# How Many of Those "Evil Leprechaun" Movies Did They Make? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 23, 2012, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009 "2012-06-23T01:44:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009/1 "2012-06-23T01:44:36Z")
I saw one of these recently…it has to be one of the crazier ideas for a horror movie. Anyway, they must of been (financially) successful-there were several sequels/prequels. My question-why were the little monsters so hostile? ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009/2 "2012-06-23T01:50:40Z")
In Episode I (Meesas seesa a Rainbow) it is revealed JarJarBinks was the leader of the tribe. I think that says it all 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009/3 "2012-06-23T01:52:27Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I saw one of these recently..it has to be one of the crazier ideas for a horror movie. > Anyway, they must of been (financially) successful-there were several sequels/prequels. My question-why were the little monsters so hostile? In most folklore, the vast majority of supernatural entities are evil, or at least extremely dangerous if crossed. Good ones are few and far between. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009/4 "2012-06-23T01:59:45Z")
The first few movies seemed to at least try to be straight ahead horror if a bit campy, the hero was a descendant of the person who originally beat the caun’. Then came the endless sequels which had changed the genre to comedy/horror much like Evil Dead, and the last couple were something like Leprecaun 5:Back 2 Tha Ghetto 3. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009/5 "2012-06-23T03:06:42Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > In most folklore, the vast majority of supernatural entities are evil, or at least extremely dangerous if crossed. Good ones are few and far between. This. Most dwarves/elves/fairies/goblins (the distinctions are rarely clear) are actively hostile. Some are simply alien and governed by alien rules. Exceedingly few are benevolent. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009/6 "2012-06-23T03:39:03Z")
Sounds like a scary world where some of you don’t have access to IMDB or Wikipedia. 🙂 The main theme of the Leprechaun films is that someone takes his gold, so he goes on a rampage to claim it back, with a lot of collateral damage along the way. Apparently a new one is coming out, without Warwick Davis. Starring a 'rassler. > [@Lumpy](#): > > In most folklore, the vast majority of supernatural entities are evil, or at least extremely dangerous if crossed. Good ones are few and far between. A lot of them are of the vein: “I’ll be ambivalent to you unless you screw me, then it’s payback time. Sometimes I might help if you’re nice.” Like domovoi (house spirit), who can be nice or tricksy dicks, but not murderous usually. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009/7 "2012-06-23T03:44:58Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > A lot of them are of the vein: “I’ll be ambivalent to you unless you screw me, then it’s payback time. Sometimes I might help if you’re nice.” Like domovoi (house spirit), who can be nice or tricksy dicks, but not murderous usually. I still say domovoi (sometimes domoyev), brownies, phouka/pooka are the exception. OTTOMH Leshies and Leshovicas will kill you if you take too much from the forest. The Bannik will kill you (probably by skinning) if you forget to dedicate every third firing of the coals to him (Banniks inhabit public baths) And then there’s Baba Yaga. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009/8 "2012-06-23T04:26:58Z")
And redcaps are the Scottish/N English evil murderous little fucker version of leprechauns. Clurichauns are like leprechauns except drunker and bigger jerks, although not evil per se. I don’t recall THE Leprechaun drinking much, but he does smoke up in one of the “Hood” movies. Wikipedia’s description of Bannik: > [@](#): > > The Bannik had the ability to predict the future. One consulted him by standing with one’s back exposed in the half-open door of the bath. The Bannik would gently stroke one’s back if all boded well; but if trouble lay ahead, he would strike with his claws. Well, yeah, I’d say a monster clawing up your back is the definition of “trouble.” ETA: who says video games never teach you anything? I learned all these Slavic ones from _Quest for Glory IV_. The domovoi was harmless, the leshy I think you kill you if you tried hard enough to piss him off, the Rusalka could kill you if you were stupid, and Baba Yaga had many opportunities to eat you. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009/9 "2012-06-23T20:29:50Z")
