PopHorror Let's Get Scared
For ten years, Warwick Davis brought an evil little Leprechaun into our homes. He took us all around the world from a small town to LA to Las Vegas to the hood and finally… back to the ‘hood again in Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood. What was the point in returning to a place that had already kicked his ass once? Check out this retro and find out why. I also found some cool facts and other juicy bits from Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood. Read on to find out more!
In 2003, Steven Ayromlooi brought us the direct to video 6th part of the beloved Leprechaun franchise called Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood. It has a 25% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 3.9 out of 10 on IMDb.com. In Entertainment Weekly’s article titled “25 Worst Sequel Ever Made,” this one was ranked as being the third worst sequel of all time! The article even goes on to state, “If a movie could spark a race riot, this it!” I personally find that statement to be ridiculous. Out of all the Leprechaun films, this one is probably my least favorite. However, since Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood was Davis’ last appearance as the Leprechaun, I believe it does deserve some love…just not much.
Official Synopsis of Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood:
When Emily Woodrow and her friends happen upon a treasure chest full of gold coins, they fail to to heed the warnings of a wise old psychic who had foretold that they would encounter trouble with a very nasty and protective Leprechaun.
I’m not exactly sure what happened with Davis in this one. It was like he didn’t bring the same energy to the role as he did in the previous five movies. Maybe he grew tired of playing the Leprechaun – he still hasn’t repraised the role in over 14 years. He didn’t ever utter his famous line, “I’m a Leprechaun” or any fun poems or limericks that has been what made these films so great.
I also think that this was the least amount of screen time for the Leprechaun in all of the 6 films. The Leprechaun didn’t even seem to care as much about his gold as he did about getting high in this one. Originally, the script was supposed to have taken place on a tropical island during spring break but due to the requests of the executives at Lions Gate, they wanted the director to take him back to the ‘hood. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to say, “What the fuck, Lions Gate?”
This film did drum up some controversies. In one scene in particular, the Leprechaun takes on two cops and the real life news had a hay day saying it supported police brutality. Give me a break…It’s a movie. Instead of using a certain derogatory term, they changed it to “Ninjas.” Thanks for ruining the word ninjas for me, Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood! The cover art of the DVD also seemed to try to make it more hip by copying the “Floating Head” theme of other successful horror slasher films such as Scream, Urban Legends, and I Know What You Did Last Summer. How dare you! Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood barely passes as a slasher as it is edited so poorly and is more an R rated made for TV film.
Although we didn’t get the witty one liners that we are used to, there are some funny quotes in this flick. Here are a few of my faves.
1.) Rory (looking at prom picture of him and Emily): “I can’t believe you still have this up!”
Emily: “It was only four months ago.”
Rory: “That was a lifetime ago.”
2.) Girl on the phone: “How tall you, Sweet Thang?”
Leprechaun: “How tall am I? Uh, about 3 foot 6!”
Girl: “Three foot six?”
Leprechaun: “Yeah, but I make up for it in other areas… if you know what I mean…” (pause then dial tone) “Hello?”
3.) Leprechaun: “Don’t you presume to tell me right from wrong. You compromised all you believed in once you got the gold, just like all those before you. Your kind is weak, and will always give in to your selfish yearnings.”
This clip is most quirky we see of the Leprechaun in the whole damn movie.
Final Thoughts:
Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood did not do the franchise any justice whatsoever. This movie played out as more of a fantasy fable with the Leprechaun being the noble one with the moral of the story being “Don’t be greedy.” The ending feels completely unfinished. I mean, (Spoiler) the Leprechaun gets shot by like 20 clover bullets and doesn’t die but gets thrown off a building into an open puddle of cement and that’s game over? This is the last we ever get to see of Davis as the lovable Leprechaun? Someone please write a worthy script for Warwick to return one last time in a 7th and finale movie. Yes, I said 7 – I am not counting the atrocity that was Leprechaun Origins. Although, in my humble opinion, they should rename Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood to Leprechaun: Back on tha Shelf.
