Leprechaun 3 (1995) Trimark/Comedy-Horror RT: 90 minutes Rated R (some strong horror violence and gore, nudity, a scene of sexuality) Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith Screenplay: David Dubos Music: Dennis Michael Tenney Cinematography: David Lewis Release date: June 27, 1995 (US, video) Cast: Warwick Davis, John Gatins, Lee Armstrong, John DeMita, Michael Callan, Caroline Williams, Marcelo Tubert, Tom Dugan, Leigh-Allyn Baker, Richard Reicheg, Linda Shayne, Ian Gregory, Roger Hewlett, Terry Lee Crisp. Box Office: N/A
Rating: ***
Who says movies aren’t educational? For example, did you know that if a person is bitten by a leprechaun, he’ll turn into one? It’s true according to Leprechaun 3, the third entry in the series starring Warwick Davis (Willow) as the evil leprechaun we first met going after a group of young dummies in North Dakota (?!!). This time, he’s relocated to Las Vegas. I was kind of hoping he’d run into Elizabeth Berkeley (from Showgirls) at some point, but I guess the producers of this low-budget, DTV sequel couldn’t afford it.
Leprechaun 3 is the first of the series not to be released theatrically. It went straight to video, hitting stores in June ’95. I, of course, wasted no time renting it from my local West Coast Video. Wild horses couldn’t keep me away from dopey horror sequels. I knew exactly what to expect and that’s exactly what I got, a dumb comedy-horror about a killer leprechaun with a penchant for speaking in rhyme.
Here’s another interesting fact about leprechaun lore according to Leprechaun 3. Anyone in possession of one of their gold coins is granted a single wish. That’s the catalyst for the events of this installment. It all starts when a weird old guy named Lucky (Reicheg, Monkey Trouble) brings a leprechaun statue into a pawn shop owned by Gupta (Tubert, Tremors 2). Desperate to get rid of it, he takes the $20 offered to him by Gupta and splits. Despite being warned not to, Gupta removes the medallion hanging around its neck. Just like that, the leprechaun comes to life and runs off with his pot of gold, dropping one of the coins on his way out.
Oh and what about the medallion? It’s leprechaun Kryptonite! It’s the only thing that can immobilize the ugly little bugger. Now wait a minute! I thought it was four-leaf clovers that did that. That’s what they said in the first Leprechaun. I think we have a little continuity problem here, lads and lasses!
So who’s the lucky duck who finds the missing coin? It’s Scott (Gatins, Witchboard 2), a hapless-go-lucky sort driving through Sin City on his way to college. He stops on the Strip to help stranded motorist Tammy (Armstrong, Magic Island), a magician’s assistant on her way to work at a hotel-casino. She gets him into the casino where he proceeds to gamble away his entire tuition check. Determined to win back his money, he goes to the aforementioned pawn shop (conveniently located across the street) to hock his watch. Instead, he finds the dead proprietor and the coin. He picks it up and makes a wish to be back at the casino on a winning streak. POOF! It happens.
This, of course, causes Scott a whole different set of problem not the least of which is the homicidal leprechaun who wants his property back. He’s not the only one who covets the coin. It changes hands a few times. Loretta (Williams, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), the croupier running the crooked roulette wheel where Scott wins a fortune, wants the lucky charm. She conspires with the casino’s headlining act, crappy magician Fazio (DeMita, Spellbinder), to steal the coin along with Scott’s winnings. He wants to be the greatest in the world. Casino owner Mitch (Callan, Freeway), who owes a lot of money to a couple of gangster types, also realizes the true power of the coin. He gets it on with a hot babe [GRATUITOUS BOOBIE SHOT!] who crawls out of the TV into his bed.
Now here’s the rub about the lucky coin. It’s not really lucky. The leprechaun can turn all of the wishes against those who made them. Sound familiar? Then you must have seen Wishmaster (1997) which came along two years later, but still. ANYWAY, some pretty gnarly things happen to the ones stupid enough to think wishes come without consequences. Loretta wants to be young and desirable again. She gets her wish, but then you-know-who shows up. Ah, here’s something else we learn from Leprechaun 3. Leprechauns aren’t just cobblers; they also dabble in plastic surgery. You should see the boob (and butt and lip) job he gives Loretta. It’s killer!
