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How To NOT Start Getting Into Horror

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For the past few months, I’ve been writing a series for people who don’t watch and/or appreciate horror. The series, which I’ve simply and lovingly called “How To Start Getting Into Horror” has taken multiple subgenres of horror and made several film recommendations to get someone interested in learning more.

At first, this series was met with no small amount of derision and scorn. Horror fans asked why such a series would exist and how this would even reach the people it was intended for. I’ll fully admit that I need your help in that matter to share it with those people. After all, they’re not going to seek it on their own.

But maybe you, fellow horror fan, have that person in your life that you would love to see at least appreciate your passion. That’s who this series is for. That’s who you share it with. That’s who you take the time to slowly but surely introduce to the films that we hold so near and dear to our hearts.

So, while I know you have the best of intentions to try and bring someone into the fray, sometimes it’s best to take a step back and let them flounder and discover things on their own.

That’s why this week is a small series of lessons to non-horror people who want to learn more (with thanks to Starship Troopers). But these are the ground rules for how to proceed, because we don’t want you to run away screaming. After all, that’s the job of the ancillary characters in the films.

With all that long-winded intro out of the way, let’s hit these rules!

Don’t Do It On Your Own

I know that everyone wants to be independent these days. But you don’t have to be. It’s not a weakness to ask for help or to look up places to begin. Hell, that’s why I wrote this whole series to begin with!

Doing it on your own might work. But there’s a far likelier possibility that it won’t and that’s just statistics talking. Everyone wants to try and prove, to themselves or to others, that they can handle things that are often a bigger bite than they can chew. There’s nothing wrong with starting easy and working your way into something, hence why I recommended films like The Mummy or The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen. You start with something that has horror elements and build from there.

The analogy I think is somewhat appropriate is learning how to play the guitar. Trying to play Van Halen’s “Eruption” immediately after picking up a guitar is impossible. You need to build up the callouses on your fingers first, which takes time. And as you build those callouses, everything else you begin to practice and play becomes easier and more manageable.

Take. Your. Time.

Don’t Ask The “Randy” In Your Life

We all have that friend that’s super passionate about something. I love hanging out with these people because that passion is infectious, it’s contagious, and it’s exhilarating. But many of these people don’t know how to bring it down from a “10”. They want to throw you into their passion pool head first, right into the deep end.

Can you imagine if someone were to say, “Oh, you want to get into horror? Alright, let me grab my copy of Cannibal Holocaust!” Yeah….no. No no no.

You need someone a bit more chill, a bit more relaxed. Find that friend that’s into the casual horror movie, the one that gives them a few shivers of the spine but not much else. They’re the ones who will give you the best recommendations on what to start with.

And furthermore, many of them will watch it with you, which leads me to my next point…

Don’t Watch Them Alone

Coming back to the first point, you don’t have to try and prove anything to anyone by watching a horror movie on your own. If they scare you, having people nearby who will watch with you is a comfort, a way to feel safe.

Look at the above clip from Scream. It’s a bunch of pals enjoying themselves to Halloween, which is considered one of the scariest films ever made. The movie can subtly mess with you later, haunting you as you walk through your place in the dark, but you’ll always have good memories attached to it. And that makes a big difference.

Some of the best memories we have in our lives, the ones we cherish the most, are the ones that we share with others. Horror doesn’t have to be any different.

Managing editor/music guy/social media fella of Bloody-Disgusting

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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