Leprechaun: Leprechaun In the Hood (2000)

Product Details

Actors: Warwick Davis, Ice-T, Anthony Montgomery, Rashaan Nall, Red Grant
Directors: Rob Spera
Writers: Rob Spera, Alan Reynolds, Doug Hall, Jon Huffman, Mark Jones
Producers: Bruce David Eisen
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 1
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: Lions Gate
DVD Release Date: March 28, 2000
Run Time: 90 minutes

List Price : ~~$9.98~~
Price : $7.99
You Save : $1.99 (20%)

Leprechaun In the Hood (2000)

Customer Reviews

SPOILERS SPOILERS
It has been said the good movies are merely entertaining, whereas great ones alter the way we think and feel about things. Leprechaun 'N the Hood is a great movie. Writer Doug Hall had a message he wanted to convey, and thankfully he came into contact with a director the caliber of Rob Spera to help him bring it to the masses. Spera was able to relay Hall's vision in a manner that was both entertaining and touching. The reason this film resonates with the audience is due to the characters and how they develop throughout the story. The plot revolves around three aspiring rappers and their dreams of fame and fortune as their ambition leads them down a road of pain and despair. As part of their Machiavellian plot for stardom, they are reduced to robbing a famous rap producer and end up stealing a magic flute that guarantees their success in the rap world. At the same time, they also inadvertently awaken the vile leprechaun. Our first impression is that the leprechaun is an abject and detestable creature, and perhaps he is. By the end of the movie however, the viewer can't help being moved to anything but compassion for him. It isn't so much that the leprechaun evolves during the movie, it is more that the viewer evolves as the story progresses. As Leprechaun 'N the Hood unfolds, we come to accept that the deplorable leprechaun resides within all of us. We realize that everyone has a leprechaun within, it is only a matter of how well we contain it and what events could lead it to manifest itself. In the case of Postmaster P., it is his greed and ambition that unleash the Leprechaun, and we all see the horrific results. Unlike ridiculous Hollywood fodder such as "It's a Wonderful Life" this movie will have a profound effect on viewers because the characters are realistic. They have real faults and weaknesses, and we can truly learn about others and ourselves by understanding them. This is a movie ideal for parents to watch with their children and then discuss afterwards. From the opening scene to the heart wrenching conclusion in which the leprechaun explains his plight in a poignant rap of his own, this movie will change the way you look at yourself and those around you. As the leprechaun explains in his song "I hate to resort so soon to magic, I haven't been la!d in so long it's tragic." Tragic indeed.

Until we learned that another "Leprechaun" film would explode onto the public's consciousness at the end of 2003, "Leprechaun in the Hood" a.k.a "Leprechaun 5" appeared to be the final installment in a series that had long worn out its welcome. The first three movies weren't all that bad in terms of entertainment value, with Warwick Davis developing his shtick against the backdrop of bad acting from unknown thespians, increasingly cheesy situations, lamer jokes and sight gags, and gorier killings. The amusement value of the "Leprechaun" franchise came to a screeching halt with the release of the fourth film, where the miniscule fairy turned up in a film set in space with disastrous results. Apparently scared by how bad a product they had turned out, the friendly folks at Trimark waited almost four years before returning to the land of the leprechauns. The result? Y2K's "Leprechaun in the Hood," an idea so outrageous, so full of pitfalls from the start that even trash cinema lovers stopped breathing for a heartbeat. Now we await the return of Davis in "Leprechaun: Back 2 Da Hood" and wonder where it all went wrong. Whatever it means, we are light years away from a fresh-faced Jennifer Aniston running from the malevolent monster back in the halcyon days of 1993. The phrase "You can never go home again" never resonated so strongly.
However pedestrian this film is, it is important to state that "Leprechaun 5" is vastly superior to its immediate predecessor. After watching the diminutive demon cackle his way through space, I didn't know what to expect from this film. I knew I would get some killings and see Davis deliver ham handed lines in a thick Irish brogue, but I swore I would toss my DVD player through the window before I endured a repeat of the fourth movie. Don't get me wrong: this movie still ranks as mediocrity incarnate, but it is at least watchable. Perhaps the appearance of Ice-T and the three actors who played the young rappers looking for a big break helped move this picture along. Even the guys who played the money grubbing minister and the cross dresser who has an unfortunate encounter with the leprechaun provided a few chuckles along the way. Overall, the performances here are head and shoulders above several entries in the series (look back to Bridget's wooden delivery in "Leprechaun 2" as a comparison).
The plot, such as it is, now finds the tiny terror once again turned to stone and vulnerable to thieving humans in search of gold. Enter Ice-T as Mack Daddy, a street thug with an Afro the size of a mountain who has heard that this statue hides some valuables. He especially wants to get his hands on a tiny golden flute that has the unique power to instantly spellbind anyone who hears it. In the course of securing the magical instrument, the leprechaun wakes up when Mack Daddy's accomplice takes a necklace off of the statue (shades of "Leprechaun 3"). After a pitched battle that sees the pimp taking weapons out of his afro (sigh), the little imp is re-imprisoned and we flash ahead about ten or twenty years to the present day. Mack is now a big shot record producer, always on the lookout to sign hot new gangsta rappers on his label. Around his wrist he wears that magic flute he stole so many years ago, and most people have no idea where his money or his talent come from. Postmaster P, Stray Bullet, and Butch, three kids who formed a group to sing songs with a positive message, certainly don't know about Mack's magical success story. When Mack Daddy gives the three a chance at stardom, Postmaster P turns him down because he doesn't want anything to do with the negativity of gangsta rap. Mack kicks the kids out, but the three come back at night to rob his house in order to get some money so they can afford to compete in a talent competition.
Regrettably, during the course of the robbery Mack Daddy takes a bullet and the leprechaun, sitting in a glass cage in the middle of Mack's office, is once again freed to maim and kill. It turns out that Mack Daddy didn't die, but the kids stole his flute and he wants it back. So does the leprechaun, who promptly kills anyone the three rappers encounter after the robbery. The rest of the movie is a series of ridiculous situations involving these characters as they try to stay one step ahead of the others. Throw in a cross dresser, a naughty rap song about Jesus at the local church, a funny black grandmother, fly girls from hell (sigh again), an ending so incredibly stupid that I slipped into a coma after I watched it, and you have all the elements of an incredibly cheesy production that plays more like a slapstick comedy than a horror film. "Leprechaun in the Hood" is definitely for diehard fans of the series only. Again, at least it is better than part four.
The DVD for this movie is the same as any other Trimark "Leprechaun" disc: some trailers and a good picture transfer. Again, there is no commentary for the movie from Warwick Davis. You have to admit that after watching a few of these movies, you would love to hear what the lead actor has to say about his character. As bad as some of these movies have been, I really don't blame Warwick Davis for reprising his role as the leprechaun. Parts for the permanently diminutive are scarce in Hollywood, to say the least, so beating this dead horse for yet another paycheck is something I would do in similar circumstances. "Leprechaun" cannot last forever, can it?