Since the Leprechaun horror film franchise launched in 1993, it’s gained quite a passionate fanbase and there have been seven sequels released over the years. The franchise has had fun blending elements of horror and humor, but according to the original film’s director, Mark Jones, his original approach was to lean more into the goofy comedy of it all.
During a recent interview with CB, the director said that there’s actually a director’s cut that features his original more comedic vision of the film. He explained that he originally wanted it to be a kids horror movie:
“I originally wrote it to be comedy-horror, and I said I didn’t want to do a straight slasher and stuff. There is a director’s cut somewhere and I got to find it … The kids loved it, because I wanted it to be a kid’s horror movie, like Scooby-Doo, but live-action. The studio wanted more hard R, and when they saw how the kids reacted and it became this classic thing, then they [said], ‘Oh, we should have let you keep even more comedy.’ I had a lot of battles with the studio, but eventually it came out, I think, because of [star] Warwick [Davis], Warwick got the humor.”
It’s pretty wild to learn that Leprechaun was originally envisioned as a horror movie for kids! Jones went on to say that it was the inclusion of more violent scenes that sets the theatrical release apart from the director’s cut. When talking about those differences he said:
“It had the violence in it. They added inserts later for a little more violence, but there were actual scenes, cartoon things. There were scenes of the Leprechaun being run over by the truck and we don’t see them, and there’s tire tracks and he digs himself up and he’s got tire tracks down the back. A bunch of cute little scenes that they thought should be taken out. But it was my first-time picture. I didn’t have final cuts, so I had to listen to them. So there was some comedy taken out.”
I hope that he finds that director’s cut and makes an attempt to release it! I’m curious, and I’d want to watch it!
The original film follows the story of an evil and mischievous leprechaun played by Warwick Davis. When Dan O’Grady returns from Ireland to North Dakota with a pot of gold, he fails to realize that he’s also brought back the malevolent leprechaun, hellbent on reclaiming his treasure. When a new family moves into the farmhouse years later, the leprechaun is accidentally released, and he goes on a terrifying quest to retrieve every last piece of his gold. Along the way, the creature uses magical powers and sinister tricks to terrorize and hunt anyone who stands between him and his gold.
The whole Leprechaun film franchise is currently streaming on Hulu if you want to revisit them.
