On this day in horror history, writer-director Mark Jones’s Leprechaun opened in 1993. The movie tells the tale of – you guessed it – a killer leprechaun (Warwick Davis) who goes on a roaring rampage of revenge after Aniston steals his gold.
The movie marks Aniston’s film debut and Trimark’s first theatrical release.
Jones wrote the script as a straightforward horror film. He originally envisioned the title character as a “horrible, murderous creature.” But Davis added more comedic bits before filming began. Jones agreed and they shot it as a horror-comedy.
That said, several scenes had gore added in reshoots after the producers wanted the film to appeal to older audiences. I guess the tactic worked as the movie grossed $8.6M in the US alone. And all on a budget of just under $1 million.
As you might imagine, reviews for the flick were pretty negative. Most still are. But that didn’t stop the franchise from spawning six fucking sequels and a reboot.
Do you dig Leprechaun?
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