RECENT WATCHES: Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004)

Never underestimate the power of a recognizable brand name. 2002's “Scooby-Doo” wasn't a very good movie, with a confused approach that tried to appeal to both kids and grown-ups. Yet the “Scooby-Doo” series is popular and widely recognized enough that the film still did major business at the box office. Naturally, a sequel immediately went into production. Even though his script for the first one was largely re-written, James Gunn still came back to write “Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.” I'm going to guess he was well paid for the assignment. Yet perhaps audiences did notice the lackluster quality of the first film, as the sequel only grossed about half of the original's box office revenue.

Following their successful reunion in the first film, Mystery Inc. is back into the rhythm of unmasking fraudulent ghosts and monsters. In fact, a museum devoted to their exploits is opening up in their native town of Coolsville. However, sinister figures have different plans in mind. A mysterious forces animates the ghost suits in the museum, causing many of Mystery Inc.'s most notorious foes to be reborn in more powerful forms. Scooby-Doo and the gang are discredited soon enough, forcing them to stop the bad guy, save the day, and make the public trust in them again.

While the first “Scooby-Doo” occasionally sneaked in a joke for the grown-ups in the audience, “Monsters Unleashed” focuses its humor exclusively on the kiddies. This is an exceptionally noisy kids' comedy. There's lots of grating slapstick, like in a big down-hill chase scene where skeleton monsters get tossed into the camera. (These guys get tossed towards the viewer so often, you might think the movie was shot in 3-D.) An especially painful sequence has Scooby and Shaggy going undercover in a club for bad guys, which predictably goes poorly. This is followed by a very odd sequence where Scooby and Shaggy's bodies are mutated by various potions, the body shifting gags just making me uncomfortable. And, yes, there are bodily function jokes too. Scooby farts repeatedly, Velma's hot date is ruined by her outfit producing fart noises, and kicks are delivered to crotches several times.

As painfully unfunny as “Scooby-Doo 2” is, I do think it's mildly better than the first one. Unlike part one, which seemed to cynically dismiss the original cartoon, the sequel actively pulls from established “Scooby-Doo” lore. All the monsters in the movie are, indeed, classic cuts from the actual cartoon. And they look pretty neat too. The Knight, Pterodactyl Ghost, and Zombie are all brought to life with large, particular effects. They look fittingly cartoony while still seeming to operate as active threats. My favorite thing about “Scooby-Doo” was always the monsters anyway, so it's neat that at least one of the live action film leaned more into that horror-movie-for-kids vibe. And we get a proper unmasking for the bad guy this time too, which counts for something.

The cast from the first film is utilized in both better and worst ways than last time. Velma gets a romantic subplot all of her own, sharing a crush with Seth Green's Patrick Wisely. While this allows some adorably awkward acting from Linda Cardellini, the subplot is wildly undercooked. Even then, it's more developed than Daphne and Fred finally deciding to pair up. As in the first feature, Matthew Lillard and Linda Cardellini are well-cast while Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. are largely just annoying. Prinze's doofus take on Fred really wares thin here, while Gellar's action hero theatrics seem like an ill-advised attempt to please any “Buffy” fans in the audience. Peter Boyle does get an amusing cameo as Old Man Wickles.

“Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed” grossed 181 million dollars against a 25 million dollar budget, still making it a sizable financial success. Yet that was far less than the first film, qualifying this “Doo” as a disappointment. Thus, the “Scooby-Doo” live action franchise came to a premature end. (Though there have been several direct-to-video follow-ups of sorts.) Not that anyone could be especially sad about that. “Scooby-Doo 2” is a fairly lazy special effects extravaganza for kids, even ending with the stereotypical dance party. However, at least it made me chuckle a few times and re-introduced some neat monsters. It has that over the first one. If a subversive and substantial take on the often wafer-thin “Scooby” formula is what you're after though, I recommend “Scooby-Doo: Mystery Inc.” [5/10]

RECENT WATCHES: Scooby-Doo (2002)

Despite cheap animation typical of Hanna-Barbara and every script following the exact same formula, the original “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?” would launch a franchise that has been running with few interruptions since 1969. Over the fifty years Mystery Inc. has been teaching kids to be skeptical of the supernatural, the series has spread across countless medias. There's been animated features, comic books, toys, video games, amusement park rides, and musical stage shows. The inevitable live action “Scooby-Doo” movie hit theaters in 2002. The film was directed by Raja Gosnell, an editor-turned-director whose credits read like a run-down of every gimmicky family-comedy of the early 2000s. The script, meanwhile, was provided by James Gunn, giving him his first mainstream hit.

