As a general rule of thumb, almost every franchise under the sun will fall victim to the law of diminishing returns, and that becomes especially true when we’re talking about horror. Turning convention on its head, though, Leprechaun Returns proved to be the most acclaimed installment in the titular series, even though it marked the eighth installment.
In fairness, none of the previous seven were exactly dripping in critical acclaim, but piggybacking on the Halloween-inspired craze to disregard canon in favor of a direct sequel to the 1983 original proved to reap huge rewards for Steven Kostanski’s crazed comedic slasher, at least within the context of the property.
The respective Rotten Tomatoes scores of Leprechaun, Leprechaun 2, Leprechaun 3, Leprechaun 4: In Space, Leprechaun in the Hood, Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood, and Leprechaun: Origins don’t make for encouraging reading, with the first seven chapters netting measly ratings of 27, 6, 0, 17, 33, 20, and 0 percent again.
By comparison, Returns is nothing short of a masterpiece after being bestowed a mighty 44 percent average on the aggregation site, and it has now parlayed that adulation into a tilt at Netflix glory. Per FlixPatrol, the titular antagonist being awakened by an unwitting set of sorority sisters has found the pot of gold at the end of the streaming service’s rainbow, having become a Top 10 hit in multiple countries around the world.
Studio Lionsgate is actively inviting pitches for more Leprechaun madness, so the story is far from over.