The Leaves

The Leaves (occasionally referred to as The Leaves Attack) is a horror film written and directed by Cian Nolan and distributed by LA!LA! Arts (then LA!LA! Productions). It received a limited release, which proved to be a wise move, as the film flopped. It is constantly regarded as the worst movie made by LA!LA!

Synopsis
Kurtis, Chris and Jess, three friends, are hiking when they come across a dead body covered in leaves, which they are then attacked by. They flee to an abandoned WWII bunker nearby, but soon discover the evil leaves are also in the facility. They come across an unconsious scientist with a leaf stuck to his chest. After many attempts, they get the leaf off, awakening the man, who still believes it is World War II. Dazed, he flees the room and is devoured by a storm of leaves. The three opt to split up to find a way out of the bunker. After each barely escape the leaves, the three regroup and are forced to trap themselves in a room. However, in a hurry, Chris catches his arm in the door and is forced to cut it off. As he does, a stray leaf enters and latches itself on to Jess' chest, placing her in a coma. Leaving her behind, Chris and Kurtis flee the room, but are attacked as they do so. Kurtis escapes, but a leaf swarm latches themselves to his bloody stump and drain his blood, killing him. Kurtis escapes and finds a gun, his only defence. The film ends on a cliffhangar, with Kurtis holding up his gun as the leaves enter.

Production
The project was greenlit by LA!LA!, but they opted to give it a trial run and only give it a limited release to start with. It didn't get a wider release as a result of its commercial failure.

According to a source, Jess was placed in a coma so she could return as a supporting character for a comic series set 2 years in the future, in which the leaves reach a wider scale. LA!LA! cancelled plans for the comic after the film bombed.

Ciarán Graham revealed a secondary plotline was in the original story in which the group found a crisp packet which could repel leaves. This was later cut, but the bag was still in their possession. Graham says he still owns the exact same bag.

Reception
The Leaves was both a critical and commercial failure. As a result of both its limited release and lack of advertising, little to no people went to see the movie. Also, reviews were scathing, with many agreeing the story made no sense and featured half-assed writing.

Future
Aswell as the comic series, LA!LA! were also planning a sequel to be released soon after, but this was cancelled.