Following an especially humiliating case, the celebrated team of Mystery Inc. – Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo – call it quits. The fivesome go their own ways for two years. That's until each member is separately invited to the same location, a haunting-themed vacation destination called Spooky Island. It seems something mysterious is going down on the island and its owner, Mr. Mondavarious, is hoping the gang can get to the bottom of it. The team immediately recognizes that something strange is going on. There's a doomsday-triggering relic, night-dwelling monsters, a soul-swapping device, and the return of an old enemy.

It might seem odd that James Gunn, still best known as a graduate of Troma Studios at the time, wrote a family-friendly adaptation of a long-running cartoon. Apparently, Gunn's original script was far edgier than the final product, largely aimed at adults who grew up on the cartoon. You can still see elements of this approach in the finished film. Shaggy's widely assumed love of marijuana is referenced in a shot of smoke pluming out of the top of the Mystery Machine, while “Pass the Dutchie” plays on the soundtrack. Later, Shaggy receives a love interest named Mary Jane. The widely loathed Scarppy-Doo, hated by long-time fans but loved by actual kids, is revealed as the final villain. Don Knotts and testicles are referenced. There's in-jokes about Fred's ascot, the gang splitting up, and Velma loosing her glasses. (The implication that Velma is a lesbian didn't make the final cut.) There's also simply absurd jokes that are unlikely to appeal to kids, like an instructional reel for brainwashing that features some overly verbose college students.

During filming, however, Gunn's script was toned way down. In many ways, “Scooby-Doo” is exactly the lame kiddie movie you'd expect it to be. There's plenty of juvenile gross-out humor that the little one will like. There's a long sequence devoted to Shaggy and Scooby-Doo belching and farting at each other, in addition to some urine and green, stinky gas. There's lots of sophomoric physical comedy, such as characters being tossed through windows or a dirt-bag race. At one point, Scobby is sneaked onto a plane by dressing up as an old lady. Later, he gets chased up a tree by another monster. Most regrettable is a scene where Daphne is doing ridiculous karate attacks on a masked wrestler. These kind of hi-jinks are in-keeping with the cartoon's humor but the movie executes them without much energy or grace.

By 2002, it was widely assumed that CGI effects had advanced to the point where you could convincingly create the titular character of a feature film using them. This, of course, was a mistake. The CGI Scooby-Doo is far from convincing. Though he at least looks close enough to his classic design that he's not super creepy either. Worst yet, the film doesn't stop with Scooby. The antagonists, large demonic entities with rabbit-like ears, are created with effects of similarly debatable quality.  This is not the only scene the film was made in 2002. There's frosted tips and exposed midriffs aplenty, as well as exceptionally bizarre cameos from Sugar Ray and Pamela Anderson.

Live-action adaptations of cartoons rarely work out well, simply because the stuff that makes animation appealing rarely translates well to flesh-and-blood. Still, I imagine seeing their beloved characters brought to life on-screen was a thrill for hardcore “Scoopy-Doo” fans. Some of the casting is spot-on. Matthew Lillard is eerily accurate as Shaggy, nailing the voice and the physicality. Linda Cardellini was also a pretty good pick for Velma, bringing a sardonic element to the much-maligned brainy girl. Sadly, this “Scooby-Doo” largely reduced the characters to their broadest versions. This causes Freddie Prince Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar to act on their worst tendencies as performers, both characters quickly becoming obnoxious.

If James Gunn had gotten his way, 2002's “Scooby-Doo” might've actually been something interesting. A raunchy spoof of the original cartoon aimed at stoners and adults probably could've been amusing. Not that the studio would have allowed an expensive adaptation of a still-popular kids' cartoon to get away with that. Nor should an edgy adaptation of a kids' show even necessarily exist. Obviously, Warner Brothers made the right financial decision, as “Scooby-Doo” grossed 275 million at the box office. The movie is pretty lame though, with a lot of belabored moments and few actual entertainment. [4/10]

RECENT WATCHES: The Specials (2000)

James Gunn got his start making sleazy nonsense for Troma. Which is about as far as one can get from the big budget superhero movies that would eventually make him famous the world over. The guy is clearly interested in exploring or subverting the elements classically associated with masked or caped heroes. Before directing brutal deconstruction of the genre “Super,” Gunn would pen a far goofier riff on superheroes. “The Specials,” much like the previous year's “Mystery Men,” would focus on comic book-style adventurers with less than conventional abilities. Director duties would fall on Craig Mazin. Released to little acclaim in 2000, the film would eventually attract a very small cult following.

