Leprechaun 3 is a 1995 comedy fantasy horror directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith, starring Warwick Davis, John Gatins, Lee Armstrong, and Caroline Williams.  Set as the third installment in the Leprechaun horror film series the story follows the vengeful Leprechaun who is in Las Vegas searching for his stolen golden coin.

Positives:

• Good dialogue
• Good performance by Armstrong
• Good premise

Negatives:

• Unlikable characters
• Poorly written characters
• Choppy plot
• Lackluster story
• Terrible choice of music
• Poor humor

Plot:  Tammy and Scott’s relationship was more than rushed.  It was totally forced.  Scott’s transformation into the Leprechaun was actually a pretty good premise.  Tammy struggling in Las Vegas could’ve been further explored as well as Scott’s life to help make their roles feel more concrete.  The ending was a big anti-climatic.  (2 out of 5)

Characters:  Tammy (Armstrong) is the only likable character.  Everybody else is either too sleazy or too stupid.  Scott (Gatins) is not only a terrible character but a horribly written one.  No one’s that green and he’s just over-the-top. Everything he does is just obvious like he’s never interacted with another person or interacted with another person ever. He’s this total good doer that literally has no bad bone in his body.  Loretta (Williams), Fazio (DeMita), and Mitch (Callan) are all douchebags and unlikable characters. (2 out of 5)

Cast:  Lee Armstrong is the only person outside of Davis that has any standout performance.  Gatins sucked as the Scott persona but as the Leprechaun he’s excellent.  Armstrong and Gatins relationship is completely forced.  (3 out of 5)

Visuals:  Pretty decent use of practical effects.  Scott’s transformation is gradual and the make-up effects look decent.  Other effects are just hilarious such as Loretta’s exaggerated lips, breast, and butt as well as the silly robot that electrocuted Mitch.  (3 out of 5)

Score:  Don’t really understand why but the music is literally the worse.  It makes the film feel lighthearted like it’s a Disney movie or a Lifetime film.  (1 out of 5)

Writing:  Way too much humor.  Leprechaun walking into the hospital as one of the staff was hardly believable.  The romance is poorly written and poorly executed.  However, the leprechaun’s dialogue is pretty well written (although not always executed well). There was another weakness introduced in the form of the medallion but no exposition of where it came from or who put it on him.  Not really a fan of Smith’s direction. (1 out of 5)

The Verdict:  In the end, Leprechaun 3 is an alright film and a bit of a step back than its predecessor Leprechaun 2.  It does have an interesting premise, good performance by Armstrong, and some clever dialogue on the leprechaun’s part.  However, the film suffers from some REALLY unlikable characters, poor humor, poorly executed story, lacking performances, and TERRIBLY chosen music.  Leprechaun 3 gets 2 out of 5.