At some point, Scott gets bitten by Leprechaun and gets some green blood in him. That’s when the really weird s*** starts. He begins speaking in rhyme and craving potatoes in addition to his increasingly hideous physical transformation. Tammy, still pissed at him for breaking his promise not to gamble, takes him to the hospital [“Do ya take Green Cross?”] where the staff can’t figure out what’s wrong with him. Predictably, Leprechaun follows the pair every step of the way looking to get back his precious gold coin.
Leprechaun 3 is one of the best of the series. It’s often funny. It has a few great lines, but my favorite has to be what one of the gangster types says right before his demise at the hands of Leprechaun: “Tell me, what was Judy Garland really like?” Yeah, you might not want to say that to a murderous mythological creature. It also has some good kill scenes including a particularly bloody one involving a chainsaw and a magic box. Loretta’s death is pretty cool too. Then there’s the pawn shop fellow. Leprechaun, after biting the guy’s ear off, remarks, “Mmm, I like Indian food. So spicy!” A-haaaa, so funny!
Brian Trenchard-Smith assumes directorial duties for Leprechaun 3. A master of Ozploitation, his resume includes The Man from Hong Kong (1975), Stunt Rock (1978), Turkey Shoot [aka Escape 2000] (1982), BMX Bandits (1983), Dead End Drive-In (1986) and Night of the Demons 2 (1994). Okay, that last one is American exploitation, but you catch my drift. The man is more than qualified to direct a cool piece of schlock like Leprechaun 3. He imbues it with a wicked sense of humor, but what other way is there to approach a movie about a killer leprechaun? It’s not like anybody would ever take it seriously, not anybody involved in the making or anybody watching.
The cast delivers the performances required by the material. They know it’s a goof and are clearly in on the joke. If you look at it that way, they do a fine job. Williams is a riot as an aging Vegas floozy not ready to hang it up. DeMita earns laughs as an untalented (and very obviously gay) magician who will do anything (except work for it) to be the best. Gatins and Armstrong make a reasonably attractive couple even if neither one of them can act. Oddly enough, Gatins would go on to be a screenwriter, penning the scripts for Hardball (2001), Coach Carter (2005), Dreamer (2005, which he also directed), Real Steel (2011), Flight (2012, nominated for Best Original Screenplay), Need for Speed (2014) and Power Rangers (2017). Callan nails it as a casino manager who looks more like the head publisher of a sleazy porno magazine. Davis, of course, is great. Always the professional, he goes all in with his portrayal of the title monster even if he’s little more than a diminutive version of Freddy Krueger (minus the whole dream thing). I do love his interaction with the Elvis impersonator (Crisp, no relation to Quentin).
It probably goes without saying (have you met me?), but I love the cheap and cheesy special effects in Leprechaun 3. NONE of it is CGI. It’s all practical effects. YES!!! That’s what makes these silly B-movies so special to me. It sure isn’t the writing. This one is as dumb as they come. How is it that nobody seems surprised to see a leprechaun running around Vegas? Times Square, I could see. But Vegas? Also, where are the cops? They never seem to be around. Surely, somebody would have found dead Gupta at the pawn shop before Scott got there. At the very least, they should have responded to reports of a leprechaun falling from a hotel window. The biggest misstep, however, is writer David DuBos not doing anything with Tammy’s expressed desire to be a headlining magician. This could have easily been worked into the plot.
It’s crucial to not expect much from DTV horror sequels like Leprechaun 3 or any of the ones that followed. It’s the only way you’ll get any enjoyment out of them. The 90s were a good time for movies like this (e.g. American Ninja, Amityville and Children of the Corn). And to think, they probably would have played in cinemas in the 70s and 80s. Now you know I’d be all over them on their opening weekends. I’m that kind of Movie Guy.
In conclusion, Leprechaun 3 is a decent comedy-horror and a solid entry in the inherently silly series. All that’s left is to send Leprechaun into space. Wait for it…. wait for it.