The Specials are the seventh most popular superhero team in America. As that superlative implies, the team is not especially respected or well regarded. The characters' powers range from the useful, like leader the Strobe who can shoot energy blasts, to the unconventional, like shrinking hero Minute-Man. Yet fighting evil is not on the team's mind today. As newcomer Nightbird joins the team, a toy company has agreed to make an action figure line based on them. The Strobe's wife, Ms. Indestructible, is having an affair with the Weevil, the team's sole popular member. Villain-turned-hero Amok disagrees with every decisions that made while supposedly super-intelligent Mr. Smart doesn't seem that clever. All these fears and more will come to the surface as the day goes on.

As I've mentioned in the past, one of my favorite comedy tropes is when the fantastic collides with the mundane. So I love the idea behind “The Specials,” a superhero movie totally lacking in special effects or action scenes. Mostly, the film is about the not-so-superheroes bickering about petty bullshit. However, while the idea is strong, the execution leaves something to be desired. Director Mazin shoots the film in an entirely flat fashion. The movie flip-flops between being a traditional narrative and a mockumentary, reality show-style interviews being inserted without much rhyme or reason. There's no sense of pacing here, the movie listlessly wandering from barely-there plot points to not-quite-solid gag.

There's also evidence to suggest that James Gunn's script was not his best work. Yes, “The Specials” did make me laugh, from time to time. There's a good gag were the otherwise child-like Alien Orphan suddenly speaks clearly. The funniest moment comes when the Specials see the promo for the proposed toy line based on them, which leaves much to be desired. The dim-witted U.S. Bill provides a few chuckles, as does the Strobe's nonsensical rousing speeches or an unexpected dance number to Reunion's “Life is the Rock.” Yet there's a mean-spirited edge to the humor here. Such as Amok's foul mouth, Minute-Man's outfit being called “gay,” or Deadly Girl's needlessly mean reaction to another team attempting to recruit here.

What really holds this very ramshackle production together is a surprisingly solid cast. Despite its obvious low budget, the film attracted a few established faces or stars-to-be. Thomas Haden Church hits the right balance of sanctimonious, deeply misplaced pride as the Strobe. Jordan Ladd is the film's sole source of sweetness and sincerity as Nightbird, a young woman desperate to prove herself in her own way. Rob Lowe is well cast as the Weevil, a vain self-promoter with few actual scruples. Judy Greer and Paget Brewster's sarcastic scorn are put to good use as Deadly Girl and Mrs. Indestruction. James Gunn himself gives a decent performance as the insecure Minute-Man, while his brother Sean is unquestionably weird as Alien Orphan. And then there's Jamie Presley, as Amok, swearing a lot and being obnoxious.

While James Gunn has done quite  a lot of riffing on superheroes throughout his career, maybe he shouldn't get the blame or credit for what does and does not work about “The Specials.” Director Craig Mazin has gone on to a successful career as a comedy screenwriter, co-writing commercial hits like “Identity Theft” or the latter two “Hangover” movies. As a director, his only other credit is “Superhero Movie,” another spoof of superhero flicks. That's a weirdly similar pair of movies, isn't it? While I want to like “The Specials,” it's just not nearly as funny, charming, or memorable as it needs to be. [5/10]

RECENT WATCHES: Tromeo and Juliet (1996)

Troma Entertainment, the fiercely independent New Jersey company that has been releasing outrageous exploitation movies for forty years, has a passionate cult following. This is largely due to the tireless self promotion of Lloyd Kaufman. Some fans are so invested in the Troma brand, they even run off to work for the company. Most of these weirdos are never seen again. Occasionally, someone escapes the House That Toxie Built and goes on to bigger things.  Before Trey Parker and Matt Stone created “South Park,” their “Cannibal! The Musical” passed through Tromaville. Kevin Costner, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Samuel L. Jackson appeared in some of their films early in their careers. And then there's James Gunn. Gunn was just a college student when he was hired to write “Tromeo and Juliet.” Amusingly, his initial draft was rejected for being too sleazy! This was the humble beginnings of an A-list career.

