Leprechaun 3 (1995): The Wild, Sleazy, Direct-to-Video Smash That Made Millions

Leprechaun 3 (1995)

Directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith

Written by David DuBos

Starring Warwick Davis, Lee Armstrong, John Gatins

Release Date: June 27, 1995

Published: June 23, 2025

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It’s arguable that Leprechaun 3 was the most unexpectedly successful movie of 1995. On paper, it was just another straight-to-video horror sequel. In reality, it became a blockbuster of the VHS era—reportedly earning between $70 to $80 million on a meager $1.2 million budget. No theatrical release, no critical acclaim. Just pure, sleazy, home-video gold.

Why?

Who the hell knows. Pop culture is weird like that. Maybe people saw the little green guy pop up on a Blockbuster shelf and thought, “Leprechaun… in Vegas? I need to see this.” And honestly, that’s the entire pitch. Take your franchise killer and let him loose on the Strip.

That’s the charm. Or the curse. Either way, Leprechaun 3 delivers exactly what the straight-to-video crowd in the 90s wanted: low-budget gore, dumb jokes, and enough sleaze to make you feel like you needed a shower afterward.

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Viva Las Leprechaun

The movie wastes no time. A bloodied man stumbles into a pawn shop with a statue of a leprechaun, complete with a pot of gold and a mysterious amulet. The shop owner, of course, ignores warnings not to remove the amulet. He does, and the Leprechaun—played with twisted charm by Warwick Davis—is unleashed.

Cue the carnage.

The Leprechaun loses a gold coin, which finds its way into the hands of Scott (John Gatins), a college-bound kid who’s just arrived in Vegas. After giving a ride to magician’s assistant Tammy (Lee Armstrong), Scott loses his tuition money at the casino and winds up in that same pawn shop. He finds the coin, makes a wish, and becomes a winning machine back at the roulette table.

Naturally, the Leprechaun follows.

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Gold, Gore, and Gratuitous Weirdness

Once the Leprechaun hits the casino, the film turns into a buffet of magical murder and grotesque wish-fulfillment gone wrong. We get a rogue’s gallery of sleazebags ready to be served up as victims: a lecherous pit boss (Michael Callan), a greasy magician (John DeMita), and a plastic-surgery-obsessed card dealer (Caroline Williams).

Among the more infamous kills:

• A naked woman crawls out of a TV and turns into a killer robot with exposed mechanical parts and flesh. The phase 'Heatseeking Moisture Missile' is said out loud by a grown adult.

• Loretta wishes for the body of a 20-year-old bombshell and ends up grotesquely inflated until her lips, breasts, and butt literally explode.

. A Magician is cut in half in his own trick as blood flows all over the audience.

There’s even a moment where the film tries to satirize the U.S. healthcare system… badly.

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Everyone’s in on the Joke—Sort Of

To be fair, Leprechaun 3 knows exactly what it is. There’s no illusion of artistic merit. It’s a fast, gross, shameless grab for eyeballs, filmed in under 14 days. Everyone involved seems aware of the assignment—deliver cheap thrills, nasty laughs, and enough gore to keep the VHS rental crowds entertained.

Warwick Davis is the MVP, again. Somehow, he still brings charisma to the chaos.

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What Happened to the Cast?

Lee Armstrong, who plays Tammy, quit acting right after this movie. She’s never said why, but a scene opposite Michael Callan might offer clues.

More surprising is John Gatins, who stuck around Hollywood and eventually earned an Oscar nomination for writing Flight (2012), directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Denzel Washington. No joke. From Leprechaun to Academy Award nod—that’s a wild arc.

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Final Thoughts

Leprechaun 3 isn’t good. It doesn’t care to be. It’s sleazy, cheap, gross, and strangely honest about it. There’s something admirable about that level of shamelessness.

Do I hate it? Not really. Do I care? Also no.

It gave people what it promised, which is more than you can say for a lot of movies. But don’t be surprised if you forget you ever watched Leprechaun 3 five minutes after the credits roll.

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1 out of 5 stars

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