Release Date: 17 Mar 2012
Run Time: 90 minutes
Origin: USA
Mimi's Rating: 1 1/2 green beers out of 5
"It's like I'm trapped in some bad monster movie and I can't get out."
It would take numerous pints of green beer to make Red Clover feel like anything but a slog. "Phoning it in" is the phrase of the day friends when it comes to this holiday horror misfire.
The film opens with a not-so-good rhyme and voice-over explaining the Leprechaun's background. I would have preferred to have received this information more organically, but it does set up the audience for the pain they are about to receive. We learn that the voice we are hearing belongs to our protagonist, Karen, who is boar hunting with her grandfather who will henceforth be known as "Pops". When Karen becomes separated from Pops she stumbles upon a spooky tree covered with horseshoes and surrounded by clover. Amongst the clover is the titular red clover. Karen picks the red clover, only for it to turn into a bad computer effect and burn her palm. Now, it's Leprechaun time friends. This movie does not waste time with silly ideas like "building suspense." It's five minutes into the movie and you are getting an eyeful of this Leprechaun whether you like it or not. But forget green suits, top hats, and cute little buckle shoes. This Leprechaun looks like the Faun from Pan's Labyrinth if it was purchased from Wish. Worry not, Karen manages to escape harm by firing her gun at the Leprechaun and reunites with Pops. Cut to credits.
After the credits sequence, we are introduced to Billy Zane who is Karen's father and the Sheriff. I was initially confused by their relationship because Karen does not look like a high schooler, I'm sorry. I thought Billy Zane was her condescending boyfriend or husband or something. I did laugh at his first line which was "You ok? She ok? You ok?" and how he treats Karen like a little tiny baby girl. Pops and Sheriff Billy Zane are under the impression that Karen was attacked by an animal. Billy Zane takes Karen home and we learn that our story takes place in the town of Keening Massachusets and it is three days until St. Patrick's Day. While this is happening a hunter is attacked by the Leprechaun that wants his gold tooth. He dies.
Karen attempts to explain to Billy Zane what happened to her in the woods but fails. Pops goes to the pub to partake in alcoholism and we find out that some of the townsfolk are aware of the existence of fairies.
Meanwhile, back at her house, Karen fears that there is a home intruder and calls Billy Zane for help. Man, Billy Zane is really not giving his best here. Not that I can blame him. Karen retreats to her room only to be confronted by a Deadite version of herself. The Deadite tells Karen she "is already dead" and brandishes the clover Cutie Mark at her. Just kidding! This was all a dream and Karen's friend is here to pick her up for school! )This friend will hereby be known as Blond Friend because I never caught her name.) Karen isn't going to school today though, she's going to find Pops and get some answers.
On her way to the pub, Karen is accosted by weirdo reporter/blogger, Karl. He wants to interview Karen about her experiences in the spooky Keening woods and mentions the "Tree of Tears" that allegedly has dark secrets buried near it.
We're then treated to a scene of the Leprechaun killing a man fishing. This scene is so abrupt it's comedic. But, like most kills in the movie, It's uninspired.
Anyhow, Karen meets up with Pops and we find out the clover mark is an ancient Irish curse and they have four days to defeat the evil spirit. Pop says "We're gonna need the luck of the Irish". This will be important later.
Karen goes to the doctor for a second opinion and finds out that she has a deadly infection but no fever and is, therefore, cursed.
At home again, she researches the curse and the effect they use for the laptop screen is amazingly bad. I do enjoy the web browser being "Foxyfire". So stupid it's funny.
She also video chats with her friend Dax, and it's... just see for yourself:
While on the call with Dax, Karen hallucinates (at least I think that's what happened) that he is in danger from the Leprechaun only to get jump scared.
The next morning Billy Zane makes waffles. He also grills Karen about what happened in the woods before he is called out to those woods to search for the missing hunter from earlier. As he leaves a tree branch scratches the window and I let out a big yawn.
Next Karen gets possessed or something a scribbles a drawing of the Leprechaun on a legal pad. Blonde Friend and Dax pick her up for school but Karen has a freak-out in the car and runs off, leaving behind the drawing for Dax to discover.
