Leprechaun in the Hood is a 2000 horror comedy film directed by Ron Spera, starring Warwick Davis, Ice-T, Red Grant, Anthony Montgomery, and Rashaan Nall. It is the fifth installment in the Leprechaun horror film series and the plot centers around hip-hop performers Butch (Grant), Postmaster P. (Montgomery), and Stray Bullet (Nall) who accidentally free an evil leprechaun from his magical prison.
We had the Leprechaun go to Las Vegas; we had the Leprechaun go to outer space. Now we have the Leprechaun in the hood. And boy is it as bad as it sounds. The film follows 3 talentless rappers who would rather sit around doing nothing all day than to get a job and be productive in society. They break into a rich producer’s house and steal a magical flute while awakening the Leprechaun and of course, chaos ensues. This is one of the laziest films I’ve ever seen. There’s no real progression of story, no real character development. We don’t learn anything new about the Leprechaun. And by the end of the film I was left scratching my head, wondering what I watched. And the ending. The ending was so stupid I have no words for it.
This movie is utterly ridiculous in terms of its characters. The main characters consist of Postmaster P. (Montgomery), Stray Bullet (Nall), and Butch (Grant), and are complete hacks, who have few likable qualities. Sure, the movie tries to portray these idiots as young men trying to attain greatness, however, they’re just dumb criminals who do the most ridiculous stuff. I hated all three of them and was glad to see them die off. Almost all of the other characters are caricatures who do the most. The only two characters worth mentioning are Mac Daddy O’Nassas (Ice-T) and the Leprechaun (Davis). Mac Daddy has great personality and probably the most motivation of all the characters. He has the best lines and the best moments. He’s a record producer who used the Leprechaun flute to become rich. It is only through the ridiculous actions of the main three that the Leprechaun is unleashed and MacDaddy has to imprison him again. The Leprechaun again is on the prowl and this time he wants his magic flute back, a flute that places listeners of its tune in a euphoric trance. Aside from Mac Daddy and the Leprechaun, everyone else is complete crap.
Some of the worst across the board. (1 out of 5)
The visuals are pretty decent. Warwick’s make-up, prosthetic, and clothing design look good. The kill sequences are alright, some are pretty good such as the body explosions, while others are pretty shitty. Some of the special effects are pretty decent. Some of the editing does seem a bit choppy, especially when they attempt to draw suspense
The best way to describe this film is generic. The soundtrack is something tries its best to come off as hip and cool but is a disaster. It’s weird how developers think that inserting hip hop and rap into an “African American” film is supposed to make it better. Well, sometimes (most times) it doesn’t. Even when the three do rap the scenes are straight up garbage.
The series has had decent practical effects and the kills are docent as well. (1 out of 5)
The casting leaves much to be desired and the performances are completely lackluster. The only people worth looking at are Ice-T and Warwick Davis, who actually give good performances. Everyone else just sucks. Although the main cast consist of Anthony Montgomery, Rashaan Nall, and Red Grant, the supporting is Dan Martin, Lobo Sebastian, Ivory Ocean, and Coolio.
The writing for this movie is a disaster. Sure, the premise is an interesting one but nearly every aspect of this film is garbage. It doesn’t even rate as a B-movie in my opinion. Sure, you could make the argument that it is a cheesy comedy horror but come on. First, Rob Spera doesn’t need to direct another movie. Ever. What little direction this film does have leads it right off a cliff into a rocky gorge below. The dialogue is some of the worst, the characterization is piss poor, the pacing is garbage. The so-called comedy lacks any kind of intelligence. It’s definitely not scary, suspenseful; there’s not even a jump scare. Then there’s the inconsistencies with the previous films. The Leprechaun’s origins, motivations, and abilities change every movie and the changes here are as stupid now as they were before. This is a prime example of writers with no talent and no imagination getting a break. And lastly, the idea of this film being set in “the hood” is just offensive. You can make a horror film with black protagonists that has nothing to do with the hood, gangsters, rappers, etc.
The series has been going downhill and now it’s practically dead. (1 out of 5)
The Verdict: In the end, Leprechaun in the Hood is a pathetic attempt to bring in a specific audience. Yeah, it was great seeing Warwick Davis do his thing, and Ice T is decent. Everything else about this film is trash. The acting is trash, the script is trash, the music is trash, the casting is trash (for the most part). Literally, nearly every aspect of the film is trash. Honestly, if you’re a fan of the other films you’ll probably like this one to. Me? I’m going in the direction of good movies and not this crap. Leprechaun gets 1 out of 5.
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