Movie Review: Leprechaun 4: In Space (1996)
Synopsis: While hunting down a mysterious alien interfering with mining operations, a team of space marines encounter a leprechaun that has kidnapped and is now successfully wooing an alien princess, Zarina, who is attracted to his gold. The marines blow up the leprechaun and bring both Zarina and his gold back to their ship. However, the creature isn't dead and soon begins to terrorize the marines while searching for his stolen treasure.
Who's in it? The movie stars Warwick Davis, Brent Jasmer, Jessica Collins, Rebecca Carlton and Guy Siner.
Review: My wife and I began watching Leprechaun 4: In Space a couple nights ago, immediately following Leprechaun 3 but not finishing the movie until last night. After binge-watching this movie series this week, I think we will be pausing for a bit because I am pretty sure this film might have melted some of my brain.
I guess I'll start with the good. My wife and I absolutely loved Princess Zarina (Carlton). My wife thought her makeup was awesome. I thought she was a cleverly funny character, the kind that can be as over the top as you want her to be, and it would still fit her personality. The dynamic between her and the leprechaun (Davis), looking to use each other while plotting each other's demise, was one of the better parts of the film.
The problem was the rest of the movie just doesn't pull its weight. As I told my wife, it seemed more like a low-budget Doctor Who episode than a movie, both from the weak acting and a plot that, at minimum, could have used a lot more backstory.
For example, I'm still confused if the leprechaun was an Earth leprechaun or an alien one. I also found myself questioning why a magical creature would need to use a gun.
The part with Dr. Mittenhand (Siner) also didn't help this film because it added an unneeded second villain in a movie that just wasn't long enough to justify that. It wasn't as though he was teaming up with the leprechaun either, he was just there with his own separate (spider-related) story, wasting movie time (along with the cross-dressing sergeant joke that went on for way too long) that could have been used more productively.
I had mixed opinions about the ending. There were some things I did like, such as the final battle taking place while the ship was about to self-destruct and the marines accidentally causing the leprechaun to grow in size. However, as has happened in other films from this series, the movie just ends with some parts of the story unresolved. It wasn't as many loose ends as some of the others, but I still had questions.
Final Opinion: I haven't ruled out watching some of the other Leprechaun movies but after seeing this one, I know for certain we will be at least taking a break before starting the series again.
My Grade: D+
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Here are some reviews of other movies from 1996:
Movie Review: Multiplicity (1996)
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