Red Clover (2012)

An utterly terrific horror film from gifted director Drew Daywaite with screenwriter Anthony C. Ferrante penning a stunning script based on leprechaun legends. The Baton Rouge locations give this motion picture a truly fresh, unique look and add to the atmosphere of unease and surrealism. While this is a terrifying film with some haunting imagery, it is also a story of human relationships, family, and greed. The characterizations by William Devane and Billy Zane are superb and it is indeed their most powerful performances in years. Azure Parsons is also especially good as a courageous deputy who is dedicated to her community. The creature itself is one of the most ghastly and shockingly frightening created for cinema in some time and it's necessary to look away at times because of the intensity of the bloody action. The climax is incredibly shattering and breathtakingly exciting. Overall, a very rewarding cinematic experience from a visionary director.

I absolutely loved this movie! I'm a fan of "bad" horror flicks and such, but this was a genuinely good and fun flick! It's a perfect mix of horror and comedy, with some genuine startle-moments, some genuine creepiness, and some incredibly good humorous moments.My biggest gripe was that the ending felt quite rushed and that it ended a bit too abruptly, that there was no final Climactic Showdown as I might've expected, no hand-reaching-up-from-underground-to-grab-the-heroine, no "twist" like that.Courtney Halverson was a treat to watch, a sort of redheaded Abby Brammell, and showed a fine mix of strength and vulnerability in her character.William Devane was great as the cantankerous (but right!) grandpa.Billy Zane was a real treat in all his billyzanian goodness, and delivered some PERFECT humorous lines (especially about his nametag!).The movie didn't take itself seriously. It was NOT intended to be a straight-up horror flick, but was filled to the brim with self-deprecating humor. Those who poo-pooed "Red Clover" (sorry, but that's the title that flashes on the screen in the movie that I have) obviously didn't "get it". Quips such as "It's like I'm trapped in some bad monster movie and I can't get out." are so up-front and obvious about that, I'm amazed anyone DIDN'T get it.It's unfortunate that the somewhat abrupt and anticlimactic ending is the last you'll experience of the movie, and what you'll likely remember most, but the rest of the movie, the first 99% of it, is well worth the time spent in giving this little gem a go.First, take the movie for what it is: a fun horror-comedy that pokes fun of itself with some biting humor. Second, don't expect the antagonist to be the Lucky Charms dood (who's creepy in his own right, granted), but more Pumpkinhead instead. Keep those two points in mind, and you should love and appreciate this flick as much as I do.

The movies that premiere on the Syfy Channel generally range from bad to absolutely unwatchable. This should come as no surprise since these films have typically super low budgets and have drastically short shooting schedules, leaving little chance for them to be well put together. However, a decent film occasionally makes its way onto the air and Leprechaun's Revenge is one of those rare cases where the results of the minuscule budget and rushed production schedule doesn't destroy the end result. While Leprechaun's Revenge still seems like a movie that would have greatly benefited from having more time spent on it, the final cut is much better than the schlocky title implies. The first thirty minutes or so are actually engaging. The opening scene is fairly creepy, the tone is set up perfectly, and its clear from the beginning that the protagonist isn't a stereotypical horror movie moron. Yet for whatever reason, the premise stops being effective after a while and the sense of rhythm that was established in the first half seems off in the second half(which I suspect was due to aforementioned time constraints and budgetary problems). Still, Leprechaun's Revenge remains a great flick to watch on St. Patrick's Day with a bunch of friends and it is certainly more entertaining than 90% of all the other Syfy originals. The cast is solid, the effects are reasonably cool, and there is a sense of humor to the proceedings that's hard not to enjoy. Note: To clear up any confusion, Leprechaun's Revenge is in no way related to the endless series of Warwick Davis horror pictures. If I had to guess, Syfy was hoping for people to assume a vague relation in order to get viewers to tune in.

Yesterday I was watching the SyFy Leprechaun marathon. Most of it was the silly Warwick Davis series that has grown to be a guilty pleasure with me. I enjoyed those for the most part, they have a certain silly charm to them. I tuned in now and then during the marathon. But at 9PM they premiered a new made for SyFy film called 'Leprechaun's Revenge'. Unfortunately it had nothing what-so-ever to do with the other films even though Syfy included it in the marathon making it seem it was an addition to the series. Anyway, what a piece of emerald green garbage that was. It starred Billy Zane and William Devane, two decent actors when they want to be. I can only imagine what enticed them to be in this mess, the almighty dollar most likely and lack of work. Come to think of it Zane seems to be making it a habit these days of being in bad films. It's like he deliberately chooses them.************************** CONTAINS SPOILERS AHEAD ************************** The Leprechaun here is more like something out of the Pumpkinhead films, even being buried out in the woods till someone stupidly causes him to raise up. In this case it was by picking a red four leafed clover nearby....geesh. And part of the story seemed to be pulled from 'Drag Me to Hell' where the girl was expected to die in a few days after being cursed and started seeing things. In all fairness, the premise had some potential if it was executed properly with some degree of skill. It was the bad directing, final story and dialog that did it in. By the end of the film every one of the main characters but one was dead. And we really didn't care much when they kissed that big blarney stone in the sky either. I'm not sure the film could decide whether it wanted to be a straight out horror film with a bit of lightheartedness thrown in or a total farce not to be taken seriously in the least, either way it failed miserably. One of the dumbest scenes was when Billy Zanes character was explaining how he had lost his wife. It was in the mall shopping in a mob on black Friday that he lost his beloved wife. Some sheriff he was. Anyway, the movie was a total waste of time. It ended abruptly as if they realized in the last ten minutes we have no where to go with this so lets just kill everyone off as a joke, some Joke.