“Tromeo and Juliet” sees Lloyd Tromatizing William Shakesphere's most famous work of romance and tragedy. This riff on the Bard's tale is set in Manhattan. The Capulets and Ques families have been feuding for years, due to Cappy Capulet screwing over Monty Que during their days as porn producers. Now, their kids and cousins are constantly fighting each other. Tromeo Que, searching for true love, sneaks into a Capulet party. This is where he meets Juliet, Cappy's daughter that is betrothed to a local meat baron. The star-crossed lovers have to overcome Juliet's psychotic father, the ultraviolent scuffles surrounding both families, and psychotropic nightmares.

Lloyd Kaufman might've toned down Gunn's first draft but “Tromeo and Juliet” still has all the edgy humor, cartoonish gore, sleazy sex, and nihilistic atmosphere you expect from the studio. Within its opening minutes, the film has featured a hanged squirrel, a real lizard eating a real mouse, a brain being punched out of someone's head, and a woman being shot in the crotch. There's jokes about masturbation, pornography, child-molestation, Catholic priests, incest, rape, homophobia, transgender people, and raisin loaf. Extended scenes are devoted to Juliet's alcoholic father torturing her. Kaufman improves on the Bard by adding a lesbian sex scene and other scenes of softcore fuckery. None of the gore is especially convincing but the movie earns points for creativity. A car window, a ladder, a tattoo gun, and a hammer with Hitler's face are just some of the weapons used to dismember the characters. This is exactly the kind of obnoxiously profane humor we all know to expect from Troma.

The vulgar content is, of course, meant to contrast against the the Shakespearian story line. Placing the Bard's story in a punk rock setting with lots of gratuitous swearin', fuckin', and killin' is entirely the point. The script more-or-less follows the play but replaces the player with deranged lunatics swinging socks full of quarters, crossbow-wielding crime bosses,  and body-piercing enthusiasts. The movie draws attention to this from time-to-time by actually utilizing the original dialogue. Tromeo and Juliet's first meeting has them quoting the iconic text. Instead of climbing up her veranda, Tromeo greets Juliet while she's locked inside a glass box. A dialogue between Tromeo and his dad maintains Shakespeare's dialogue but adds fart noises. The film even takes its own shot at Shakespearean verse near the end, during the revised ending.

As a youngster, I was more amused by Troma's edgy humor than I am now. However, “Tromeo and Juliet” still made me laugh regularly. The movie has an agreeable streak of surrealism running through it. Samson Capulet is re-imagined as a lunatic with a baby doll haircut who dresses in big T-shirts. Juliet has strange reoccurring nightmares. In one, a handsome lover suddenly grows a monstrous worm for a penis. In another, she grows a pregnant belly that spews popcorn, rats, and mill worms. All my favorite gags revolve around London Arbuckle, the meat-packing magnet Juliet has been promised to. The guy has an odd relationship with the meat he processes. At one point, he suggests an unusual dead creature – it looks like a Mothra larva – gets tossed in with the hot dogs. After Juliet breaks his heart, he commits act of self-mutilation. This is until Juliet takes a special drug that briefly turns her into a hideous cow-monster. This is the kind of nutty shit I like in my Troma movies.

It must be said that the fearless collection of actors assembled for the movie largely know what they are doing. Despite the utter depravity the script has them participate in, Will Keenan and Jane Jensen retain a child-like sweetness as Tromeo and Juliet. Keenan is a bright and appealing performer, while Jensen has an adorable quality that shines through even during gratuitous masturbation scenes. The supporting cast also includes Maximillian Shaun as Cappy, an aggressively sweaty and unhinged performance that creates a truly despicable villain. Sean Gunn is similarly unhinged as Sammy, among this strange movie's strangest characters. And let's not forget Lemmy, who mumbles his way through the role of the narrator.

