Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood | |
---|---|
![]() DVD cover | |
Directed by | Steven Ayromlooi |
Written by | Steven Ayromlooi |
Based on | Characters by Mark Jones |
Produced by | Mike Upton |
Starring |
|
Cinematography | David Daniel |
Edited by | Stephen H. Sloan |
Music by | Michael Whittaker |
Distributed by | Lionsgate Home Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood (also known as Leprechaun 6) is a 2003 American black comedy-horror film written and directed by Steven Ayromlooi, and a standalone sequel to Leprechaun in the Hood (2000) with no returning characters or references made to that film. It is the sixth installment of the Leprechaun series, and as of 2023, it is the last entry to star Warwick Davis in the title role. The film has the villainous leprechaun Lubdan rampaging through an urban area and killing anyone in his path while looking for his gold, which was stolen by a group of youths who are using it to fulfill their wildest dreams. It is the first film in the series to be released by Lionsgate.
In an animated prologue narrated by the clairvoyant Esmeralda, we learn the origins of Leprechaun from the ancient times. There were many of them summoned by an ancient king to protect his gold. After the king's death, the Leprechauns returned to their places of origin, all except one, who became corrupted through the ages and obsessed with the gold he still guarded.
In the present, Los Angeles pastor Father Jacob finds the gold and intends to use it to finance the building of a youth center. After a struggle, Jacob banishes the Leprechaun by splashing him with holy water laced with four-leafed clovers, summoning demonic hands to drag him underground, but dies of his injuries.
One year later, friends Emily Woodrow and Lisa Duncan have their fortune told by Esmeralda who warns they will soon attain great wealth, but it must be denied as it will come at a great price and summon a terrible evil. At a barbecue at the abandoned youth center site with Lisa, stoner friend Jamie Davis and ex-boyfriend-turned-drug dealer Rory Jackson, Emily falls through a hole and discovers the Leprechaun's gold, hidden by Father Jacob.
Splitting the treasure, the four friends use the gold to fulfill their fantasies, unaware they have released the Leprechaun. He stalks the group, impaling a guest at Jamie's party with a bong and retrieving one of his coins, prompting the police to arrest Jamie. At the beauty salon where Emily works, the Leprechaun kills a regular customer, Doria, on the massage table and attacks Emily. She escapes, warning Rory and the recently released Jamie, and they rush to find Lisa. In her home, Lisa is killed when the Leprechaun claws her in the stomach, and her friends find her body.
While Emily and Jamie want to return the gold, Rory does not and takes off with it; realizing Rory is gone, Emily is chased outside by the Leprechaun, but is saved when Rory has a change of heart and returns. The Leprechaun finds Rory's house and kills his profligate girlfriend Chanel by tearing out her jaw, reclaiming the gold she used to make a tooth, while Rory and Emily are harassed by Officers Thompson and Whitaker. When the Leprechaun appears and kills the officers, Emily and Rory escape and regroup with Jamie, only to be confronted by Rory's drug-dealing rivals, led by Watson and Cedric. Planning to kill Rory for infringing on their territory, Watson and his gang are disposed of by the Leprechaun, while Emily, Rory and Jamie drive off in Watson's car, seeking Esmeralda's help.
She advises using four-leaf clovers against the Leprechaun, and Rory laces hollow-point bullets with clovers Jamie finds in the marijuana Rory sold him earlier. When the Leprechaun arrives, Rory shoots him with the clover bullets, only for his gun to jam before he can finish him off. Rory and Emily have the chance to escape with the gold when the Leprechaun is distracted by Jamie, wounded by a baseball bat to the leg, and Esmeralda is defeated in a magical duel with the Leprechaun. Followed to the roof of the building, Rory tries fighting the Leprechaun and is knocked out. Before the Leprechaun can kill him, Emily throws some of his gold into wet concrete to get his attention and lures him into the basement of the building, where she tosses his gold into a furnace before knocking the Leprechaun inside.
Believing the Leprechaun dead, Emily returns to Rory, only for the Leprechaun to renew his attack. Knocking Emily off the roof and leaving her barely holding on, the Leprechaun taunts her, but is shot several times by Rory. He runs out of bullets but distracts the Leprechaun long enough for Emily to hit him with the chest of coins, sending him into the wet concrete below, where the Leprechaun sinks and becomes trapped with his gold. Afterwards, Emily and Rory renew their relationship, and along with Jamie, move on with their lives.
