 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Connie's Warwick Davis Fanpage and Leprechaun Center | |||||
|
|
Other stuff: Email - Guestbook |
 |
 |
Leprechaun 4: In Space
Released 1996 by Trimark Pictures
Directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith
Starring Warwick Davis, Debbe Dunning, Rebekah Carlton, Brent Jasmer
From the back cover of the video:
On a planet in a distant galaxy, a power hungry Leprechaun holds a beautiful alien princess hostage in order to marry her for her royal title. With her title and his beloved gold, he'll be able to rule the universe. While making his maniacal plans, what he doesn't count on is an invading platoon of marines from Earth to save the princess and foil his plans. An accomplished trickster, the Leprechaun stows himself away on the orbiting spaceship and wreaks havoc on the crew in an attempt to recapture his bride.
Leprechaun 4 marks a departure from the formula that made the series famous, and met with mixed reviews from the Leprechaun fanbase. Some people think it's the best Leprechaun movie ever, while others, including some very devoted fans of the series, are not exactly thrilled with it.
Apart from the killer Leprechaun on the rampage, the characters and situations in the first three movies were more or less based on real life. The fourth movie would be a far-out, futuristic fantasy even if the Leprechaun wasn't in the story. It has the most complex plot of the series, and the large cast of human characters includes some very strange individuals who are utterly unlike anybody you would ever meet in the real world. A lot of time is spent on developing the personalities and relationships of all these people.
While some people enjoy the weird human characters, others would rather just watch the Leprechaun. To make time for all the human interaction, the Leprechaun has gone back to lurking in the shadows like he did in the first movie. And he doesn't quite seem to be himself. He spends a lot of time soliloquizing when he could be wrecking the place. He's more interested in politics than in gold, and seems to prefer gunplay to magic. There are no rhymes, and fewer jokes than in Leprechaun 3. Although there are more killings than ever before, many of them lack the zany creativity that we've come to expect. They also lack the gore we've come to expect, but that's not a bad thing - it's the humor that's fun, not the blood. The word "Leprechaun" is never used in the movie at all, except in the credits - they call him an alien instead.
With all the wild characters in Leprechaun 4, the Leprechaun can seem like a side character who's in danger of getting lost in the crowd. The German edition of the movie really illustrates the problem. It was called Space Platoon, and the cover art features the space marines, not the Leprechaun. The writing near the top of the box, which is not legible in the picture posted above, is all about Dr. Mittenhand. It's only in the box's back-cover summary that you find out it's a Leprechaun movie.
There's a lot going on in this film. The Leprechaun is not the heroes' only enemy; his intended bride is supposed to be as evil as he is (she isn't, but she does have a lot more cleavage). The metalhead sergeant turns dangerous at the end and has to be destroyed. Harold the perverted lab assistant is a fun character, and I wouldn't have minded if he'd had a little more screen time. He's naughty without being a complete caricature, and doesn't overshadow the Leprechaun in the least.
But then there's Dr. Mittenhand. He's definitely meant to compete with the Leprechaun for attention. His physical appearance is strikingly bizarre. Although he doesn't appear to actually be insane, he fits the mad scientist stereotype. Although he doesn't spout hatred, he fits a few Nazi stereotypes too. He's obviously supposed to be a humorous character. He turns into a giant spider-creature after the Leprechaun force-feeds him a DNA cocktail (through his skull, no less). Some people think Mittenhand is a blast; others don't like having a second monster in a Leprechaun movie, and think that he diminishes the fun by cutting into the Leprechaun's screen time.
Still, there are some great Leprechaun moments in this film. Although the Leprechaun is relatively subdued this time around, he's lots of fun when he kicks into action. He has some hilarious lines; he just doesn't have enough of them. At the beginning of the movie, it's fun watching the suave, tuxedo-clad Lep pitch woo at the princess. The lightsaber killing is priceless, not to mention the infamous rebirth scene. The Leprechaun's John Wayne imitation is as memorable as his Elvis impersonation in Lep 3.