Dax decides to research Karen's drawing and use the information to woo her. We meet his sister, who is a cop. Cop Sister also heads to the Keening woods in search of the missing person(s). Dax informs Karen that the creature is in fact, a Leprechaun.
In the Keening Woods, Billy Zane and Cop Sister have found the body of the slaughtered fisherman. They also find goat-like footprints at the scene. I don't understand why the movie is acting like the creature is a mystery when they showed it to us five minutes into the movie. Oh, and the doctor from earlier is killed. The kills in this movie feel like an afterthought.
Back at the pub, Pops is attempting to purloin the owner's lucky horseshoe. We get a line that was actually kind of comedic: "Stealing my lucky horseshoe to find another Leprechaun are ya?" delivered by the pub owner. Pops takes off with his ill-gotten token. The Leprechaun, on the hunt for the gold that makes him stronger, kills the pub owner for his gold watch.
Karen contacts Karl and confirms his belief in the Leprechaun. He tells her she must face the Leprechaun at says she should talk to Pops for more info. We get another pretty funny moment here where Karl asks, "What does Pops know?" and Karen responds "Same as you but drunk." Oh, Pops you rascally alcoholic.
Now it's time for possibly the best scene in the movie. Our friend Karl is in the Keening woods using what appears to be a gold-plated writing award as bait for the Leprechaun. He gets spooked and runs back to his car and instead of the boring kill I was expecting it turns out the Leprechaun can drive a car. Yep, the Leprechaun kills Karl with a car. This is the kind of over-the-top silliness the movie desperately needed more of. Unfortunately, this is all we get.
Back in Keening, Karen and Dax are walking home after hanging out with Blonde Friend. Their flirting is interrupted when the Leprechaun strikes. Karen wrestles with it for a while before scaring it off with a conveniently placed horseshoe and Pops shows up just in time to shoot at it ineffectually.
With the arrival of Pops, we finally get the last bit of missing Leprechaun lore. It turns out the town founders abducted a Leprechaun and took it with them with they left Ireland. They drained the Leprechaun of its luck and trapped it with horseshoes; burying it at "The Tree of Tears." The Leprechaun's luck is why their town was so successful. Pops tells them they need to collect the five horseshoes that we're given to the five founding families for safekeeping. With these, they can once again trap the Leprechaun. Pops heads out to hunt down the shoes while Karen and Dax stay home to research how they will bind the Leprechaun.
Before Pops gets very far, he is pulled over by Billy Zane. Finally Pops convinces him that Karen is cursed and Leprechauns are real. The two head off to collect the missing horseshoes while back at the house Dax has the idea to create a staff using the lucky talismans.
After some misadventures at the abandoned brewery, Pops and Billy Zane return to Karen and Dax's location. Now they're only missing the final horseshoe to complete their anti-Leprechaun weapon. The location of the final piece? It's with Blonde Friend at the town's St. Patrick's Day parade.
Will our heroes make it to the parade in time to stop the evil Leprechaun and save Karen from The Curse of the Red Clover? Find out (or don't) in: Red Clover!
I must confess that I was mildly disappointed by this movie. Not that I was expecting a good or even competent film, but I did expect something more fun. The last two SyFy movies I had the pleasure of experiencing reached dizzying heights of insanity (The Fallen Ones and Skeleton Man). So, I was hoping Red Clover would deliver similar entertainment. And while there were a few scenes that amused me (one involving Billy Zane explaining what happened to Karen's mother in the past is a stand-out) the story was mostly just tedious and forgettable. The kills are lame, the monster looks like a costume they bought at Spirit Halloween, and the characters and story don't add anything of interest.
So if you're looking for a fun horror romp this St. Patrick's Day, maybe stick with Leprechaun in the Hood.
Why you should watch:
You're a big fan of men in rubber suits killing people.
You're attempting to watch every SyFy movie.
You want to see Billy Zane slumming it.
Why you shouldn't watch:
Uninteresting kills and not-so-great gore effects.
It's not worth slogging through the dull scenes just for a few moments of comedy.