Remaking Shakespeare's timeless play as an extremely nasty exploitation comedy is one thing. Kaufman and Gunn giving the story a happy ending – a happy ending of sorts, anyway – is far gutsier. Supposedly, Gunn basically co-directed the movie. You can definitely hear his voice in some of the dialogue, in addition to his own cameo and Sean having a supporting role. If those tweets pissed off Disney so much, I'm going to bet they've never seen this particular motion picture. While the Troma house-style remains an acquired taste, as always, “Tromeo and Juliet” is definitely among the studio's better output, as it actually stands up as a movie aside from its outrageous content. [7/10]

A YEAR OF SLASHERS: Leprechaun Returns (2018)

After the disgraceful reboot “Leprechaun: Origins” absolutely failed to enrapture fans, it seemed like the “Leprechaun” franchise was over. Warwick Davis would mention his desire to make more from time to time, with premises involving pirates or the wild west being tossed around. Nothing would come of these and, let's face it, it's amazing the series ran for as many movies as it did anyway. Last year though, out of the blue, something truly unexpected happened. A new entry in the series, that would ignore the remake and instead directly follow-up the original, was announced. “Leprechaun Returns” comes from director Steven Kostanski, previously of “The Void” and “Manborg,” an inspired choice to take over the series. Honestly, Kostanski being behind the camera gave me hope for this latest reboot, even if Warwick Davis was absent and Syfy Channel was co-producing.

Unlike any of the previous “Leprechaun” sequels, “Leprechaun Returns” actually is directly connected to one of the earlier films. We head back to the setting of the original “Leprechaun.” Lila, daughter of original protagonist Tony, heads back to her late mom's home town. She's there to help set up a college sorority.  Up until her death, Lila's mom was haunted by her memories of the Leprechaun. So is local simpleton Ozzie, who is still living in town. Lila's arrival is apparently enough to stir the Leprechaun, still residing in the well where he fell, back to life. The fearsome fey goes back to his quest to retrieve his gold, killing anyone who gets in his way.

Unlike the utterly mercenary “Leprechaun: Origins,” “Leprechaun Returns” was clearly made by fans of the original series. From the moment Mark Holton's Ozzie wanders back on-screen, you know this sequel is an act of homage and love to those older films. “Leprechaun Returns” does a pretty good job of capturing that deeply silly, very dumb, but oddly endearing atmosphere. The film even looks similar, with more scenes of people fleeing from the Leprechaun through dark woods. Kostanski shows his love by having the Lep crack lots of bad jokes and speak in silly rhymes. Amusingly, the Lep interacts with modern day inventions, weaponizing a drone and taking time to take selfies with his intended victims. Fittingly, the film also includes some outrageous death scenes. There's a fleshy disembowelment, a vertical slicing with a solar panel, head crushings, decapitations, and facet impalement.

In many regards, “Leprechaun Returns” is everything you could hope for from a twenty-five years later sequel to the original film. Yet there is a problem. The movie has a big Warwick Davis shaped hole in its heart. Our ersatz Leprechaun performer, Liden Porco, is not bad by any means. His voice is a bit high-pitched and the make-up isn't consistent with the original. However, Porco clearly has some hammy talent of his own and obviously enjoys playing the part. He just lacks the unique zeal and full-born love of ridiculousness that Davis brought to he part. The Lep's trademark awful jokes and rhymes don't sound as satisfying coming out of someone else's mouth. The sequel, though only eighty-six minutes long, also feels a bit long. Though I appreciate gags like the Leprechaun multiplying or being set ablaze, the movie peaks early when the ghastly sprite explodes spectacularly. Its last act never recovers.

Still, screenwriters Mark Jones and Suzanne Keilly earn serious points for attempting to craft genuinely likable characters. Our group of sorority girls and clueless boyfriends are not especially deep. They do, however, have defining characteristics that at least stick out in the mind. Meredith is a borderline alcoholic. Rose is the tightly wound control freak running the sorority house. Nice girl Katie can't quite quit her lunk-headed boyfriend, continuing to hook up with him and immediately regretting it. Even one of the guys, a would-be director, sticks out. Truthfully, Taylor Spreitler's Lila even gets a decent arc. She's recovering from her mom's death and, as ridiculous as it is to say this, the film does satisfyingly have her overcome that by fighting off the Leprechaun that so traumatized Jennifer Aniston and Garth. Especially when compared to the complete blanks that starred in the reboot, this cast proves surprisingly likable.