Although this movie is more controversial than the first three, it's still fun. The Leprechaun is always engaging, so there's no such thing as a bad Leprechaun movie. But this film would have been better if less time had been spent on the side characters and subplots, and more time had been spent on the Leprechaun. His wildly entertaining antics are the reason for the popularity of the series.
Here's a great bit of Leprechaun trivia. According to Dave Tripet, the executive in charge of production for the first three movies, Leprechaun 4 originally started out as a spoof of Apollo 13. A senior Trimark executive saw the promo art for Apollo 13 and immediately had artwork made up replacing Tom Hanks' face on the poster with the Leprechaun's face, and this is what started the script work for the movie.
Director's Comments
And for even more inside information, here's a comment from director Brian Trenchard-Smith. This was originally posted on IMDb's Lep 4 board in June 2006, and is reprinted here with permission from the director after we exchanged a few emails. Brian also provided this picture of the Lep 4 crew on board the spaceship. And now for the director's statement:
I pitched the Aliens matrix to Trimark in response to their Apollo 13 concept on the grounds that this could offer more opportunity for action. Privately I knew it offered me great opportunity for genre parody lunacy, something I enjoy from years of B movie fandom and analysis. In fairness to Trimark, I nonetheless outlined the Aliens chestburster scene as the dick burster moment you see in the film. They liked it, knew it would be a talking point scene. But in truth they probably hoped for more overt horror. I knew the film would have a longer shelf life if I could reach heights of Mystery Theatre 3000 wackiness not achieved by others working in B movies. The breast-baring scene was a response to the distributor's requirement that there must be one scene of topless nudity. So, let's find the most absurd motivation for a topless moment. I developed the script with my regular writing partner to reference as many horror and sci-fi favorites of the past as we could, and frankly to see how far we could go, how much cheese we could get away with. Unintentional cheese is one thing, Lep 4 knew exactly what it was doing; this is ripe gorgonzola for the initiated; those who like me, and it would seem - you, who love B Movies old and new, enjoy their cliches, and are intrigued by what they achieved on their meagre budgets. Squashing the Princess was originally intended, but budget restrictions saved her life. Rebekkah was fun, did a great job capturing the tone. Takes a good actress to pull off bad dialogue with conviction. Thanks for your appreciation.
Brian Trenchard-Smith
Director, Leprechaun In SpaceBrian expands on this here in an MP3 interview on the Your Video Store website. The Leprechaun section starts around minute 22 of the interview, and includes information on Brians' idea for Leprechaun 5.
There's also an extended version of the story in the June 16, 2008 entry on Brian's blog. The blog answers the often-asked question about the movie's budget: it was $1.6 million.
Brian added the following quote in August 2006:
CELEBRATORY SATIRE: Why in Space? - They ask. Simple: because of the very absurdity of the notion, a deliberate rather than a desperate choice. Many low budget sci-fi horror movies are unintentionally absurd. They repeat formulaic situations, contrive distributor mandated nudity, etc. with a straight face. And sometimes they think it will be really cool and cutting edge to set the same old stuff in space. So what do you do when you are given one of these to make? LEP IN SPACE takes standard sci-fi cliches and favorite moments from many better ( and bigger budgeted films ) then inhales them through a hash pipe. It is intended for sci-fi/horror geeks who love the genre, but can occasionally giggle at the object of their passion. Enjoyment of the movie for guys requires a 90 minute return to puberty, armed with a love of sci-fi flicks stretching back to the 50's. The film is also intended to showcase the comedic talents of the great Warwick Davis. He rose to the occasion in every wacky situation.
Fangoria magazine has a Leprechaun 4 article on page 28 of issue number 165. However, this brief article is a review/plot description rather than an interview or on-set report. It doesn't have any pictures, and doesn't contain any new information about the movie.
A soundtrack album was not released for this movie.
IMDb has the
trailer, a message board, and much more.
