.

After dropping J.D. off, Nathan and Tory decide to get lunch at a local diner. Alex and Ozzie take one of their coins down to an antiques shop to have it appraised. They leave it in the care of the proprietor and meet back up with Nathan and Tory.

The proprietor decides to lock the coin in his safe. When he opens the safe, the leprechaun leaps out at him and bites him on the knee. As the guy falls back reeling in pain, the leprechaun takes an old pogo stick and begins hopping about on the guy's face and chest until he dies.

He then steals a toy car and takes off down the highway in it. A local deputy pulls him over. He doesn't believe that it's an actual leprechaun he's facing until he starts clawing at his face. The man runs into the woods, terrified. After playing cat-n-mouse for a bit, the leprechaun jumps down on top of him and snaps the deputy's neck. He takes the deputy back to the cop car.

Returning to the farmhouse, he begins rummaging around for his crock of gold. He makes a mess of everything, except for a few pairs of shoes, which he feels obligated to polish.

The others eventually return, but the leprechaun is nowhere to be seen. Instead, they hear this strange tingling sound reminiscent of a bell from a tricycle. Nathan goes outside to investigate. While trying to figure out what's going on, he walks into a bear trap. Dropping to the ground, he begins howling in pain. This attracts the attention of the leprechaun who bites down on his already wounded leg. Nathan strikes him with mag-light. He drives the leprechaun back far enough so that he can shoot at him with a shotgun. The shotgun blast fails to kill the Leprechaun. Ozzie runs inside to call the cops. He tells the police that a vicious man-eating leprechaun is attacking them. Sheriff Cronin more or less ignores the call, believing it to be another one of 'crazy' Ozzie's stories.

Ozzie comes back out and the whole gang pile into Nathan's truck to try and escape. The leprechaun steals a go-cart from a nearby barn. He rams the go-cart into the truck, knocking it over into a ravine. Since their escape route is now totaled, they have little choice but to return to the farmhouse. Tory slams the leprechaun's hand in the doorway cutting it off at the wrist. He picks it up and quickly re-adheres it to his stump. He leaves soon after.

Tory then learns about Alex’s and Ozzie's little secret. Realizing that the little green man only wants his gold back, she forces the boys to tell her where they hid it. Alex reveals that it is in the well. Tory runs outside and manages to retrieve the sack of gold before the leprechaun can attack her. She hurriedly gives him the coins and runs back into the house.

The leprechaun goes back to the old rusted truck to count his money. There's one coin missing (the one that Ozzie accidentally ate earlier). Enraged, he races back to the farmhouse to get his last coin.

The group runs around the house for a bit trying to shoot the leprechaun before racing back outside. Nathan keeps him at bay by throwing shoes at him. Although a desperate tactic, it actually works since the leprechaun is obliged to polish every shoe before continuing on his way.

Tory decides to find old Dan O'Grady to figure out how he first defeated the leprechaun. She takes her father's truck and goes to an old age home. She finds O'Grady who tells her that only a four-leaf clover will stop him. The leprechaun tracks her to the old age home and kills O'Grady. He chases after Tory in a wheelchair, but the girl manages to get away. She hops into her truck and heads back towards the O'Grady farm.

Along the way, Tory finds a cop car. She runs up begging for help before discovering that this guy is likewise a victim of the leprechaun. The leprechaun attacks her but she defends herself with the deputy's nightstick. She slams the thing right into the leprechaun's right eye and runs away. The leprechaun needs to replace his eye now, so he scoops out a replacement from the dead cop’s skull and plunks it into his own empty socket. He then begins to chase her back to the farm.

Finally getting back to the farm, Tory begins scrounging through a patch of green grass in search of a four-leaf clover. As she becomes more and more frustrated in her search, Ozzie tells her that she has to have "faith" in order to find the magic clover. Lo and behold, a little four-leafed clover begins to glow in the palm of her hand.

The leprechaun arrives and begins attacking Ozzie. He knows now that Ozzie is the one who swallowed his coin. He begins ripping his face up with the sharp edge of his shoe buckle. Meanwhile, Alex gets a hold of the clover and wraps it around a pellet. He puts the pellet in his slingshot and launches it at the leprechaun. The leprechaun flies backwards into the water well. Nathan goes over to the well just as the leprechaun is scrambling to get out. He beats him back down with the butt of a shotgun and then pours a gallon of gasoline into the well. Lighting a match, he tosses it inside and the entire thing explodes.

Notes & Trivia

 * Has been made available on VHS, DVD and Laserdisc. First released to DVD by Trimark on August 25th, 1998. Also included in the Leprechaun Pot of Gore 5-disc DVD collection and the Best of Horror DVD collection.


 * Filmed from October 1st to December 3rd, 1991.


 * First filmed released theatrically in 1993.


 * This film gives special thanks to George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars franchise.


 * First theatrical film for actress Jennifer Aniston. Aniston is best remembered for playing the role of Rachel Green in the popular NBC sit-com Friends.


 * Deputy Tripet is named after executive producer David Tripet. David Tripet also has an uncredited cameo role as a security guard in this film.


 * Includes the song "Four Leaf Clover" by Andrew Keresztes.


 * The clover patch seen in this film is actually just a patch of earth with a green light filtered over it.