In many ways, far more care and respect was taken with “Leprechaun Returns” than you would ever expect for this franchise. It's super gory, very silly, and amusingly dumb in much the same way as the earlier films. Still, the “Leprechaun” series was enjoyable largely because Warwick Davis is such an appealing performer. Without him, the new film can't quite satisfy. Still, I have to respect a loving fan-letter like this, especially one devoted to a series as disreputable as “Leprechaun.” Maybe if Linden Porco gets further chances to make the part his own, I'll warm up to him. Until then, “Leprechaun Returns” stands as an amusing if not wholly gratifying homage to one of horror's most delightfully dumb long-runners. [6/10]

A YEAR OF SLASHERS: Leprechaun: Origins (2014)

You may recall, not too long ago, when the biggest horror trend was remakes. The idea was so pervasive that even films of debatable status were being rebooted.  Producers believed that name recognition, no matter how small, could sell movies. That's how we got new versions of “April Fools' Day” or “Sorority Row.” So the time came to reboot “Leprechaun.” An often derided and utterly ridiculous franchise, the “Leprechaun” films nevertheless found a following thanks to Warwick Davis' refusal to say no to any goofy idea. When it was announced that the film-making division of pro-wrestling institution WWE would be producing a remake, fans widely assumed that Dylan Postl, a little person wrestler with the gimmick of dressing up as a leprechaun, would star. This proved correct. However, “Leprechaun: Origins” would not feature Hornswaggle rhyming or cracking jokes. Instead, the in-name-only reboot would take the series in a new direction completely rejected even by the non-discriminating “Leprechaun” fanbase.

“Leprechaun: Origins” has exactly one good idea. It's the first film in the shockingly long-running series to actually take place in Ireland. (Unsurprisingly, Canada stands in for the Emerald Isle.) In the grassy Irish countryside, something is killing tourists. College student Sophie and her friends – Ben, Jeni, and David – know nothing about this. They ride into the secluded grasslands, which are dotted with ancient standing stones. A local named Hamish encourages Sophie and her friends to hike even further into the countryside, to see more of the old sites. This is a set-up, it turns out. Hamish and his gang have been feeding unsuspecting tourists to a blood-thirsty leprechaun stalking the area. The kids, the monster's gold unknowingly planted on their bags, have to survive the night.

The producers of “Leprechaun: Origins” made the typical promises of going back to the franchise's roots, creating something darker that would still satisfy fans. Yet it's apparent these filmmakers never actually saw any of the Warwick Davis flicks. Those movies may have been offensively dumb but there was a certain charm in their go-for-broke silliness. On its surface, the idea of a pro-wrestler famous for dressing as a leprechaun playing the diminutive demon seems in keeping with this series dubious charms. Yet “Leprechaun: Origins” doesn't do that. Completely negating the reason for casting him, Dylan Postl is buried under make-up as an indistinct monster that looks nothing like a leprechaun. He doesn't talk, tell bad jokes, rap, smoke pot, wear a green hat, or even kill people in magical ways. The idea that he's after his gold is an afterthought. This is not a remake of the original “Leprechaun.” It's a totally generic modern monster movie that could've been about any sort of creature.

Building a horror movie around Celtic mythology has merit. It has nothing to do with the “Leprechaun” series as we know it but it's not a bad idea. Yet “Leprechaun: Origins” even fails when taken on its own merits. The leprechaun design is uninspired. Postl clearly has trouble moving in the awkward suit. There's some token mention of ancient monolithic stones or gold mines. This all ends up being window-dressing on a story otherwise preoccupied with college students being chased by a greasy critter. There's some pathetic attempt to mine drama out of the stereotypically conflicted backwoods yokels engineering the kids' situation. Especially embarrassing are the random insertions of character development for our youthful heroes. Like Sophie getting mad at her boyfriend for leaving her behind while a fucking monster attacks them. Or the completely pathetic one-liner she croaks before offing the beast in an uninteresting way.

More than anything else, “Leprechaun: Origins” is a boring motion picture that brings nothing to the table. Director Zach Lipovsky – a child actor turned director of uninspiring TV movies – does not distinguish himself. There's lots of shaky-cam and overly dark night-shooting, most of it seemingly designed to obscure the stiff monster suit. The movie has a washed-out and ugly appearance. Lipovsky's only trick of note is point-of-view shots, most of which just add to the generic horror look-and-feel of the production. The acting is hard to judge, as the characters are a completely undefined set of spam-in-the-van. The only actor that makes an impression is veteran voice-actor Garry Chalk as Hamish. And that's strictly because I recognized the voice of Optimus Primal showing up in this shitty movie.

