Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Silly nonsense about a red clover removed from the "burial" plot of an ancient creature brought over to Keening, Massacheusettes from "the old country" (Ireland) by immigrants, using its magic to attain affluence! It had slaughtered folks in the township before being put in the ground. The one accidentally responsible for its release (red-headed hottie, Courtney Halverson) didn't realize that removing the clover from the ground of a tree covered in horseshoes (kryptonite to the leprechaun) would release it. Anyway, Keening is in for a world of hurt as the creature is always hungry for gold and will kill anyone in its way. This isn't a grotesque make-up dwarf Warwick Davis this go-around, but a creature resembling something which looks to have been born from tree and dirt, with sharp claws and a misshapen appearance. Halverson is supported by Billy Zane as her father (he plays the part as tongue-in-cheek as possible) and sheriff of the town that starts to rack up quite the body count and William Devane as her fairies-and-goblins-believing alcoholic grandfather. Devane is the kind of pops who taught Halverson to hunt when she was ten and drive when she was twelve. He has been the "town kook" that everyone finds a laughingstock until the leprechaun turns out to be legit. Salverson is left standing when all is said and done, as practically everyone is dead by film's end. The reason for the absence of the mother is quite a reveal...Zane lost her during a retail store Black Friday sale! A wooden staff with four horseshoes is the weapon of choice in this absurd horror show. With only four days to re-bury the leprechaun, a clover mark on Salverson looses a "flesh leaf" on her hand each day that passes when she hasn't found the "four horseshoes" needed for the staff weapon. The plot is excremental, and the cast just accepts that, performing this whole fiasco with a wink, totally avoiding any sort of sense of seriousness. There's just no way to tell a story like this with a straight face. There's plenty of ripped flesh and bloodshed as the leprechaun goes on its killing spree. Even a princess of her town's St. Patrick's Day parade isn't safe as her golden crown serves as quite the tasty dish for the creature to *eat*. Ultimately, characters like a deputy (Azure Parsons) and her brother (Dave Davis; also Salverson's love interest) try to help stop the creature but only stand to be gutted (yep, there are intestines plucked from torsos as well) or slashed for their trouble. Salverson is nice to look at and has a toughness about her that helps the film, but vets like Devane and Zane are just what this Grade-Z horror film needs in order to not totally abandon it. When a leprechaun creature is driving a car into a news reporter of a town gossip rag, you kind of have to just throw your hands up and either accept this on its own terms or exit stage left. This is the kind of horror film where a bunch of the principle cast dies in quick succession. Don't say you haven't been warned.

After Dark Films are a production company who've been churning out a series of cheap and cheerful monster and horror flicks for the last decade. For RED CLOVER, it's time for another creature flick as the film throws a monstrous spin on the old legend of the leprechaun. The original title was LEPRECHAUN'S REVENGE, which was much better than RED CLOVER, but perhaps they thought we'd mistake this for a Warwick Davis sequel or something.RED CLOVER is also a SyFy Channel-produced movie so quality is guaranteed. In actual fact, this is largely forgettable stuff, with various characters wandering around in the woods and getting bumped off by some generic leprechaun monster that looks like a zillion others. There's a little gore thrown into the mix, alongside lots of indifferent acting and a storyline that it's impossible to get excited about.The most interesting thing about the production, for me, was the inclusion of two hit names in the cast: William Devane and Billy Zane, playing a father/son combination. Devane is the best actor here, even though he's almost unrecognisably aged, while by contrast Zane is on autopilot for the most part. It's a shame that the younger cast members are so lacklustre compared to these old timers.

I absolutely loved this movie! I'm a fan of "bad" horror flicks and such, but this was a genuinely good and fun flick! It's a perfect mix of horror and comedy, with some genuine startle-moments, some genuine creepiness, and some incredibly good humorous moments.My biggest gripe was that the ending felt quite rushed and that it ended a bit too abruptly, that there was no final Climactic Showdown as I might've expected, no hand-reaching-up-from-underground-to-grab-the-heroine, no "twist" like that.Courtney Halverson was a treat to watch, a sort of redheaded Abby Brammell, and showed a fine mix of strength and vulnerability in her character.William Devane was great as the cantankerous (but right!) grandpa.Billy Zane was a real treat in all his billyzanian goodness, and delivered some PERFECT humorous lines (especially about his nametag!).The movie didn't take itself seriously. It was NOT intended to be a straight-up horror flick, but was filled to the brim with self-deprecating humor. Those who poo-pooed "Red Clover" (sorry, but that's the title that flashes on the screen in the movie that I have) obviously didn't "get it". Quips such as "It's like I'm trapped in some bad monster movie and I can't get out." are so up-front and obvious about that, I'm amazed anyone DIDN'T get it.It's unfortunate that the somewhat abrupt and anticlimactic ending is the last you'll experience of the movie, and what you'll likely remember most, but the rest of the movie, the first 99% of it, is well worth the time spent in giving this little gem a go.First, take the movie for what it is: a fun horror-comedy that pokes fun of itself with some biting humor. Second, don't expect the antagonist to be the Lucky Charms dood (who's creepy in his own right, granted), but more Pumpkinhead instead. Keep those two points in mind, and you should love and appreciate this flick as much as I do.

Leprechaun's Revenge (2012) ** (out of 4)Teenager Karen (Courtney Halverson) goes into the woods with her grandfather and she picks a red clover, which gives her the curse of the leprechaun. According to legend she will die in four days unless she can kill the creature first and thankfully her grandfather (William Devane) believes in the things but her sheriff father (Billy Zane) isn't so open minded. LEPRECHAUN'S REVENGE has no connection to the Warwick Davis series and it's pretty much what you'd expect from something on SyFy. The movie's biggest problem is that the screenplay is pretty bad from start to finish. While watching the movie it really does seem like they filmed it in order and just made things up as they went along because there are events that happen that are never really explained or mentioned anytime going forward in the movie. The ending pretty much comes out of no where and seems rather rushed and lazy. Another problem is that none of the characters are really fleshed out but I'll give this a pass since we are talking about a low-rent B movie. Those expecting a lot of gore won't be too disappointed as we get some cheap CGI gore ranging from arms being bitten off to one poor guy who gets half his face ripped off. The effects are all of the CGI type so don't expect anything too ground-breaking. The special effects in the film aren't all that impressive but I will at least give them credit for making the leprechaun look decent and original. Those expecting the short, Davis type are going to be disappointed because this one here seems more like a green Pumpkinhead more than anything else. I found Halverson to be good in the lead role as she managed to turn in a believable performance and she's quite better that what you'd expect to see from a film like this. Zane, as you'd expect, is all over the place but he's mildly entertaining. Devane pretty much delivers what you'd expect from him. LEPRECHAUN'S REVENGE isn't a good movie and it's mainly going to appeal to fans of "B" movies but I must admit that it's probably the best killer lep movie I've seen and yes I know that's not saying too much.