Troll Hunter

We have all seen the monster movies lately, they always seem to include: zombies, vampires of werewolves. The Troll throws monster movies through a loop by inserting the mythical troll.

The acting was very much above par. Not superb but well above average. The special effects were a wonder. The trolls actually looked realistic, though we all know they are fake. The realness actually pulled you into the movie.

The movie really held tight to the myths behind trolls, such as: smelling Christians, turning to stone and exploding with sunlight.

Having it set-up in a Blair Witch type, with a first person camera angle, made the movie all the more exciting. There was just enough camera shake to make you believe that the cameraman was running, but not enough to make you sick.

All-in-all this was an excellent movie. If I could make up one complaint, it is the abruptness of the end. I assume it is left this way for a potential sequel.

Believe the hype on this movie. It is one of the best found footage movies around. It follows from an original idea, a plausible reason for filming and a compelling story. The acting is convincing as well. I loved this movie. I very, very seldomly am sold on the found footage format, even though I watch a lot of them. This one is very convincing.

I love the troll effects as well. We need a sequel!

I gave this one a shot as Øvredal was behind it. It hit the mark. With the exception of one or two brief scenes, it's not really a horror movie or particularly scary. What it is is a well-done fauxumentary of three (well, four . . .) young Norwegians following a chain-smoking government trollhunter in a continous hunt for his wayward charges.

The scenery is beautiful; the actors engaging. And while the film (perhaps surprisingly) does decide to use CGI more than one might expect, the injection of humor into the story-line makes the use of (night vision) CGI much more effective, as the point is not to so much to "scare" but rather to outline (faithfully IMO) a very Scandinavian depiction of these mythic forest inhabitants. This is a real gem. Watch it.

This movie deserves allot of praise, simply for how well it plays on the Norwegian cultural memes. Visually it is also quite good, as it show of the landscapes and places in which the folklore of trolls actually arose, and of course spices it with lovely computer graphics when needed. The graphics merge very well with the mockumentary style, and the movie itself falls between categories, mixing comedy, action and fake amateur documentary style.

The bad sides are simply that it lacks a bit of flow at times, and of course, the biggest drawback of them all, one which only applies for foreigners: it's a very very Norwegian story. I saw it with my Portuguese girlfriend, and she thought it was okay. I briefed her on our fairy tales before seeing it, but jokes like the three sheep on the bridge are hard to catch, or appreciate, without being marinated in our culture for a long time. One other issue for me was actually the cameo appearance of two Norwegian comedians, something which slightly spoils the illusion. Others might disagree.

I suspect this movie would be a seven or six of ten if I was not Norwegian, simply for its concepts, but because it is so rich to me, I give it a ten despite its flaws. You'll love this movie for its visual side, and some of the drama is also great. For Norwegians, this is a must see. For everyone else, it might be exotic and neat, and offer you some relief from classical Hollywood monster depictions.

And should you get curious after seeing it, Google for "Theodor Kittelsen", and "Asbjornsen and Moe" (: Enjoy!

Trollhunter is pretty darn great. Apart from actually being a little scary at times it's also quite funny. The performances are all fine but what really makes this film stand out are the trolls. The effects are super interesting looking (in a good way.) The film can start to feel a little repetitive at times and a bit more could have been done to make it scarier but it's on Netflix and worth checking out.