A couple of years ago, a bad-movie-watching group I belong to held an event called Leprethon - [all six _Leprechaun_ movies](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leprechaun_%28franchise%29) in a row. Only two of us survived to the end. I really can’t recommend the experience. My recollection is that _Leprechaun 3_ is the least awful, if that’s of any value to anyone. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009/10 "2012-06-23T20:38:01Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > ETA: who says video games never teach you anything? I learned all these Slavic ones from _Quest for Glory IV_. The domovoi was harmless, the leshy I think you kill you if you tried hard enough to piss him off, the Rusalka could kill you if you were stupid, and Baba Yaga had many opportunities to eat you. Yep, Shadows Of Darkness was fun, had high replay value, and was obviously written by somebody who knew Slavic mythology. If it didn’t have so many bugs, I’d give it five out of five. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009/11 "2012-06-23T21:14:06Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > My question-why were the little monsters so hostile? From wiki > [@](#): > > The leprechaun is said to be a solitary creature, whose principal occupation is making and mending shoes, and who enjoys practical jokes. According to William Butler Yeats, the great wealth of these fairies comes from the “treasure-crocks, buried of old in war-time”, which they have uncovered and appropriated.[11] According to McAnally the leprechaun is the son of an “evil spirit” and a “degenerate fairy” and is “not wholly good nor wholly evil”. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009/12 "2012-06-23T21:57:48Z")
[Extensive list](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000582/) ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009/13 "2012-06-24T00:32:34Z")
If you want the experience of watching one of the movies with your snarky hilarious friends, but without the pain of actually watching the movie, you can check out this episode of [How Did This Get Made?](http://www.earwolf.com/episode/leprechaun-in-the-hood/) ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009/14 "2012-06-24T22:27:22Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Apparently a new one is coming out, without Warwick Davis. Starring a 'rassler. A remake, not a new one. Starring a midget wrestler whose gimmick is that he’s a leprechaun that lives under the ring… And since it’s being made by WWE, expect it to only come out on about a half dozen screens then be on the shelves of Walmart the following tuesday. Funnily, before Friends, the original Leprechaun was probably Jennifer Aniston’s most known role. (either that or playing Ferris Bueller’s sister on the flop TV version) ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009/15 "2012-06-24T22:51:39Z")
I’d like to see a comedy movie include a hot-tempered Irish dwarf who gets furiously violent whenever anyone calls him a leprechaun. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009/16 "2012-06-24T23:23:56Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > A remake, not a new one. Starring a midget wrestler whose gimmick is that he’s a leprechaun that lives under the ring… > > And since it’s being made by WWE, expect it to only come out on about a half dozen screens then be on the shelves of Walmart the following tuesday. > > Funnily, before Friends, the original Leprechaun was probably Jennifer Aniston’s most known role. (either that or playing Ferris Bueller’s sister on the flop TV version) The last one came out in 2003. The next one comes out in 2013. It is now 2012, ergo it is a new one because it comes out in the future. Johnny Depp was also in the first _A Nightmare on Elm Street_ before anyone heard of him. > [@Lumpy](#): > > I’d like to see a comedy movie include a hot-tempered Irish dwarf who gets furiously violent whenever anyone calls him a leprechaun. Speaking of people before you heard of them, Peter Dinklage was an writer of some sort in _Elf_. The main character repeatedly mistakes him for one of Santa’s elves due to naivete. PD gets violent in response, but not Leprechaun violent. And he’s American, and doesn’t use corny puns. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009/17 "2012-06-25T01:49:50Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > The last one came out in 2003. The next one comes out in 2013. It is now 2012, ergo it is a new one because it comes out in the future. Whatever, it’s still worth pointing out it’s not a sequel. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009/18 "2012-06-25T03:12:12Z")
So, when are they gonna make one about a [clurichaun?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluricaun) That would be fun! 🙂 (The clurichaun, or cluricaune, is another traditional Irish fairy, characterized by being always drunk. Featured in a story in [_The Callahan Touch,_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0441001335/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_g14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0D21X4PJXK8W0SFSMSMS&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846) by Spider Robinson.) ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009/19 "2012-06-25T08:58:48Z")
Thanks-it really is amazing that you can make money , making crappy movies as stupid as the “Leprechaun” series. But garbage sells, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009/20 "2012-06-25T14:54:13Z")
According to IMDb, the original movie cost $900,000 to make, and grossed $8,556,940 in the US alone. That’s the kind of return they like to repeat. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-those-evil-leprechaun-movies-did-they-make/626009.md?page=2)