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‘Leprechaun Returns’ Is Horror Comedy Gold

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The cycle of horror franchises is seemingly perpetual. Many starting in the 80’s with following sequels pumped out direct-to-video/DVD/VOD and so on to varying degrees of quality. Most are cash-grabs, but when you find a horror franchise sequel, regardless of format, that perfectly captures the spirit of the original, it must be lauded. Which is why I cannot recommend Leprechaun Returns enough!

Image via IMDB

A direct continuation of the original 1993 horror comedy, the story follows Lila (Taylor Spreitler) as she journeys to North Dakota AU Sorority’s brand new, eco-friendly house… which just so happens to be on the site of the dead fairytale creature. And as the old saying goes (or at least it should) you can’t keep a good Leprechaun down! The Leprechaun soon returns to his old habits of one-liners and murder as he tries to track down his pot ‘o gold while slaughtering any sorority sisters in his way!

Being a Syfy Channel TV movie, it’s easy to assume it’s just a schlockfest when there’s some real magic at work here. Directed by Astron-6 alum/SFX artist Steven Kostanski, CG is minimal and flows with a truly impressive array of practical work for all sorts of gory kills and mystical mayhem. Let’s just say the Leprechaun makes some creative use of the green sorority house’s solar panels and a wayward drone. The make-up on the Leprechaun is like that of the old while making it gnarlier to set it as its own. Gross green skin, a flowing red beard, and piercing golden eyes. If you’re in need of a practical heavy movie, this one’s for you.

The script by Ash VS Evil Dead writer Suzanne Keilly stands out in the best ways a horror comedy should. The Leprechaun’s one-liners are as fresh as ever, and there’s some self-referential bits that cracked me up. In particular, the shoe obsessed Leprechaun’s reaction to Crocs were hysterical. The characters are fairly typical of this sort of Greek Week terror. There’s the sorority sisters, some frat guys, and our main character who has some secrets to be unveiled.

Image via IMDB

As well as the return of the Leprechaun, Mark Holton as Ozzie from the first movie makes a comeback. It’s interesting to note that this is also the first time in the franchise that any sequel has connected to another, especially the first. On the Leprechaun himself, while Warwick Davis sadly does not return for this outing, his replacement does a fine job in filling his finely buckled shoes. Linden Porco is able to cackle and crack-wise while cracking skulls with his lepre-claws just fine.

Leprechaun Returns is not without its faults, but mainly can be attributed to a low-budget. Minimal cast means a minimal amount of kills. For the most part, those characters don’t really stand-out too much aside from being Leprechaun fodder. And while a majority share of the jokes land, some felt like they were trying a bit too hard to be current, as in millenials, eco-friendliness, that sort of thing.

Overall however, Leprechaun Returns is most definitely the Leprechaun sequel fans have been craving as much as the titular monster has been craving his gold. Truly recapturing the sickly green heart of the original and setting up for further maniacal misadventures.

Leprechaun Returns is out on digital/VOD December 11th, 2018 and will be airing on The Syfy Channel in 2019.

Image via IMDB

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Editorial

She Divorced a Ghost and Then Adopted a Possessed Clown Doll

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We won’t pretend to understand all the nuances of being a medium. Some people believe and some don’t. It might be a matter of walking in someone else’s shoes for a day. Whatever you believe, it’s a slow news day so we thought we’d bring you this interesting story.

It comes from the New York Post where we are introduced to a woman named Brocarde who says she married a ghost named Edwardo. Brocarde contends that Edwardo cheated on her which resulted in their divorce. Brocarde, who is also a musician, is making a video series about her journeys and that led her to Nevada and the Clown Motel.

There she adopted a clown doll which she says is possessed by a spirit. After bringing it home with the motel’s permission to do a paranormal study, her ghostly ex, Edwardo, resurfaced and became jealous.

Brocarde told The New York Post:

“I can instantly tell when Edwardo has a point to make, his energy is very powerful. His presence has been very manageable these days and I only see him from time to time, he does not like the clown though, he watches him and I keep finding the clown by the door, subtly is not Edwardo’s strong point.

He has nothing to be concerned about, as I have no intention of marrying a clown ghost, although that would be funny. The clown is here for research purposes only, and I definitely don’t need to get into a paranormal love triangle.

