Wow, this one snuck up on me! With all the increased activity these days (be it from Bob or myself), I didn't realize how close I was to this milestone. I didn't plan real far ahead then, so let's mix things up. Today's Film is
Leprechaun: Origins, a recent Film that attempts to make a goofy Series into a serious one. The results: a bloody mess. They really did attempt to turn the
Leprechaun Series into one that plays like any other Horror Series. The result is...a Film that plays like every other Horror Series...in all of the most boring ways possible. You achieved your goals! Yea? So it is out with Warwick Davis, out with the Humor and out with all of the style (good and bad). What do we get instead? WWE Superstar 'Hornswoggle' (hidden in a suit and shadows), cruel people and all of the generic Horror Tropes you could ask for. This is one of those Films where you can just play Low-Budget Horror Film Bingo with ease. Cabin in the Woods? Check. Suspiciously-friendly Townspeople? Check. Film that is shot almost entirely at Night to save money? Big check! I have stated before that my Numbered Reviews need to have something special behind them. In this case, it is a look at the crap that is still being done in an attempt to mine 'gold' from old Franchises. To see how much could go wrong, read on...
We get 'B' right off the bat with- wait for it- the Opening Kill Trope. How...expected.
'I' is available pretty closely after that as we have Vacationing Horror Protagonists in a Foreign Country. They are told by their Guide- with a Truck- that he won't go past a certain point...so they go on their own.
Is that so cliche that I get an 'N' here too?
They go to a nearby Village of 'helpful' people that totally have no agenda. They take our heroes to a Cabin in the Woods (which they even bring up as cliche!), giving us our 'G' (or 'N' if you are picky.
Now here's a weird coincidence for you. The Main Villager was the Sheriff in
Suddenly (2013) and so was Brendan Fletcher, who is one of our Protagonists. Sharing Cast Members with Uwe Boll?!?
The Villagers chase off...something from the Cabin, but then leave the Main Characters there and lock them in. So, naturally, these same people trust the next Villager they see later, since...reasons?
The Haunting (the original) made a Scene of people holding doors closed while sounds on the other side banged loudly into something scary. In the ensuing 40+ years, it has been copied ALOT. This is one of those cases.
We get another mark on Low-Budget Horror Movie Bingo with the Film's prevalent use of 'Monster-Vision' or P.O.V. Shots for the creature.
Having watched the Making Of Featurette, they have a nice enough suit. Why not show it clearly?
Tell you what: here's a shot of the Leprechaun. You don't get much better than this, really.
Will our Final Girl survive or will we have one of those 'let's be dark for no reason' Endings?
I won't say. Sorry. The End.
This is...well, it is what it is.
Leprechaun: Origins is not really the Origins of the
Leprechaun Series.
Leprechaun: Origins is not a Period Piece Horror Film about the Origins of Leprechauns in general. It is not even a telling of the Origins of WCW's
Braun The Leprechaun! It is called
Leprechaun: Origins, because....um, reasons. There really is no reason for this Subtitle. Getting past that hurdle, we just get, well, a very generic Horror Film. People go out in the Woods, get killed by a monster and run from it. The evil Village is not *as* Cliche as some of the other aspects, but it is still been done to death. My problem is that they go SO FAR out of their way to make it different that it doesn't work. There is a middle ground between the Leprechaun chasing you in a magic car and the Leprechaun ripping out your spine in a dimly-lit Cabin, right? There must be. This is a dark, dingy Horror Film about a Leprechaun that appears to just be a baby Vampire from a Burn Ward. Yea? This one is too dark to be fun, shot too darkly (in terms of lighting) to let enjoy the Effects and too stupid to be a good Horror Film. On the plus side, they've got plenty of Lens Flares!
Next up, I bring you an Internet-themed Horror Film in the wake of Cyber Monday. Japan brings back an icon, but should they have? Stay tuned...
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