Horror Movie Review: Leprechaun: The Beginning (2025)

I need to stop doing this to myself.

Written by Alessandro Di Giuseppe and directed by Rahul Gandhi, Leprechaun: The Beginning is the third entry in ChampDog Film’s leprechaun series of films. Following on from 2020’s The Leprechaun’s Game (aka Vengeance of the Leprechaun) and 2021’s The Leprechauns’ Curse (aka Leprechaun’s Rage).

The first film is up there as one of the worst things the production company has been behind. Which is saying a lot as ChampDog Films is notorious for low-quality content. The second one was better, thanks to it leaning into the absurdity of it all, but still fell woefully short.

This time around, the leprechaun wants his gold back, and a family stands in his way having found it in their late father’s house. Their greed will be their undoing as the leprechaun will stop at nothing to take back what is his. Cue mischievous mayhem, but on a no budget scale.

It sounds like business as usual, but there has been an attempt to give this film a different look and feel. I’m not sure why though. Not only does the leprechaun look different, but the performance isn’t the same either, and that’s not a good thing. I didn’t like how the leprechaun looked in the first two films, but at least it was distinctive. This version is not. The word that comes to mind is lifeless, even with his quips, which does come across as an attempt to make it seem like the Warwick Davis Leprechaun films.

At least this adds a touch of comedy to things.

Unfortunately, even the smallest of positives are buried under a mountain of rubbish, as far too much of the film’s runtime is dedicated to the family and their uninteresting drama. Each lacks personality and are unbelievably forgettable, even if the performances are fine enough. Though there is a late-film twist for one character that is so absurd, it’s almost funny. That’s entertainment!

There’s plenty of death, but little gore to get excited about. What we do see is practical, but no budget practical. Which really does make you wonder what is the point in even bothering with this? At best, I can say that it appears to be an attempt to reboot this series (similar to what they did with the Tooth Fairy), but this isn’t a good film, so it hardly fills me with hope for the future.

It’s better than the first, but not as good as the second. Which also wasn’t good. Do you see the problem with this series? ChampDog have made films I like, but mostly I’ve been very critical of them, and the likes of Leprechaun: The Beginning is why.