''Red Clover'' (also known as ''Leprechaun's Revenge'' and ''St. Patrick's Day Leprechaun'') is a 2012

made for television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apo ...

directed by Drew Daywalt. The movie was originally made under the title ''Red Clover'', but was changed to ''Leprechaun's Revenge'' for a March 17, 2012 television release on the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 Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

. The title was switched back to ''Red Clover'' for its 2013 DVD release. ''Red Clover'' stars

Billy Zane William George Zane Jr. (born February 24, 1966) is an American actor. His breakthrough role was in the 1989 Australian film ''Dead Calm'', a performance that earned him a nomination for the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promi ...

as a Massachusetts sheriff who must save his town from a homicidal

leprechaun A leprechaun ( ga, leipreachán/luchorpán) is a diminutive supernatural being in Irish folklore, classed by some as a type of solitary fairy. They are usually depicted as little bearded men, wearing a coat and hat, who partake in mischief. ...

Plot

Set in the fictional town of Keening, Massachusetts, the movie follows Karen O'Hara (

Courtney Halverson Courtney Halverson (born June 14, 1989) is an American actress. Life and career Halverson was born in Orange County, California and graduated from high school at the age of 15. She has been nominated twice for a Young Artist Award, once in 20 ...

), a young woman who is largely unaware of the town's true bloody past. About sixty-six years ago, a horrific massacre devastated the town, and since that time the town has decided to forgo any

St. Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

festivities. The town managed to temporarily rid themselves of the killer, a bloodthirsty

, by sending it to another dimension by way of an old book. However, Karen accidentally sets the monster free one day while she is out hunting. The leprechaun immediately sets about killing several people, but Karen's father, Sheriff Connor O'Hara (

), is unwilling to believe 'Pops' O'Hara's (

William Devane William Joseph Devane (born September 5, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Greg Sumner on the primetime soap opera ''Knots Landing'' (1983–1993) and as James Heller on the Fox serial dramas '' 24'' (2001–2010) and '' ...

) claims that the murders are perpetuated by a supposedly mythical being.

Cast

as Sheriff Connor O'Hara *

as Karen O'Hara *

as "Pops" O'Hara *

Dave Randolph-Mayhem Davis Dave Davis (born 1989) is an American actor based out of Los Angeles and New Orleans. He is best known for his role in the 2019 horror film '' The Vigil''. Early life and education Davis was born in 1989 in Princeton, New Jersey, into a Jew ...

as Dax Spence (as Dave Davis) * 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 * Kent Jude Bernard as Enos *

Gabriel Jarret Gabriel Jarret (born Gabriel Kronsberg; January 1, 1970, Los Angeles, California) is an American actor. He began his career in 1981. He is best known for his role as the young genius Mitch Taylor in the 1985 comedy film '' Real Genius'' in whi ...

as Harris * Thomas Francis Murphy as Dr. McCormick * Dane Rhodes as Wally "Happy" O'Shannon * Glen Warner as Green Face Man (uncredited)

Production

Daywalt began working on ''Red Clover'' while developing another project with ''After Dark'', who had asked him to direct for them after viewing some of his other work. During the development of the film, writer Ferrante wanted to make the leprechaun character "creepy and organic" and wanted to avoid the typical clothing associated with St. Patrick’s Day. One of the weapons used in the film, a staff with four sharpened

horseshoes Horseshoe is a shoe for horses and by analogy is applied to many things with a similar shape. Horseshoes (game), a tossing game played with a horseshoe Horseshoe(s) or Horse Shoe(s) may also refer to: Places * Horseshoe Valley (disambiguation) ...

on it, was developed after Ferrante joked that they could call the movie "Four-Leaf Cleaver". Filming took place in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of count ...

Reception

Critical reception for ''Red Clover'' under its original name and its DVD release were mixed to negative. Comparisons were made to the ''

Leprechaun A leprechaun ( ga, leipreachán/luchorpán) is a diminutive supernatural being in Irish folklore, classed by some as a type of solitary fairy. They are usually depicted as little bearded men, wearing a coat and hat, who partake in mischief. ...

'' film series and the movie's plot was one of the most commonly criticized elements of ''Red Clover''. At the same time, several reviewers acknowledged that the film had some entertainment value as a

B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feat ...

DVD Verdict DVD Verdict was a judicial-themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. The editor-in-chief was Michael Stailey, who owned the website between 2004 and 2016, and the site employed a large editorial staff of critics, whose revi ...

gave a mixed review, stating that "this isn't as plainly awful as almost everything that airs on that network, but that doesn't mean it's very good, either". In contrast, the review from ''HorrorNews.net'' was largely positive, praising the movie's dialogue and acting.

References

External links

* * {{Rotten tomatoes, red_clover_2013 2012 horror films 2012 television films 2012 films 2010s supernatural films American supernatural horror films Films set in Massachusetts Films shot in Louisiana Leprechaun films Syfy original films Holiday horror films Saint Patrick's Day films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films