The First Concept For Leprechaun Was 'Much More Horrific'
"Leprechaun" is one of those horror franchises that keeps on keepin' on. It's not very good, and yet, we, the movie-watching public, return to these movies again and again, even as they grow progressively more ridiculous (the Leprechaun has been to space once and the hood twice, folks). One recurring element in all of the "Leprechaun" movies is a sense of humor, particularly from the titular Leprechaun, played in the majority of the movies by Warwick Davis. Like Freddy Krueger in the "Nightmare on Elm Street" sequels, the Leprechaun is a jokester; he likes to quip when he's killing.
But as silly as the series has grown, there was a point in time when the original film was going to be much different. Specifically, it was going to be something darker and more horror-forward. Things changed, and a sense of humor prevailed. But imagine an alternate timeline when the first "Leprechaun" movie was a full-blown serious horror picture designed to scare the hell out of you. Just imagine it.
'More of a personality'
In "Leprechaun," a killer Leprechaun (played by Warwick Davis) ends up in present-day America and comes to believe a group of youths (including Jennifer Aniston!) have stolen his pot of gold. His solution: Kill them all. It's a very silly movie made all the sillier by the humor Davis intentionally injected into his part. However, earlier versions of the script called for something darker. In the oral history of "Leprechaun" published by Mel Magazine, Mark Jones, the writer and director of the film, admitted his first crack at the script was more of a straightforward scary movie:
"I wrote a script and tried to try to peddle it around town for four years. The first draft was much more horrific. The Leprechaun didn't talk much — it was just a creature that a guy had put in a crate in Ireland because he got his gold. Then the Leprechaun went on a killing spree. People liked it, but I didn't get any green light or anything. So I sort of changed it to have more of a personality."
You have to wonder just how horrific a movie about a killer Leprechaun could be. It's worth noting that the 2014 reboot "Leprechaun: Origins" attempted to play things straight with a serious tone, and the results were, well, kind of boring. In other words, injecting humor into the concept was probably the best way to go. Whether or not such an idea warrants an entire film series is another question.