By the way, the subtitle is completely meaningless. Though we get a moment of torturous exposition, no attempt is made to provide a definite origin for this or any other leprechaun. It's certainly not a prequel, remake, or even reboot of the established series. “Leprechaun: Origins” annoyed and bored me. It's not like the “Leprechaun” series has an especially high standard of quality. Somehow, this ill-conceived “reboot” is an exhausting piece-of-shit made to cash-in on the dwindling name recognition of a brand that was only valuable to horror nerds anyway. [2/10]

A YEAR OF SLASHERS: Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood (2003)

From its dubious beginnings, the “Leprechaun” series has prided itself on putting its title character in all sorts of unexpected locations. From the countryside to the big city to Las Vegas, to the furthest reaches of outer space. Even the closure of Trimark Pictures, the series’ original production company, couldn’t stop the Leprechaun’s adventures. With the fifth entry, the Lep went to the hood. The sixth part would break with tradition by retreading old ground. The Leprechaun was going back to the hood. Or, as the subtitle insists on spelling it, “Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood.”

As always, we start with a clean slate. A well-meaning priest stole the Leprechaun’s gold, planning to use it to build a community center for his crime-infested town. He successfully buries the Leprechaun underground but succumbs to his wounds afterwards. A year later, Emily is told by a fortune teller that she’ll soon stumble upon great wealth. Just that happens when she tumbles into the abandoned community center, discovering the Leprechaun’s gold. This reawakens the ill-tempered imp, who goes on another rampage through the hood, seeking his gold and the blood of those who stole it.

“Leprechaun in the Hood” felt like a very dumb but generally good-natured parody of ‘hood movies. “Back 2 tha Hood,” too often, feels like a straight example of urban exploitation flicks. I do not care about the daily strife of Emily, her friend Lisa, and her boyfriend Rory. Their struggles with trying to escape tha hood are routine and uninteresting. A surprising amount of screen time is devoted to their daily struggles. The comedy that does exist in this half is extremely broad. Stoner Jamie’s coining of the phrase “ninja” is a decently amusing running gag. Otherwise, we’re greeted to degrading racial stereotypes, such as gold-digging girlfriends or an obnoxious big woman. Once the Leprechaun shows up and starts, you know, killing people, things improve slightly. But “Back 2 tha Hood” takes far too long to get going.

In the second half of the film, things start to pick up. Warwick Davis’ tiny terror indulges in even goofier shenanigans. He rips on a bong, a genuine moment of dumb comedy, especially once he uses that as a murder weapon. He gets locked in a fridge but is too high to care. The kills are disappointingly low-key. The Leprechaun mostly finishes his victim’s off with his claws, which is a far cry from the magical murders in parts 3 and 4. However, the movie does have some fun with its setting. The Leprechaun’s duel with a pair of racist cops is probably the best scene in the movie, as it involves comical dismemberment. When he gets in the cop car afterwards, realizing he can’t reaches the peddles, I laughed. Once the Leprechaun is on the phone, attempting to score a date, being smashed under the body of a pimp-mobile, and trading kamehamehas with a psychic fortune teller, “Back 2 tha Hood” finally settles into the right kind of ridiculous.

Aside from all the ghetto-set tomfoolery, the sixth “Leprechaun” film expands on the mythology in some interesting ways. The film begins with an animated prologue, explaining the Leprechauns origins, how they were fairies raised to protect kings’ gold. How, after the kings fell out of favor, most returned to the Earth. Except for one who, out of greed, started to horde the gold. Gee whiz, that’s actually a pretty epic origin for the most laughable of horror movie threats. The movie returns to older aspects of the series, reestablishing the Leprechaun’s weakness to four-leaf clovers. The general make-up remains the same but the Leprechaun is sporting slightly different duds this time, including an overcoat and a new hat. I can’t say I care for that.

Through it all, there’s Warwick Davis, cracking silly jokes and generally having the time of his life. Davis’ unending enthusiasm for the role – let’s face it, the guy is in “Harry Potter” and “Star Wars.” He doesn’t need these movies – is what kept the entire, ridiculous, hideously dumb but oddly endearing “Leprechaun” series afloat for six movies. “Back 2 tha Hood” is not the peak of the franchise. That dubious honor still goes to the one-two punch of Las Vegas and “In Space.” But it’s not without its moments either. Fans have sat through the rest of the franchise. Odds are good they’ll sit through this too. [6/10]