RED CLOVER aka LEPRECHAUN’S REVENGE – free to watch on YouTube

‘Evil has a new holiday’
Red Clover is a 2012 American supernatural horror film directed by Drew Daywalt (BlackBoxTV) from a screenplay written by Anthony C. Ferrante (Sharknado franchise; Hansel & Gretel; Headless Horseman; Boo). Also released as Leprechaun’s Revenge and St. Patrick’s Day Leprechaun

The After Dark Films production stars Billy Zane, Courtney Halverson and William Devane.

Writer Ferrante wanted to make the leprechaun character “creepy and organic” rather than the usual folklore version.

Plot:
Keening, Massachusetts: Karen O’Hara (Courtney Halverson), a young woman, is largely unaware of the town’s true bloody past. Sixty-six years previously, a horrific massacre perpetrated by a demonic leprechaun occurred, and since that time the town has decided to forgo any St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

Unfortunately, Karen accidentally sets the monster free one day while she is hunting. The leprechaun immediately sets about killing several people. However, Karen’s father, Sheriff Conor O’Hara (Billy Zane), is unwilling to believe Pop O’Hara’s (William Devane) claims that a supposedly mythical being perpetuates the murders…

Reviews:
“Leprechaun’s Revenge is very well-acted, especially for the type of film that it is. William Devane is excellent as an alcoholic with a heart of gold. Billy Zane can play a lovable prick like nobody’s business, and Courtney Halverson truly reminded me of one of my high school classmates in a genuine performance.” Cinema Slasher

“It has humor, a few splattery kills, a solid acting roster, and a shout out to Silver Shamrock of “Halloween III.”  “Red Clover” is as good as any other monster movie on SyFy and it is certainly no worse than any of the entries in that “other” series of films about killer creatures from the Emerald Isle.” Culture Crypt

“It’s not very good when it comes to scares, but it makes up for it in oddball characterization, even weirder casting, and a nice level of local color. Sure, the end result feels like a ghost story stunted by its own lack of imagination, but there are moments when you find yourself actually involved in the narrative and with the characters.” DVD Talk

“The direction is solid, and the script by Anthony C. Ferrante tries to do a decent job (especially when poking fun at itself), but it’s not long until cracks start to appear and the movie crumbles to a state that it can’t recover from. The potential for genuine scares soon dissipates, to be replaced by more standard jumps and moments of ridiculousness.” For It Is a Man’s Number

“Awesome, bloody kills (and plenty of them); sharp, snappy dialogue; incredibly kickasstastic actors/actresses; a story I could get behind; heroes I could cheer for; a creature I loved; and one total […] out of nowhere bonding moment explanation in the final minutes that had me simultaneously laughing, shaking my head, then cringing…” Horror News

” …uneven nature […] seems to suggest that director Drew Daywalt cherry picked the best scenes to try and make good and then just walked through the rest of the ordinary stuff. The thing is that every now and then Red Clover does grab your attention for a few minutes but just as quickly causes you to drift off as the nonsense of it all takes hold.” The Movie Scene

“I’ve always had a soft spot for Zane and despite obviously phoning in his performance, himself and Devane lend this a touch of class it really doesn’t deserve. The highpoint sees Zane deliver a monologue about how he lost his wife during a Black Friday sales rush.” The Movie Waffler

“Suffering from almost every horror cliché in the book, and filled with distractingly laughable performances, director Drew Daywalt’s Leprechaun revival is a curse of its own, haunting viewers with a legend better left buried.” We Got This Covered [full review recommended]

“The cast are working hard with an overly cheesy script. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t play on the ridiculousness of its premise anywhere near as much as it should. Any film with a leprechaun as its main villain, shouldn’t really be trying to play things straight. And although Red Clover isn’t 100% serious, it hasn’t got as much of a sense of humour as I’d have liked to of seen.” Wight Blood

Cast and characters:
Billy Zane as Sheriff Conor O’Hara; Courtney Halverson as Karen O’Hara; William Devane as Pop O’Hara; Dave Randolph-Mayhem Davis as Dax Spence; Kevin Mangold as The Leprechaun; Azure Parsons as Officer Peterson; Kelly Washington as Amanda; Derek Babb as Josh; Chase Boltin as Ben; Joseph Randy Causin as Parade Goer; Danny Cosmo as Leprechaun Man; Matty Ferraro as Tannen; Andrea Frankle as Mrs Jones; Emily D. Haley as Parade Fan; Karl Herlinger as Karl Morris

Filming locations:
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Film Facts:
The movie was originally made under the title Red Clover but was changed to Leprechaun’s Revenge for a March 17, 2012 television release on the Syfy Channel. ^{The title was switched back to Red Clover for its 2013 DVD release.}

Related:

Leprechaun franchise

MOVIES and MANIA provides previews, our own film reviews and ratings, plus links to other online reviews from a wide variety of trusted sources in one handy web location. This is a genuinely independent website and I rely solely on the minor income generated by internet ads to pay for web costs and cover yet more movies. Please support us by not blocking ads. Thank you. Oh and as an Amazon Associate, I earn a tiny amount from any qualifying purchases.
 
 

Related