Review of Leprechaun in the Hood (2000) by Adam R — 19 Nov 2011

"Leprechaun: In the Hood" isn't the mess its title might indicate. However, it does mark a case of wasted potential, a promising blaxploitation-spoofing beginning giving way to an uninspired, bloody jaunt around Compton. Warwick Davis is clearly having fun, treating the Leprechaun's inane, pseudo-menacing couplets with just enough tongue-in-cheek wit to keep the proceedings from getting too silly (though he never makes the character seem menacing).

A trio of aspiring rappers steals the gold jewelry belonging to record label magnate Mack Daddy (Ice-T in fine, albeit one-dimensional, form) in an effort to buy new gear and make it big. However, Mack's fortune turns out to belong to the malicious leprechaun, who will stop at nothing to get the treasure back. Likewise, the gangster music man is in hot pursuit as well, operating on greed and the knowledge of the bloodshed the unleashed leprechaun can cause.

Needless to say "In the Hood" isn't treated seriously by any of the cast and crew behind this fifth installment in the "Leprechaun" series. From the over-the-top, gory kills (many of which are mysteriously truncated with a fade to black late in the film) to the casual drug use by man and Irish trickster spirit alike to "Lep's" goofy rap video at the end, the diminutive monster obviously isn't supposed to be related to Freddy Krueger.

That said, the comedic tone can only take goodwill toward the movie so far. The aforementioned, essentially censored deaths late in the movie reflect a laziness that makes the flick more and more frustrating as its overlong running time progresses. Little touches like the exaggerated blaxploitation opening (Ice-T in full regalia, poofy afro, platform shoes, and all) and the extended "Boyz n the Hood" by way of "Undercover Brother" first act makes the tedium of Lep's killing spree and the lads' attempts to escape the wrath of the twisted cherub and record producer drag all the more.

There are worse horror movies, straight and satiric, but if only "In the Hood" delivered on the promise of the latter and/or hewed a bit more closely to the former rather than wallowing uneasily in the middle.