The film was originally set to take place on a tropical island in the midst of spring break, though executives at Lions Gate had director and writer Steven Ayromlooi change the location to an urban environment, like the previous entry in the series. [1]
The film holds an 18% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 11 reviews. [2] The film was included in Entertainment Weekly's "The worst movie sequels ever" article, writing, "if a movie could spark a race riot, this is it". [3]
It would be 11 years before another Leprechaun movie was released, the 2014 film Leprechaun: Origins , the first film in the series not to star Warwick Davis in the titular role; the film is a reboot of the franchise. Another film, Leprechaun Returns , directly following up the first film from 1993, was made for television in 2018, also without Davis.
From as early as 2008 to as late as 2019, writer/director Darren Lynn Bousman has expressed interest in making another Leprechaun film, with the idea of placing the titular character in the Old West, with Warwick Davis starring. [4] [5]
Saw II is a 2005 horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and written by Leigh Whannell and Bousman. It is the sequel to 2004's Saw and the second installment in the Saw film series. The film stars Donnie Wahlberg, Franky G, Glenn Plummer, Beverley Mitchell, Dina Meyer, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Erik Knudsen, Shawnee Smith, and Tobin Bell. In the film, a group of ex-convicts are trapped by the Jigsaw Killer (Bell) inside a house and must pass a series of deadly tests to retrieve the antidote for a nerve agent that will kill them in two hours, with Detective Eric Matthews (Wahlberg) attempting to obtain the location of his son, Daniel (Knudsen), through the Jigsaw Killer.
Leprechaun is a 1993 American comedy horror film written and directed by Mark Jones, and starring Warwick Davis in the title role, with Jennifer Aniston supporting. Davis plays a vengeful leprechaun who believes a family has stolen his pot of gold. As he hunts them, they attempt to locate his gold to mollify him.
Saw III is a 2006 horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell and a story by Whannell and James Wan. It is the third installment in the Saw film series and a sequel to 2005's Saw II, starring Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Angus Macfadyen, Bahar Soomekh, and Dina Meyer.
Leprechaun 3 is a 1995 American horror-fantasy comedy film and the third, and first direct-to-video installment, in the Leprechaun series. The film follows the psychotic leprechaun Lubdan, who begins a killing spree in Las Vegas.
Leprechaun 4: In Space is a 1996 American science fiction comedy horror film directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith and written by Dennis Pratt. Warwick Davis stars as the titular leprechaun, who terrorizes a Marine crew aboard a spaceship in order to retrieve a princess he intends to wed.
Leprechaun in the Hood is a 2000 American black comedy-horror film directed by Rob Spera and the fifth installment in the Leprechaun series. The film follows Warwick Davis as the evil leprechaun Lubdan, who searches for his magic flute that three hoodlums stole and kills anyone who gets in his way.
Leprechaun 2 is a 1994 American fantasy comedy horror film directed by Rodman Flender and written by Turi Meyer and Al Septien. The sequel to Mark Jones' Leprechaun (1993) and the second entry in the Leprechaun series, the plot centers on the psychopathic leprechaun Lubdan as he hunts for a bride and for his gold.
Darren Lynn Bousman is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for his work in horror films. He has directed four of the Saw films: Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV, and Spiral. He also directed the horror musicals Repo! The Genetic Opera and The Devil's Carnival movies. Bousman is co-creator and writer of alternate reality games (ARG) and immersive experiences, The Tension Experience (2016), The Lust Experience (2017), Theatre Macabre (2018), iConfidant (2020), and One Day Die (2020).
Leprechaun is an American horror comedy film series consisting of eight films. Beginning with Leprechaun (1993), the series centers on a malevolent and murderous leprechaun named Lubdan who, when his gold is taken from him, resorts to any means necessary to reclaim it. None of the films in the series are presented in chronological order. Warwick Davis plays the title role in every film except for the 2014 film Leprechaun: Origins, and the 2018 film Leprechaun Returns, in which the character is respectively portrayed by Dylan Postl and Linden Porco. On St. Patrick's Day, all Leprechaun films are played on Syfy.
Mother's Day is a 2010 American psychological horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman. It is a loose remake of Charles Kaufman's Mother's Day and was written by Scott Milam and produced by Brett Ratner.
Movie 43 is a 2013 American anthology comedy film conceived by producer Charles B. Wessler. Featuring fourteen different storylines, each by a different director, including Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr, Rusty Cundieff, James Duffy, Griffin Dunne, Patrik Forsberg, James Gunn, Bob Odenkirk, Brett Ratner, Will Graham, and Jonathan van Tulleken, the film stars an ensemble cast led by Banks, Kristen Bell, Halle Berry, Gerard Butler, Seth MacFarlane, Leslie Bibb, Kate Bosworth, Josh Duhamel, Anna Faris, Richard Gere, Terrence Howard, Hugh Jackman, Johnny Knoxville, Justin Long, Jeremy Allen White, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloë Grace Moretz, Chris Pratt, Liev Schreiber, Seann William Scott, Emma Stone, Jason Sudeikis, Uma Thurman, Naomi Watts and Kate Winslet. Julianne Moore, Tony Shalhoub, Bob Odenkirk, Anton Yelchin and Shane Jacobson appear in storylines not included in the film's theatrical release.