I know the clown is possessed, so perhaps Edwardo has picked up on some bad energy and is just looking out for me. I’m fascinated by the prospect of spirit vessels and haunted objects, it’s a whole new world for me, so I’m trying to learn and absorb as much as possible. 

That’s why I’ve enjoyed filming this series so much as I’m meeting people who’ve had fascinating ghost adventures, not unlike myself.”

The spirit inside the doll is a carnival clown according to Brocarde. She claims it was underappreciated and laughed at in its human form and that ridicule might have formed a bonding psychic link.

“When I connect with spirits, it’s often their emotions that I connect with first. Sometimes an un-rested spirit attaches itself to a physical entity, in this case this clown doll had once been owned by or come into contact with a man who worked as a clown.

This man was tortured by his dreams of stardom but was condemned to life in the carnival where he was underappreciated. I suppose as an artist, I can relate to this, so I feel that’s why he chose me to convey this message.”

Brocarde is currently conducting a study on the doll because she thinks the spirit inside needs rescuing. She wanted to take it away from the motel where she says the hundreds of other clowns are competing for guest’s attention. But the process is slow.

“At the moment I only know snippets of information about him,” Brocarde says, “so over the coming months I’m going to try and understand more. So far he’s been a peaceful entity. He’s often moving on his own, but nothing that would cause me alarm. I’m hoping that doesn’t change now I have two ghosts in the house!”

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Movies

‘The Strangers: Chapter 1’ Opening Surpasses ‘Prey at Night’

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Even with its mediocre reviews The Strangers: Chapter 1 has scared up quite a killing at the box office, making it the biggest horror film to open in 2024 so far. Ticket buyers shelled out $11.8 million domestically for the home invasion thriller over the weekend, surpassing the last film in the series Strangers: Prey at Night (2018) which grabbed almost $10.5 million upon its opening.

The year started out promisingly with fans anticipating big studio movies such as Night Swim, Imaginary, and Tarot on the slate. But those fell flat both critically and commercially, casting a pall over the box office, although Night Swim’s opening is almost on par with The Strangers Chapter 1.

It wasn’t until March that things started to improve critically with the release of Immaculate and then in April, The First Omen. Still, good reviews could pull either of those films into the $10 million opening weekend club.

However, his has been a streamer year for horror movies, with many genre originals being released on paid subscription services like Shudder. Viewers seem to appreciate the convenience of staying home to watch Late Night With the Devil, Infested, and the upcoming In a Violent Nature. Even this year’s breakout hit Abigail successfully moved from theaters to home digital just three weeks after its theatrical release.

With the year half over, there are still plenty of horror movies headed our way. To name a few, there is Longlegs, Cuckoo, MaXXXine, and Trap still loaded in the chamber for 2024.

The Strangers: Chapter 1, as the title suggests, is the first in director Renny Harlin’s trilogy within this universe. Whether or not the remaining two will be as lucrative on their opening weekends despite tepid reviews remains to be seen.

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Editorial

Alleged Former Haunted Museum Staff Member Tattles on Zak Bagans

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Zak Bagans has been getting a bum rap lately thanks to some of his former Ghost Adventures teammates. But he’s also getting roasted by one of his alleged former Haunted Museum employees in Las Vegas

The apparent team member took to Reddit in an AMA (Ask Me Anything), inviting subscribers to ask them about their job including juicy details regarding their famous boss. It resulted in a windfall of queries that came with some surprising answers. 

Bagans was one of the first to take his ghost hunting prowess to television creating a successful reality show that featured some of the world’s most haunted places. Coupled with his good looks, reactive histrionics and penchant for building tension Ghost Adventures became a pop culture phenomenon. 

Throughout his travels, Bagans began to collect cursed items enough to fill a vintage house in Nevada which he eventually repurposed and named The Haunted Museum. Guests are able to visit his collection for a fee and are directed through its many rooms by a tour guide.

The YouTube channel TheSneezingMonkey featured the AMA Reddit thread on his channel with an update to follow.

Since the ex-employee cannot, or won’t, be verified, suffice it to say that nothing revealed in the lengthy discussion should be taken as fact. This could be a disgruntled ex-employee with nothing better to do than talk smack about the television icon who has managed to keep his show on the air for 16 years. Or, some of it could be true.

But that is for you to decide.

The Sneezing Monkey

The Sneezing Monkey

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