8 Film Franchises That Became Victims Of Their Own Popularity
4. Leprechaun Devolved From Twisted Humour To Cringeworthy Attempts To Be Funny
If you thought Freddy Krueger was bad, think again. Leprechaun is a 1993 cult film starring Warwick Davis and directed by Mark Jones. Like A Nightmare On Elm Street, the film is gruesome horror with elements of dark comedy, but fans loved the moments of humour so much that it completely coloured the writers' judgement.
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While by no means a work of art, the original Leprechaun is a serviceable movie with a passionate fan base. You've only to take a look at the titles of the latter films in the franchise, though, to see just how far the whole thing strays. There's Leprechaun 4: In Space and Leprechaun: In The Hood and of course, who could forget Leprechaun: Back 2 Tha Hood? It's a fairly standard case of a franchise not having a strong enough central idea to sustain prolongation. The gag of the first entry is just how tongue-in-cheek it all is, but strong gore and a dark tone lends it some credibility. Unfortunately, the writers ditched that tone to hone in on the ludicrousness, losing what was interesting to begin with. One of the worst examples occurs in 2000's In The Hood, in which our titular Leprechaun literally raps about how he hasn't been laid in a long time. It's the sort of thing that for all its twisted insanity would never have appeared in the the first move, which was much more concerned with attempting to be unsettling.