The Devil's Carnival is a 2012 American musical horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Briana Evigan, Jessica Lowndes, Paul Sorvino, Emilie Autumn and Terrance Zdunich. The film marks the second collaboration of Bousman and writer/actor Terrance Zdunich, their previous work being the musical film Repo! The Genetic Opera. The film also brings back several of the cast members of Repo!, such as Sorvino, Alexa Vega, Bill Moseley and Nivek Ogre. The Devil's Carnival has Aesop's Fables and other folklore at the core of its story, with the main characters each representing a fable. Flanery's character John represents "Grief and His Due", Evigan's character Merrywood represents "The Dog and Its Reflection", and Lowndes' character Tamara represents "The Scorpion and the Frog", an animal fable that seems to have first emerged in Russia.
Leprechaun: Origins is a 2014 American horror film directed by Zach Lipovsky, written by Harris Wilkinson and starring Dylan Postl, with Melissa Roxburgh, Garry Chalk, and Brendan Fletcher co-starring in the film. It is a reboot of Leprechaun and the seventh installment in the Leprechaun franchise. WWE Studios President Michael Luisi has described the film as "a little darker, a little more traditional horror than the Warwick Davis ones that people remember".
Red Clover is a 2012 made for television horror film directed by Drew Daywalt. The movie was originally made under the title Red Clover, but was changed to Leprechaun's Revenge for a March 17, 2012 television release on the Syfy Channel. The title was switched back to Red Clover for its 2013 DVD release. Red Clover stars Billy Zane as a Massachusetts sheriff who must save his town from a homicidal leprechaun.
Tales of Halloween is a 2015 American comedy horror anthology film consisting of ten interlocking segments, each revolving around the holiday indicated by the title. Segments were directed by Neil Marshall, Darren Lynn Bousman, Axelle Carolyn, Lucky McKee, Andrew Kasch, Paul Solet, John Skipp, Adam Gierasch, Jace Anderson, Mike Mendez, Ryan Schifrin, and Dave Parker.
Abattoir is a 2016 American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and starring Dayton Callie, Jessica Lowndes, Joe Anderson, Lin Shaye, and Jay Huguley. It was written by Christopher Monfette. It premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 7, 2016.
Leprechaun Returns is a 2018 American comedy horror directed by Astron-6's Steven Kostanski, from a screenplay by Suzanne Keilly. It is the eighth installment in the Leprechaun franchise and a direct sequel to 1993's Leprechaun, disregarding all previous sequels. The film stars Taylor Spreitler as the daughter of Jennifer Aniston's character from the original film, who encounters the title creature 25 years after her mother trapped it in a well. Warwick Davis elected not to return as the Leprechaun, and Linden Porco took over the role for this film.
A Very Unlucky Leprechaun is a 1998 children's fantasy film starring Warwick Davis and directed by Brian Kelly in his feature film directorial debut. It was produced by Roger Corman, and written by Craig J. Nevius. The film debuted at the 1998 Galway Film Festival. The film was released on direct-to-video in the United States on August 18, 1998.
Spiral: From the Book of Saw is a 2021 American horror-thriller film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and written by Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger. It is a standalone sequel to Jigsaw (2017) and the ninth installment of the Saw film series. The film stars Chris Rock, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols, and Samuel L. Jackson, and follows police efforts to stop a Jigsaw copycat killer. The original creators of the series, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, as well as Rock and series veteran Kevin Greutert, serve as executive producers.
Warwick Davis is an English actor. He made his acting debut as Wicket W. Warrick in the Star Wars film Return of the Jedi (1983). He reprised the role in two television spin-offs: Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984) and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985). He has since appeared in several Star Wars films, portraying numerous different characters, usually in cameos. He appeared in the cult-classic Labyrinth (1986). He then played the protagonist in the Ron Howard-directed Willow (1988). In 1993, he portrayed the villainous Lubdan in Leprechaun. He returned to the role in Leprechaun 2 (1994), Leprechaun 3 (1995), Leprechaun 4: In Space (1996), Leprechaun in the Hood (2000), and Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood (2003).