DVD Reviews

Leprechaun: Back 2 Tha Hood

Just when you thought it was safe to eat your Lucky Charms, the leprechaun returns. No I'm not talking about the cute and hard to catch Lucky. I'm talking about Warwick Davis, the little devil of the fairy folk. This time he's back in the 6th installment in the Leprechaun franchise, Leprechaun Back 2 Tha Hood. If the title of the film didn't give it away, this Leprechaun film returns to the ghetto to hatch it's ridiculous plot. Following a similar storyline to previous Leprechaun films, this one starts when Emily Woodrow and her friends happen on a treasure chest full of gold coins. They fail to heed the warnings of a wise old psychic, who had foretold that they would encounter trouble from a very nasty and protective Leprechaun. And so begins the adventure that is Leprechaun 6.

This is possibly the funniest Leprechaun film yet. Filled with gags and cliché/stereotypical scenarios and dialogue, you're sure to laugh watching this film. The acting and writing in this installment aren’t bad either. During many of the scenes of dialogue, the writer manages to portray a sense of reality. Unfortunately, it seemed as though the writer spent too much time writing good realistic dialogue and less time writing a good Leprechaun film. The story forces characters to make startling leaps in logic to advance the story. Not once does anyone doubt the existence of the leprechaun. As well, this film tosses out all the laws/mythos the previous films of the franchise had set up. Gone is the smart ways of killing set forth in the first few installments, where his murders capitalized on the greed of his victims. Now, he's simply a killing machine tracking down those who have stolen his gold and killing them as quickly as possible. Or how about the fact that the Leprechaun's power used to be based directly on how much of his gold he had in his possession? In this installment, the gold had no bearing on anything. These changes in the Leprechaun mythos aren't terrible, just disappointing.

Leprechaun: Back 2 Tha Hood is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. This low budget, direct to video release, sports a solid visual palette. The print is in good condition, with no scratches or grain. Though the picture is somewhat soft and muted it does maintain good contrast, as black levels are deep and stark. Colours are beautifully presented, as all the hues, from the greens to the reds look bright and consistent.

Leprechaun 6 sounds pretty good being presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. As you can imagine, this movie isn't much on high impact audio, so the surrounds aren't overly active. This film also has a rap filled musical soundtrack, which ensures the subs are consistently active. Vocals and dialogue sound clean and crisp at all times.

This DVD has a few good extras. It has not one but two commentary tracks. The first stars director Steven Ayromlooi and franchise favourite Warwick Davis. Davis is somewhat reserved and covers mostly basic points and the director chimes in with some production stories. Ayromlooi returns for a second session, joined by director of photography David Daniel. This is another solid track, filled with more details about the production. The DVD also includes 4 sets of storyboards, as well as the film's trailer. There's also an easter egg that allows you to watch trailers for the first Leprechaun film as well as the trailer for Leprechaun in the Hood.

Leprechaun: Back 2 Tha Hood, is possibly the best Leprechaun film to date and this DVD is definitely the best presentation of a Leprechaun film thus far. Fans of the series should waste no time and pick this DVD up right away. Everyone else might want to consider renting the film first.