'Leprechaun's Revenge' won't make you green with envy

TV MOVIE "Leprechaun's Revenge"

WHEN | WHERE Premieres Saturday at 9 p.m. on Syfy

REASON TO WATCH They're not little cute-guys-in-green-with-pots-o'-gold anymore.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT You gotta give it to Syfy. Their Saturday Original Movie titles really describe the content. When gory things start happening around a Massachusetts small town just before St. Patrick's Day -- bloody dismemberings, chunks ripped out of people's faces, run-overs by Hyundais -- it's not hard to figure out whodunit.

The goat-feet tracks only seal the deal. Which means town drunk-who's-secretly-smart William Devane can go leprechaun hunting, but slowly, so we get a few more bloody ambushes that make his doubting sheriff son, Billy Zane, go apoplectic. And teen heroine/granddaughter Courtney Halverson (MTV's "Death Valley") has time to hang with a guy who's crushing on her, as they team up to research the phenomenon, provide handy explanations, and voice dialogue like "Are you suggesting that I pimp-slap a leprechaun?"

MY SAY "Leprechaun's Revenge" is good. And bad. Both good bad and just bad. The script plays it straight, then twisted, creating a tonal mess, but it's an entertaining mess, and stylishly filmed. There's plenty of tongue-in-cheek wit to keep you awake, and also plenty of dead time in which to check your texts, pop more corn, and debate what the heck Billy Zane thinks he's doing in his nutso "leprecop" performance.

Don't worry, he gets his. Almost everybody does. Body count is massive.

SEE PHOTOSTV shows that made an impact

(Lighter-hearted St. Patrick's Day celebrants might want to try Hallmark Channel's 8 p.m. Saturday movie "Chasing Leprechauns," where Adrian Pasdar ("Heroes") plays a business exec who finds love in the Emerald Isle. You'll be able to go "awww" instead of "ewww.")

BOTTOM LINE When a movie announces leprechauns are "the vermin of the fairy folk," you know what you're getting.

GRADE C+