I'll admit it up front: I missed Leprechaun in the Hood. This means, sadly, that I won't be able to compare that film with this sequel (in a larger series of sequels...), entitled Leprechaun Back 2 tha Hood (to be abbreviated Leprechaun 6). Still, since there never seems to be any relation between Leprechaun installments, I figure judging this movie on its own merits will be enough.

The film itself is nothing special. Of course, the production team probably didn't have the intention of creating great art in the first place, but still, as horror films go, it's rather mediocre.

In the interest of overkill, the film starts with two prologues, the first detailing (via some cool animation) the origins of the leprechaun, the second the obligatory "Leprechaun" series opening in which someone manages to defeat the leprechaun and subdue him, leaving him lying dormant until someone is foolish enough to awaken him.

The foolish someone of Leprechaun 6 comes in the form of pretty young Emily (Tangi Miller), a down-on-her-luck hairdresser who falls through a hole in the ground while having a picnic with friends at a construction site (there are no close beaches or parks, you see). While waiting to be rescued from this subterranean cavern, she discovers a chest full of gold coins, which she and her friends promptly go spend on all the amenities their little hearts could ever have desired.

Of course, opening the cavern and stealing the gold invariably awakens the leprechaun, and it's not long before the little sprite, pissed as usual, is tottering his way around the city, seeking those who have stolen his gold and bringing his terrible wrath upon them.

Of course, the whole affair is quite ridiculous, and it is intended to be. The usual outrageous set pieces are included, like the leprechaun giving a fat woman a massage, getting trapped in a refrigerator, beginning to "talk street", and getting high on pot. (This last gag, however, inspired in me a strange feeling of lost leprechaun innocence that I found more troubling than funny.)

In the end, it's up to Emily and her remaining friends to fight off the leprechaun and imprison him again, just like in every other Leprechaun movie, which indicates that originality is not the film's strong suit. Still, this can be forgiven when some of its other flaws are considered.

The writing, for instance, is one of the major problems with the film, as it inspires characters to make startling leaps in logic to advance the story. The most jarring of these comes after Emily first sees, and is attacked by, the leprechaun. After escaping, she runs over to her boyfriend and begins screaming about how a leprechaun is after her and how they must all return his gold to him or else he's going to kill them. It is ridiculous to have characters realize this without being given any indication that it is true, and the fact that no one seems to doubt the plausibility of the existence of the leprechaun is even more stupefying. It's admirable that the film tries to keep things short and quick to prevent boredom, but allowing characters to be semi-realistic in their actions and their gaining of understanding is necessary as well.

Along similar lines, while Leprechaun 6 stays as close to the formula set by its predecessors as possible, it leaves out important parts of the leprechaun mythos. For instance, this leprechaun is simply a killing machine who tracks down those who have stolen his gold and kills them off as quickly as possible. Gone is the charm of the first few installments, where his murders capitalized on the greed of his victims. Now, instead of granting people's wishes in cruel and ironic manners, as in the past, he simply becomes another boogyman, chasing after various stock characters through the streets of the city.

I suppose I could go on for hours listing problems, but I'll stop here, as I've gotten across everything major that I wanted to say. The main problem with Leprechaun 6 is that it simplifies things too much. The leprechaun has become just another slasher, and the joy of previous installments, which twisted leprechaun folklore with delightfully perverse results, has been replaced by a string of relentless action sequences and murders.

With all this in mind, I began my exploration of the discs special features with trepidation. I was surprised to find them more entertaining than the film itself.

Starting things off, we are given the film's (surprisingly short) trailer, along with the mandatory Lions Gate easter egg (yeah, right) of trailers for other Lions Gate films. This time we get previews for Leprechaun and Leprechaun 5.

Moving on, a sample of the films storyboardshas been provided. This is an odd feature, as it consists of a series of frame-by-frame shots of the storyboards taken on a hand-held video camera. Still, its an interesting feature, and, while a little short on professionalism, it's an all right extra.

In addition to the aforementioned supplements, the film also comes with two commentaries. I definitely expected this to constitute overkill, however, I was pleasantly surprised to find them more interesting then I would have imagined.

One commentary is shared by writer/director Steven Ayromlooi and Director of Photography David Daniel, and they spend most of their time discussing the difficulties of the low-budget production and tight shooting schedule. Their stories are generally interesting and they keep up a good dialogue for the duration of the film.

Likewise with the second commentary, which again features Steven Ayromlooi, as well as star Warwick Davis, the dialogue is generally interesting, though there is a good deal of overlap between the commentaries. Perhaps having all three participants do a single commentary together would have been better, but I suppose it's a little late now. Still, the director / star track is a good listen, and little Warwick comes off as quite a charming fellow, definitely the kind of guy you'd like to sit down and have lunch with. In addition to reminiscing about what's onscreen with Ayromlooi, Davis also peppers the commentary with some interesting leprechaun facts, which I thought was a neat little touch.

It would, of course, be foolish to expect much out of Leprechaun 6, and you're certainly not going to get it if you do. Still, despite the movie's flaws, Lions Gate's disc is a pretty good package. The commentaries are a good listen, and everyone involved seems quite amicable and pleasant; it really made me wish I'd liked their movie better. If you are interested in the movie (they must be making this stuff for someone!), Lions Gate's presentation is a good way to go; if not, well, I think you'll know what to do.