Aside from the 2022 Troll monster film on Netflix, there’s not much in the way of troll movies outside of the overcovered Troll 2 (and it’s “prequels” and “sequels” also mostly made by Italian directors and actors), even more so if we’re going for proper giant sized trolls, not the tiny ones, or the Dreamworks animated film series based on those old troll toys with the hair, for that matter.
Also, i had this on the backburner for a while, and it also lets me cover of my lest liked genres: the found footage mockumentary.
Directed by André Øvredal, nowadays better known for The Autopsy Of Jane Doe, Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark and The Last Voyage of The Demeter (with an upcoming adaptation of the horror videogame Bendy And The Ink Machine) here at his second feature lenght film, one more close to home for him, as it dwelves with the more well known beast of Norwegian folklore: the troll.
Done in mockumentary, found footage style (with the opening text scroll saying that 2 dvds of footage were anynomously forwarded to a Norwegian newspaper, and that what follows it’s a selected ensemble of the footage provided), Trollhunter follows a group of university students as they set out to make a documentary about a suspected bear poacher, Hans.
As they investigate the local hunters, whom have found some really strange looking footprints around, they also try to get an interview from Hans, despite him continually denying them, until one day they follow him and witness something they shouldn’t have…
It’s nice to see a film about trolls actually use the folklore rules and trappings of the creatures, like them turning to stone when exposed to the sun, being attracted to Christian blood, the various sub-types of trolls, etc.
It’s also quite nice to see a found footage film that doesn’t suck shit from a straw, quite the opposite, as it knows how the use the low budget to its advantage without just feeling cheap (or confusingly feeling like they look too good for “found footage”, some of the more recent/modern ones did have this issue, strange as it sounds), and it’s not one of those that use the format as a convenient built-in excuse to dangle the camera about and somehow miss ever catching the entity/creature on film until the 45 minutes mark or the last second.
Actually, it’s kinda surprising that you get to see a troll before the half-hour mark (meaning this avoides the pacing issues these films can have), AND they actually look pretty good, honestly they do (especially considering this isn’t a big budget production, at all), the CG for them might feel a bit dated now, but more importantly, they feel “real”, which is quite an accomplishment, and i love how nasty & accurate to folklore they are.
Surprisingly, it’s also quite funny, fairly clever, the characters are likeable, acting is quite good (apparently half the cast is made of Norwegian comedians, alonsgide unknows) and alongside some quite dry humourous bits, there’s also satire about state bureocracy, livestock regulations and immigration stereotypes, without skimping – quite the opposite – on delivering the spectacle.
My only gripe is that is a tad bit too long than it needs to (and the Polish stereotypes are… something), but it’s still quite good, and i do recommend it wholeheartedly, even if you don’t care too much for found footage-mockumentary style horror films.
There was an American remake in the works (because of course there was), but for once, it was cancelled, so i won’t have to waste my time with that, good riddance.
Wise Cafe (International) 