Leprechaun 4: In Space

(1997) **1/2

I'mnotMarc was contemplating the grim task of checking this one out last Friday and I felt bad and called shotgun. I think I got off easy, as this one was kind of fun. Stupid, oh yes -- stupid like stupid's bigger, stupider brother. But fun.

Budget-wise, this was only a few steps above Head of the Family. Here, check out this spaceship:


And they couldn't afford one extra for the cast. There's three scientists, a gaggle of soldiers and nobody else. Here's the mother ship's hopping night spot.


We never see who's flying the spaceship or working behind the bar or anything. Nor, for that matter, do we ever hear the word "Leprechaun." Sgt. Metal Head Hooker (not kidding, and he's got a big chrome plate in his head) refers to the wee elf as an "alien" who has been disrupting mining operations. And the little man, while still sporting the tight pants and buckles, is veering pretty wide of his mission statement. He's got a bunch of gold already, I guess, and now he wants to marry a bitchy space princess and be the King of Space. "Haven't ye read the lore?" He also engages in quite a bit of gunplay for a mystical sprite, and we learn that blowing him to bits with a grenade doesn't take, although on the bright side you do get to see him blown to bits with a grenade.

According to our resident Leprechaun movie expert, this is the first of these movies with any cheesecake, and the princess delivers one of the most laughably disappointing OTS's ever. That's because the spiked bra she's been sporting the whole flick turns out to be heavily padded. On the other hand, while the scientist is fleeing the spider monster, it actually manages to eat her pants off. I love modern movies that find some arbitrary reason to have the heroine suddenly in her underwear. It's such a Roger Corman move. Tremors and Deep Blue Sea both do that. Hilarious, and also...underwear.

Lastly, this guy is a riot.


So, if you're in a position where you have to watch one of the Leprechaun movies (and don't laugh, that could totally really happen), this is probably the one to go for. I could watch In The Hood and Back 2 Tha Hood to make sure, but...no, I won't be doing that.