Gnome Alone (II) (2015) User Reviews

Wants to be "Leprechaun" but fails miserably

[ersinkdotcom · 3/10 · 27 January 2015]

It was pretty evident from the moment I gazed upon the packaging for "Gnome Alone" what Lionsgate was trying to do. They wanted to launch a low-budget indie horror franchise in the vein of "Leprechaun." The only problem is the charm and black humor which awarded our little green friend's movies annual viewings at St. Patrick's Day is covered here in a layer of raunch that will detract many viewers from giving it the same respect.

Just when Zoe (Kerry Knuppe) thinks she's all alone in this world, an old woman (Willow Hale) passes on her bewitched Gnome (Verne Troyer), who is bound by magic to protect his master. Zoe quickly realizes that he isn't your garden variety gnome, when he begins eliminating her enemies in extravagant displays of revenge. Zoe must find a way to stop this mischievous gnome, before Zoe and her friends become victims of his trickery.

I know what the makers of "Gnome Alone" are shooting for. They are looking for a chance to connect to an audience seeking holiday horror movies to add to their list of yearly programming. People will pick it up mistakenly thinking it's a genre Christmas tale because of the title's resemblance to "Home Alone." After getting into it, they'll find ties to leprechauns, which will lead viewers to link it to St. Patrick's Day.

"Gnome Alone" has some entertainingly gory kills, but nothing that will stick in your mind the way the ones in the "Leprechaun" movies do. How can you top being pogo-sticked to death or having a weird little green creature climb out of your stomach? I can't even remember one of the death scenes from this movie right off-hand.

What I do remember is a lot of sexual situations that seemed like they were trying to one-up their 1980s horror / slasher counterparts. I don't particularly like nudity or adult situations even being in genre films. "Gnome Alone" definitely takes it to a whole other level of smut.

Verne Troyer plays the little monster in "Gnome Alone" giving the title character an air of creepiness and a pinch of sleaziness. Most folks will identify him as Mini-Me from the "Austin Powers" movies. The only other noticeable face for me was that of Bill Oberst, Jr. He's had roles in several grade B and Z horror films like "Krampus: The Christmas Devil," "Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies," and "A Haunting in Salem" to name a few.

"Gnome Alone" will no doubt find an audience who doesn't mind its descent into raunchiness. It goes too far in that direction for my tastes. I prefer holiday and creature feature slashing and bloodletting that doesn't make me feel like I need to take a shower afterwards.

A highschool drama ( i mean the movie)

[rlibau · 3/10 · 25 January 2015]

I expected, after a good opening sequence, some fairytale-like story....but that idea went up in smoke very quick.... After the opening sequence it turned into a highschool horror and poorly acted too... Only Verne Troyer and Kerry Knuppe were OK but the rest were probably snatched from some amateur company... The writers were probably 18 too, believing that, if you include a teacher hitting on a student, it would sell more DVD's... But the "erotic" scenes were a complete turn of (too fake). Comedy part was also not well written... Should have been more outrageous and sarcastic... Special effects were OK too...

Not scary at all... but pretty funny in a 'so bad it's good' kind of way

[Seth_Rogue_One · 5/10 · 23 October 2015]

Basically a low-budget rip off of the 'Leprechaun' movies but with Verne Troyer instead of Warwick Davis, he's not technically a leprechaun but a gnome but it's still very much the same deal.

And to call something a low-budget rip off of 'Leprechaun' which also was a low-budget franchise you know that this is REALLY low-budget, but that adds a bit to the charm.

Occasionally just plain bad but for the more part so bad it's good to the point that it becomes funny and I had a good laugh watching it, the dialogue is often ridiculously and most of the cast aren't that great either but it does manage to entertain for the more-part so of course that in itself is an achievement.

You have poorly written characters like the obnoxious wannabe frat-boy cop and the lesbian teacher who's taken straight out of a porno providing us with bizarre entertainment, and also entertaining to see in a smaller role; former child-star Ross Bagley from THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR and the 1994 adaption of THE LITTLE RASCALS again.

But yeah is it a "good movie"? Of course not, but does it entertain? It sure does, it struggles a bit in the second half when it takes itself a little too seriously but it's still a whole lot better than the Leprechaun reboot "Leprechaun: Origins (2014)" that was just plain bad and boring, while this at least provides a good amount of chuckles.

T2 w/ T

[seraphimlance · 19 January 2015]

This movie was screwed up as hell.

Every scene lasts 4 times longer than it should, which means that awful scenes are enough to make you cringe as hard as you possibly can, but the retarded funny stuff lasting so long is enough to make it slightly worth it.

The revenge murder scenes make up for the rest of the awful garbage in between. All in all, I'd put it in league with some of the really awful movies that you enjoy, but not on the same level of movies like Troll 2.

This is Troll 2 with titties.

ROGUE GNOME WITH A VAGUE SENSE OF JUSTICE

[nogodnomasters · 5/10 · 3 May 2019]

The first five minutes of the film give us the story of the creation of the protective gnome (Verne Troyer) and a cameo by Bill Oberst jr. We then jump yo the present where an old homeless woman (Willow Hale) is the fortunate one to possess the gnome. Upon being beat to death the gnome transfers himself to Zoe (Kerry Knuppe) a young girl with issue. She has a drunk mom (Kinley Farrow) who is on meds; a step-father (P.J. Marino) who still has sex with her; a lesbian psych professor (Lonna Drewes) who has designs on her; and a bad cop (Erik Aude) who likes donuts. As the body count goes up everyone starts to look at Zoe as the common denominator.

It is an interesting premise and with a pun title you would expect some clever writing, a series of bad puns and jokes and perhaps a running gag to keep us entertained. Such was not the case. I thought Kerry Knuppe did great as Zoe and the script did her wrong. It is a film that goes through the motions.

Guide: F-bomb, sex, nudity.

Surprisingly, this film is very funny.

[burgo666 · 6/10 · 24 January 2015]

I wasn't expecting much from this film to be honest but I really enjoyed it. The horror is slasher gore type, rather than tension building and jump scares. The film takes time to establish the plot and the backgrounds of the main characters, into the second act the murderous feast begins with gusto. The dialog is corny, but beautifully delivered by the cast. The real magic comes from Verne Troyer whose delivery of lines during the gore is comedic gold.

This film plays to it's type so well, you get the feeling the whole thing is tongue in cheek. The plot is ridiculous and the characters are all stereotypes. But somehow, maybe thanks to the performance of Troyer and Kerry Knuppe it all comes together in what is essentially a fun film. Comedic horror at it's gory best.