Jennifer Aniston plays a Beverly Hills princess transplanted to North Dakota where she and a group of youths find themselves terrorized by a leprechaun bent on reclaiming his gold.

Writer-director Mark Jones’ improbable franchise launcher aspires to Evil Dead style mania, but struggles with pace. Too much dead air. We trudge through long spells between leprechaun appearances.

Aniston’s casting helps. She packs ample charisma which distracts from her part’s slippery characterization, which sees her transform from prissy diva in the opening scene to a shotgun-wielding, field-dressing action hero by the finale.

This inanity extends to the plot. At one point the kids, looking to escape an isolated cabin, concoct a diversion so they can flee in a Jeep. Good plan, but only Aniston leaves and the others stay. Why?

Jones nails the tone, however. He paints the titular villain as silly but dangerous. In one scene, the leprechaun tools down the road in a miniature car. In another, he rips out a corpse’s eyeball to replace his own. Great bits, just not enough of them.