Horror Movie Review: The Leprechaun’s Curse (2021)

Guess whose back? The leprechaun is back, and when you consider the first entry in the ChampDog Film series was one of the worst the company has put out, things can surely only get better, right?

Released in 2020, The Leprechaun’s Game, aka Vengeance of the Leprechaun, was dire (read the review here). I hated it and on face value, this sequel looks like it would just be as bad. Except it’s not.

The Leprechaun’s Curse aka Leprechaun’s Rage is not good, not by a long shot, but by dropping the seriousness of the first film, it’s more enjoyable.

Bao Tieu reprises his role as the titular leprechaun, and this time, he is allowed to let his personality shine. Even if the cheap outfit and horrible mask threaten to ruin it all. I like Tieu’s mannerisms, and how he tries to inject whimsy into the character, but like the rest of the cast, he’s hampered by bad writing.

Writing that comes from Louisa Warren and Tom Jolliffe, with the former taking the directing chair again.

Here, the story sees the leprechaun after his gold. What a surprise. Except this time his gold has been traded into a ‘cash for gold’ company and the film opens with the owner of the company being tormented and killed by the leprechaun.

This happens at a large, isolated house that he owns, and he leaves it to his step sister, Tilly (Sofia Lacey), along with the remaining leprechaun gold. Tilly decides to visit the house, along with her stepmother (Chrissie Wunna), boyfriend Ben (Stephen Staley) and friends Jane (Danielle Ronald) and Sadie (Elspeth Foster). Also, Warren makes an appearance in the film as the housekeeper, Mischa (she was also in the first film).

It’s a beautiful place, and everyone is looking forward to relaxing, but the leprechaun has other ideas.

Look, I didn’t hate this one. The cast is stronger, the characters are more defined, the pacing is peppy, and there’s some decent gore too. However, what really makes it more watchable is a stronger blend of comedy and horror. It’s not ‘laugh out loud’ funny, nor is it ‘jump in the seat’ scary, but by leaning into the absurdity of it all, it’s more enjoyable.

I’m rarely kind to ChampDog Films, and for good reason, but I can acknowledge when there’s been a decent attempt to actually make something enjoyable. It doesn’t fully work as it’s really hard to get past some of the film’s more glaring problems, but by taking itself less seriously, they’re a little easier to overlook.