When Horror Makes You Cringe
Ah St Patrick's Day - I remember you well.
In primary school I used to love the chance to ditch the school uniform and wear something green. At the canteen, we could buy green doughnuts and green milkshakes. The classrooms would have green streamers up - and no one knew what the day was actually all about. I imagine now, looking back, it was a chance for the adults to have a couple of drinks under the guise of, 'It's March 17, cheers'.
As it turns out, our mate St Patrick was a 5th century missionary, working with the people in Ireland. Later, he became a bishop and was recognised as bringing Christianity to large parts of the country, and the Anglo-Saxon peoples.
The lore about St Patrick is, that he performed the miracle of driving all the snakes out of Ireland - banishing them to the sea where they drowned. He is also famed for explaining the Holy Trinity as a three leaf clover.
- But, here's something particular interesting. I have always understood it to be a fact, that to become Canonized by the Catholic Church, you would have to perform a number of miracles after your death. In reading up this morning, it looks like St Patrick became a 'Saint' out of popularity, rather than any formal processes (which did not exist in the Church in the 5th Century). There ya go, we do learn something new each day!
One of the most fascinating parts about Catholicism is their iconography and stained glass windows. I'm not really much of an art lover, not an artist - but I love how images tell stories. Below, you see him with the snakes and the field of clover - these you will find in a lot of the iconography associated with him - and they keep the lore about him alive. It's a deliberate association - fascinating stuff, eh? A study of the renaissiance painters and how they represent the saints in the cathedrals in Rome may sound like a yawn-fest, but it's worth a look if you get a chance. One day I hope to go on tour of Rome just for this reason - and no, I'm not even a Catholic (Or perhaps I am, I was baptised Catholic, but confirmed Anglican - perhaps I'm straddling an ecumenical line).
OK - So where does that leave us?
The Leprachaun Trilogy!
I first seen this movie when I was about 11 or 12 - and it was the funniest horror film I'd ever encountered in my life, at that point, and to this day. The reason, because it wasn't B grade, or even C grade, it was more like D grade. The costumes were bad, the script was bad, the acting was even worse!
The plot is [if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all]. A Leprechaun tries to kill a teenage girl who he believes has stolen his gold. The end.
But, it was Jennifer Aniston's first film - let's explore that (OK, she was an extra in a dance scene in a film a few years earlier, but in this one, she got some talking parts). Now, watching this film, you would be forgiven for thinking: 'How the heck did she go on to make millions from her acting?'
This still is her, 'I'm really scared, I need to go kill that thing' face. Of course, you didn't need me to tell her that, her facial expressions tell the story!
And this is her 'I'm a damsel in distress, something just bit me pain face'. Come on, if a Leprechaun takes a big bite out of your leg - is this how you'd react? And, if you're wondering, the blue paint on her arm, and her hunky friend is from painting the house. Yes, she somehow managed to get paint streaks on her, and no other paint. How lucky her shirt is completely clean - because let's face it, when we paint, we only get it on our skin, am I right? This is why I paint in a Tuxedo - means the paint can only get on my hands.
Although, the film was successful as an Awards night I'd never heard of before, an appropriate category for them to win I'd think:
[Source](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107387/awards/?ref_=tt_awd)
So what did Jennifer Aniston think of the film?
- She thought it would be career ending. She thought that was the end of her acting career!
- She watched the film again in 2009 for 'Shits and Giggles' - but had to keep leaving the room, constantly cringing. (Let's face it, we reacted the same and we wern't even in it)
This post was in response to the CineTV Tweet - have you joined in one yet? You can click the link below to go to the original post.
https://twitter.com/CineTv_io/status/1504525287719116801h
- CineTv_io