Leprechaun: Origins – Where The WWE Horror Movie Reboot Went So Wrong – Screen Rant

Leprechaun: Origins was billed as a darker version of the 90s comedy horror franchise, but with a 0% rating it made some serious missteps.

In 2014, WWE Studios released a reboot of the Leprechaun franchise titled Leprechaun: Origins, but what was intended to be a dark new take on the series ended up being a disappointing mess. Directed by Zach Lipovsky, written by Harris Wilkinson, and starring Dylan Postl - better known by his wrestling name Hornswoggle - Leprechaun: Origins was billed as a more traditional horror version of the 1990s horror comedy franchise, but ultimately lost everything that made the series unique and received negative reviews from critics and audiences alike.

Currently carrying a 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 3.2/10 on IMDB, its difficult to imagine what this reboot could have done so wrong to incur such a low score, especially with the original Leprechaun series being far from high art.Whereas Leprechaun: Originspredecessors at least had some good gore or some funny moments, this reboot offeredlittle but cliches.

Related: Every Leprechaun Movie Ranked, Worst To Best

So, what is it that Leprechaun: Origins did to earn so much ire, and how could the movie have been a more successful reimagining of thecult franchise? Overall, paying more of an homage to the original movies and staying true to their tonewould have gone a long way, but heres a breakdown of some of the key mistakes and how they might have been remedied.

Leprechaun: Origins follows friends Sophie, Ben, Jeni, and David as they travel through Ireland as part of a research trip for history student Sophie. They stop to have a drink in a remote pub in the countryside and encounter an old man who tells them about a nearby monolith he characterizes as the areas best-kept secret. Sophie, naturally, has to see it and the rest of the group agrees to go out of their way to check it out. Unfortunately, the man hasnt been entirely honest with the group, and instead of taking them on a side trip to an interesting historical monument, he locks them insidea cabin as a sacrifice to the vicious creature that roams the area, the leprechaun. Apparently, the village is cursed and they have to make regular sacrifices in order to keep their luck. While this plot isntparticularly original, it could have been done in a way that was at least fun or interesting, even though the twist is pretty obvious from the beginning.

The downfall of Leprechaun: Origins, however, is that the filmmakers decided to make the leprechaun more monstrous and generic, taking away the unique personality of the original Warwick Davis leprechaun. The silliness of the original series is a major part of its appeal, and getting rid of that leaves this reboot feeling like a ripoff rather than areinvention of the franchise. The other aspect of Origins' that sticks out as a mistake is that it simultaneously feels like its not trying at all while trying to do way too much. The movie is only 90 minutes, but it feels like it moves through the plots of three different films within that runtime; this ultimately leaves the viewer feeling tired and confused, with the movie dragging on through event after event without any meaningful moments,fun kills, or character development of any kind.

Unfortunately, while a trope-y horror movie can work, it requires a self-awareness the movie doesn't have and coupled with a lackof a compelling story, characters, or effects thatleaves itfeeling uninteresting and forgettable. WWE Studios set out to create a fresh take on the Leprechaun series, injecting it with more serious horror and gore, but ultimately Leprechaun: Origins fell victim to cliches and poor writing without much to set itself apart.

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Certified horror addict and linguistics nerd, Maisy has been watching, reading, and reviewing horror since she was old enough to get a library card. She is most often found hiding in the woods with her nose in a book, usually horror or weird fiction, or in her bedroom snuggling with her husband and many pets while watching horror movies or playing Skyrim - usually both.Elusive and rarely out in public, Maisy can usually be baited with cheese, punk rock, or the promise of a rousing discussion on sociolinguistics and dialectology, though she has sometimes been known to come out to explore local parks, zoos, and distilleries on occasion.

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Leprechaun: Origins - Where The WWE Horror Movie Reboot Went So Wrong - Screen Rant

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero