The horror genre has gifted the world some of the most iconic villains. Whether it is slasher superstars Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger, or more unsettling characters in Annie Wilkes from Misery and Patrick Bateman from American Psycho, the genre is responsible for creating some of the most recognizable characters in cinema. One of the more unconventional characters to emerge from horror is Lubdan, the titular antagonist in the Leprechaun franchise.
Despite never reaching the mainstream heights of its peers, the Leprechaun franchise has released eight movies, with the latest arriving in 2018. It is hard to argue that any of them are actually “good”, but they all provide varying degrees of entertainment thanks to their inability to take themselves seriously and the Leprechaun providing one of the biggest kill counts in horror. If someone is in need of a bloody slasher with a wisecracking killer, they could do worse than the Leprechaun movies. Just make sure you turn your brain off beforehand.
8 ‘Leprechaun: Origins’ (2014)
When four American college friends go backpacking through Ireland, they find more than historical sites waiting for them. Running afoul of the Leprechaun, as well some unfriendly locals, the friends must fight back against the mythical creature while trying to find a way back home alive.
The first entry to not feature Warwick Davis as the title character, Leprechaun: Origins swaps him for WWE wrestler Hornswoggle. The movie suffers greatly without Davis’ charm, and the decision to make Origins a more serious horror movie than the horror-comedies the previous movies were proves to be fatal, as no one can take a movie where a Leprechaun runs around killing people seriously.
7 ‘Leprechaun 4: In Space’ (1996)
Set far into the future, Leprechaun 4: In Space sees the Leprechaun on an alien planet, where he schemes to marry a princess to become a ruler. But after a squad of space marines arrives and foils his plan, he boards their ship and begins killing the crew one by one as they attempt to launch him out the airlock.
It took Friday the 13thten movies to reach space, but Leprechaun managed to do it in four, even beating the infamous Jason X by five years. Unfortunately Leprechaun 4 does not quite reach the heights of that movie’s “so bad it’s good charm”, resulting in one of the weaker entries in the franchise.
6 ‘Leprechaun in the Hood’ (2000)
When three wannabe rappers break into the home of famous record producer Mack Daddy (Ice-T), they steal a relic from the Leprechaun and unleash his vengeance once again. As the three friends go on the run, the Leprechaun chases them through the hood, while Mack Daddy is also on their trail.
Where is the next logical place to go after space? The hood, of course. Leprechaun in the Hood is definitely one of the most memorable entries in the franchise, thanks to its absurd premise and Warwick Davis continuing to deliver one of his best performances. It also receives points for reigniting interest in the series, if only for a short time.
5 ‘Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood’ (2003)
When hairdresser Emily (Tangi Miller) discovers a pot of gold, she believes it is the answer to her money troubles. Splitting the gold with her friends, they soon start celebrating their newfound financial boost. But the gold belongs to the Leprechaun, and soon he is hunting down the friends as he searches for his stolen treasure.
The sixth entry in the franchise, and a standalone sequel to Leprechaun in the Hood, Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood makes for a great stoner comedy. Thanks to its stoner humor and crazy storyline, Back 2 tha Hood is never boring, even if it never actually comes together as a competent movie.
4 ‘Leprechaun 2’ (1994)
Moving the action to Los Angeles, Leprechaun 2 sees the Leprechaun in search of a bride. Setting his sights on teenage Bridget (Shevonne Durkin), he kills anyone who gets in the way of them being together. It falls to her boyfriend Cody (Charlie Heath) and his alcoholic uncle to save the day and Bridget.
Leprechaun 2 takes the original movie’s comedic slasher tone and runs with it, creating a decent follow-up that makes for an enjoyable double feature with the first movie. While it is far from being one of the best sequels in the horror genre, and it is still a fun enough way to kill 90 minutes.
Watch on Tubi
3 ‘Leprechaun’ (1993)
When J.D. (John Sanderford) and his teenage daughter Tory (Jennifer Aniston) arrive at a farmhouse for the summer, they soon discover a killer Leprechaun has been trapped in the basement. After he is freed, he goes on a killing spree to find his missing gold, forcing Tory and her new friends to scramble for a way to stop him.
The first movie in the franchise, Leprechaun is perhaps most famous for being the film debut of Aniston, arriving a year before Friends. While it is a decent enough slasher comedy, there is nothing here to suggest that it would go on to inspire seven sequels, making for one of horror’s most unlikely success stories.
2 ‘Leprechaun Returns’ (2018)
Pitched as a direct sequel to the original film while ignoring the rest of the entries, Leprechaun Returns follows Lila (Taylor Spreitler) the daughter of Tory from the first movie. When she arrives to help her sorority sisters renovate their new college house, they soon fall victim to the Leprechaun who thirsts for blood once more.
The second attempt to revive the franchise after Leprechaun: Origins, Leprechaun Returnsis much more successful than that lackluster entry. Its decision to return to a back-to-basics slasher movie is a good one, as it works by focusing less on outrageous concepts, such as space, and more on taking the series back to its gory and funny roots.
1 ‘Leprechaun 3’ (1995)
After slashing his way through the past two movies, the Leprechaun sets his sights on the place where pots of gold are easy to come by, Las Vegas. When teenager Scott (John Gatins) finds one of the Leprechaun’s gold coins it kick-starts his winning streak in Vegas, but it is not long before his luck runs out as the Leprechaun comes back for what is his.
The first Leprechaun movie to go straight-to-DVD (a trend that all the future sequels would follow), Leprechaun 3 is the best entry in the series at melding both horror and comedy together. Davis has commentated that it is his favorite Leprechaun movie because of this, and it is hard to argue with the man himself.