Jennifer Aniston's genre of choice is definitely comedy. The actress is, of course, famous for playing Rachel Green on Friends and she has starred in some hilarious movies, from The Break-Up to Horrible Bosses. While Aniston has showed off her dramatic talents in films like Cake and The Good Girl, she hasn't really ventured in the world of horror or thriller movies... except for the 1993 movie Leprechaun.
Generally considered a totally cheesy and fairly bad horror movie, although one that started a franchise with almost ten movies, Leprechaun isn't exactly the kind of film that fans associate with Jennifer Aniston. How does the actress feel about this film that started her career?
Before Leprechaun, Jennifer Aniston hadn't starred in any movies at all. After that, she won roles in She's the One (1993), Picture Perfect (1997), The Object Of My Affection (1998), and Office Space (1998). It's safe to say that her career kicked into high gear and, of course, everyone loved watching Aniston on Friends, which aired from 1994 until 2004. But when Aniston took on her very first movie role in Leprechaun, she played Tory Redding, a high school girl who stays in a farmhouse with her dad... and who discovers a creepy leprechaun there.
While some might say that the '90s was a bad time for horror movies, there are so many classic films from this time, including Scream, and there are also some cheesy films that might not be critically acclaimed but they have a special place in fans' hearts. It's definitely an interesting time period with some truly bad horror films and others that started massive trends that are still seen in movies today.
What does Jennifer Aniston think about this horror movie? When interviewed by InStyle Magazine, Aniston said, “There’s loads of movies where you’re thinking: ‘Oh god, this is just… how am I going to survive this in my future?’ And then it’s a cult… ‘something’ because it’s so embarrassing.” Aniston said that she wasn't referring to Office Space and said, “That movie wasn’t! That movie was special. I was talking about Leprechaun.” Aniston shared that when she and Justin Theroux were dating, they watched the movie together, and she found it tough to watch it. It's sweet imagining the famous former couple hanging out and picking this film for a movie night at home.
Leprechaun is definitely in the "so bad it's good" movie category, and there are eight movies in the franchise. Warwick Davis shared with Dread Central that he enjoys the popularity of the movies. Davis said, "I love the Leprechaun movies and I love that people always ask me about them. We had no idea when we were making that first movie that there’d even be one sequel, let alone five, and even though we haven’t made a Leprechaun film in almost ten years, people still love them and talk about them a lot. That’s pretty incredible."
After the first 1993 film, Leprechaun 2 came out in 1994, focusing on a couple in L.A., Cody (Charlie Heath) and Bridget (Shevonne Durkin). The third movie from 1995 is a direct-to-video movie where the Leprechaun is now in Las Vegas. The next movie is even sillier: Leprechaun 4: In Space. The fifth film came out in 2000 and was called Leprechaun in the Hood, followed by 2003's Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood. There was a long break in the horror franchise and then the 2014 film Leprechaun: Origins came out, followed by 2018's Leprechaun Returns.
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While Jennifer Aniston might think that Leprechaun is a corny movie, it's fun seeing the actress in her first movie, as it's such a throwback. And there's definitely nothing to be embarrassed about. Fans can see the passion of Aniston's early acting days in every Tory scene, and it's especially entertaining to watch the movie and compare it to Aniston's work on Friends, where she explored a funny and sweet character over 10 seasons.
Even though Aniston has sometimes said that her '90s horror film wasn't any good, it sounds like she would be happy to return to the genre. According to The L.A. Times, Jennifer Aniston said, “I’d really like to do a horror film. Like a psychological exorcist-type thing.” Fans would definitely love to see the actress explore this kind of role in a thriller or horror film. When the journalist who she was speaking to said that they hadn't watched it, Aniston said, "Don’t."
The final movie in the Leprechaun franchise was released in 2018, and many fans would love for this horror franchise to return. In the 2018 film, Taylor Spreitler plays Lila Jenkins, Tory's daughter, which connects the new movie to the original.