By Melissa Antoinette Garza
Recently, I’ve noticed that WWE is fairing much better in the film industry than in wrestling. I grew up watching pro-wrestling. I absolutely love it and have even subscribed to the WWE Network, though I’m disappointed that Tuesday Night Titans is nowhere to be found. I wish the channel was categorized specifically by wrestler(s) so that I could spend a day watching Rowdy Roddy Piper, Cowboy Bob Orton, Bobby Heenan, The Fabulous Freebirds, Dusty Rhodes, The Four Horsemen, etc. The search field is horrendous and doesn’t bring up nearly the amount of videos attributed to the individual entered. In all honesty, I’m not sure how long I’ll keep it. I signed up for a 6 month term, but I’m disappointed. Not as much as I am with current wrestling, but having to pay for it certainly increases my expectations. Pro-wrestling is at its best an athletic art form that captures aspects of the dramatics of the theater and the excitement of stunts performed at a circus. It’s supposed to be amusing, fun, and it’s supposed to keep you guessing.
If only WWE would bring in Piper, Orton, Jim Cornette, etc to the forefront. They need to reintroduce managers again and start wars. We all know that the winners are choreographed but don’t throw that in our faces. The fans are willing to suspend disbelief to a point. Nothing was greater than having the devious heels take on the dumb good guys. In one of the best segments, Jesse Ventura, Piper, and Orton tricked Uncle Elmer, Hillbilly Jim, and made Cousin Luke fall over. Now, everyone has to be a tough bad-ass but there’s zero talent. Everything is a catchphrase. The WWE needs people who are strong behind the mic and don’t need a script. I had been hoping that wrestling would get better, but with the announcement that HHH and Stephanie are being given even more control, I’m now just holding out the hope that another federation will come around and bring back the old-school feeling that captured my heart as a child.
On the upside, WWE has recently improved their movie entries. It didn’t start promising. I think the first WWE horror film I saw was See No Evil (2006). That was absolutely horrible and I have zero expectations for the sequel being released on October 21, 2014. That said, in recent years, I have been pleasantly surprised by a few of their entries. Barricade (2012) for example was suspenseful, well-acted and the ambiguous ending still has many fans clamoring for a feasible interpretation. Next, Oculus (2013) was by far one of the best horror films in recent memory. The story was strong, there were quite a few scares in it and the intersecting stories complimented each other brilliantly.
That said, I had heard only awful things about Leprechaun: Origins (2014). It has an embarrassing 3.3/10 on IMDB and a meager 10% on Rotten Tomatoes. Though, I enjoyed the original series starring Warwick Davis, the movies were more guilty pleasures than anything I considered sacred. By the second time the Leprechaun went to the hood, I was out and done. I was actually done, after he went to space, but as my favorite podcast How Did This Get Made was discussing Leprechaun in the Hood for a Halloween episode a few years back, I ended up watching it. It was far from good.
Leprechaun Origins is an entire reboot and a different story altogether. I honestly think it’s superior to the Davis classics, though the sub-genres are completely different. Davis portrayed the Leprechaun using one-liners, rhymes, and silly gimmicks thus ensuring his six entries fall into the horror-comedy genre.
Origins however took an entirely serious tone, which seems to be what threw most critics and viewers alike off. The Leprechaun (Dylan Postyl) doesn’t talk nor does it wear clothing. It’s as if Nosferatu was crossed with the aliens from Alien Nation and the vampires from I am Legend. Though, there are no actual words spoken, the Leprechaun does growl and make guttural moans throughout.
The film follows two couples who go on a trip to Ireland and meet what seems to be a kindly old man in a pub. Hamish (Garry Chalk) offers the four use of his cabin for the night and is even willing to have his son Sean (Teach Grant) drive them out there. Little do they know, that the town once stole a Leprechaun’s gold. The only way to make amends and to ensure their own safety is to provide human sacrifices to him.
Sophie (Stephanie Bennett) is our protagonist and her boyfriend Ben (Andrew Dunbar)is a bit of a cowardly douche. In fact, when their friend David (Brendan Fletcher) hurts his leg and falls, his girlfriend Jeni (Melissa Roxburgh) and Ben run off leaving him. It’s Sophie who goes back to save him. She thinks quickly and breaks her lantern to scare the Leprechaun off with fire. I really like the character of Sophie. She reminds me of Alexandra Holden’s character Marion in the underrated gem Dead End. Both are women determined to survive and figure out whatever supernatural force they’re encountering – and when pushed, they fight back.
Though not physically stronger Sophie does use her wits and outsmarts both the Leprechaun and Hamish. She comes up with ways to outmaneuver them and though she struggles to remain calm, she never completely loses her cool. Bennett plays Sophie in such a natural way that both her inner strength and her suffering is understood which makes it much easier for the viewers to empathize.
Overall, I thought this was a great movie. I honestly, think it would have had a larger acceptance, had it stood on its own under a different title. I think many fans who love the horror-comedy styling of the original series is disappointed by the serious nature of this movie which is a straight-up monster flick.
Scared Stiff Rating: 6.5/10
