10 Most Spiteful Horror Movie Easter Eggs
Wes Craven got the best revenge against his childhood bully.
Who among us doesn't love a movie Easter egg? Even the worst film can retain some cursory value by sneaking a few sneaky nods to other works - references that only the most eagle-eyed and attentive of viewers will ever fully appreciate.
Easter eggs are more often than not used to affectionately wink at an adjacent property or actor, but sometimes they can be used for more cheeky, even nefarious means, to poke fun at or savagely mock a deserving target of derision.
And no genre proves more ripe for a spiteful Easter egg than horror, which - per its more permissively nasty, heightened tone - gives filmmakers ripe opportunities to get creative with their subtle (and not-so-subtle) mudslinging.
It's clear that each of these horror movie Easter eggs stemmed from a very real place of vitriol, and that the creatives wanted to vent some of their frustrations in a way that would fly over the heads of the vast majority of viewers.
Living well might be the best revenge, but you know what's a close second? Immortalising your scorn in cinematic form until the heat death of the universe...
10. "F**k You, Lucky Charms" - Leprechaun
Leprechaun writer-director Mark Jones was inspired to create a horror movie centered around an evil, vengeful leprechaun (Warwick Davis) by watching the iconic commercials for the beloved breakfast cereal Lucky Charms.
Hilariously the film also makes a number of cracks at Lucky Charms' expense, apparently as a result of the cereal's parent company (General Mills) refusing to partner with the movie in a mutually beneficial product placement opportunity.
The first occurs when the leprechaun hungrily raids some cupboards and comes across a box of "Lucky Clovers," but after eating a mouthful spits them out, their taste apparently not to his liking.
But the more pointedly vitriolic Easter egg comes right at film's end, when young Alex (Robert Hy Gorman) uses his slingshot to defeat the leprechaun, but not before legendarily shouting, "F**k you, Lucky Charms!"
You can't really blame a breakfast cereal conglomerate for not wanting to get involved with a daft, low-budget horror movie, and ultimately the film is all the better for including these thinly-veiled jabs anyway.