It’s a shame that “Leprechaun 2” wasn’t the first film in the series.
People tend to assume that the first movie in a horror franchise should be considered the “main” one, with all of the sequels being lesser by default. Yet while I am a big fan of one of the “Leprechaun” sequels (namely, “Leprechaun 4: In Space”), I readily acknowledge that it feels like a cheap, gimmicky follow up rather than a serious franchise tentpole.
Yet “Leprechaun 2,” unlike the bland original film, contains a lot of the things you would want to see in a horror movie about an evil leprechaun. These include:
- An opening scene that is set in medieval Ireland. Indeed it is the only movie in the original “Leprechaun” series to include any Irish scenes.
- It is also the only film in the original series to be set on St. Patrick’s Day.
- Some creepy moments that create a mythology for the sinister main character and stick in one’s brain. I give a particular shout out to a scene in which the leprechaun kidnaps the main character’s love interest in order to forcibly marry her and takes her to his lair. The set design in the lair is quite good — it feels otherworldly — and his descriptions of how he plans on modifying his unwilling bride’s body, and can smell that she is descended from an Irish clan which he believes is indebted to him, are deeply disturbing. There is a visceral kind of terror used here, one made possible because we are left to imagine the grotesqueries described by the leprechaun.
- You want sympathetic lead characters, and while the main character Cody and his love interest Bridget aren’t quite up to snuff, Cody’s Uncle Morty (played by the legendary Borscht Belt actor Sandy Baron) ought to be iconic. He is a boozy con man who seems like more than an equal match for the killer leprechaun; indeed, he is the only protagonist from any of the films that comes across as worthy of going toe-to-toe with him.
- Warwick Davis is mentioned last as a place of sacred honor. His portrayal of the killer leprechaun as nasty, clever and with a sadistic sense of humor is irreplaceable. He is right up there with Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger) and Brad Dourif (Chucky) as the definitive actor for the character. This version is a bit more savage, more single-minded and cruel, than later incarnations. That works for an early movie in a series, not for the more comical sequels.
That last point allows me to segue into my favorite scene from the film. Cody and Morty are trying to find Bridget to rescue her and encounter the leprechaun at a bar. From the first moment when Morty spots the leprechaun right through the end of their drinking contest — yes, an actual drinking contest — this scene manages to be tense, funny and weirdly endearing. The chemistry between Davis and Baron is so good that you wish the whole film had revolved around them.
That isn’t to say “Leprechaun 2” is perfect. As mentioned before, the main characters (other than the leprechaun and Morty) are generic and forgettable, there is a ton of padding and the ending is so abrupt as to feel lazy. Yet there is enough good in this film that it doesn’t deserve its current 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I’m writing this review, in no small part, to rectify that.