Silly nonsense about a red clover removed from the "burial" plot of an ancient creature brought over to Keening, Massacheusettes from "the old country" (Ireland) by immigrants, using its magic to attain affluence! It had slaughtered folks in the township before being put in the ground. The one accidentally responsible for its release (red-headed hottie, Courtney Halverson) didn't realize that removing the clover from the ground of a tree covered in horseshoes (kryptonite to the leprechaun) would release it. Anyway, Keening is in for a world of hurt as the creature is always hungry for gold and will kill anyone in its way. This isn't a grotesque make-up dwarf Warwick Davis this go-around, but a creature resembling something which looks to have been born from tree and dirt, with sharp claws and a misshapen appearance. Halverson is supported by Billy Zane as her father (he plays the part as tongue-in-cheek as possible) and sheriff of the town that starts to rack up quite the body count and William Devane as her fairies-and-goblins-believing alcoholic grandfather. Devane is the kind of pops who taught Halverson to hunt when she was ten and drive when she was twelve. He has been the "town kook" that everyone finds a laughingstock until the leprechaun turns out to be legit. Salverson is left standing when all is said and done, as practically everyone is dead by film's end. The reason for the absence of the mother is quite a reveal...Zane lost her during a retail store Black Friday sale! A wooden staff with four horseshoes is the weapon of choice in this absurd horror show. With only four days to re-bury the leprechaun, a clover mark on Salverson looses a "flesh leaf" on her hand each day that passes when she hasn't found the "four horseshoes" needed for the staff weapon. The plot is excremental, and the cast just accepts that, performing this whole fiasco with a wink, totally avoiding any sort of sense of seriousness. There's just no way to tell a story like this with a straight face. There's plenty of ripped flesh and bloodshed as the leprechaun goes on its killing spree. Even a princess of her town's St. Patrick's Day parade isn't safe as her golden crown serves as quite the tasty dish for the creature to *eat*. Ultimately, characters like a deputy (Azure Parsons) and her brother (Dave Davis; also Salverson's love interest) try to help stop the creature but only stand to be gutted (yep, there are intestines plucked from torsos as well) or slashed for their trouble. Salverson is nice to look at and has a toughness about her that helps the film, but vets like Devane and Zane are just what this Grade-Z horror film needs in order to not totally abandon it. When a leprechaun creature is driving a car into a news reporter of a town gossip rag, you kind of have to just throw your hands up and either accept this on its own terms or exit stage left. This is the kind of horror film where a bunch of the principle cast dies in quick succession. Don't say you haven't been warned.
Review of Red Clover
