Troll Hunter

'Troll Hunter (2010)' doesn't aim for chills or scares, even though it contains several genuinely tense sequences. Instead, it reaches for a kind of low-key pastiche. This subtle satire goes hand-in-hand with its light, tongue-in-cheek but not overtly silly tone and its ever-evident deadpan sense of humour. Indeed, it's a dryly funny film when it wants to be, provoking blindsiding smiles even when it doesn't provoke proper laughs (which does happen on occasion). As its protagonists become more and more integrated with the secret life of its eponymous hunter, the piece digs further and further into its source lore and has a lot of fun deciding which bits to adapt and which to claim are simply 'fairytales'. This aspect of the picture probably plays even better in its home country of Norway, but the thing does a good enough job of contextualising itself that even those only vaguely familiar with the concept of a troll (which ought to be most people) will find enjoyment here. The film's special effects are surprisingly good - fantastic, even. They bring the narrative's fantasy elements to life in an impressively realistic way, combining with the excellent 'found footage' aesthetic to be perhaps as believable as possible (especially considering the generally low budget). Overall, the movie is really enjoyable. It's also rather distinct, taking an authentic look at a lore that isn't often explored in cinema. It's well-achieved in almost every way. 7/10.

Very enjoyable movie and also fun at times. Trolls are made very well. A bad thing though is the continuous screaming of the characters and the fact that human reactions are not really good.

People complaining this isn't a horror film must not understand the mockumentary genre. It's a lovely little film, rich with detail, not to mention the awesome Norwegian landscape. I understand that if one is Norwegian, there cues to culture and mythology throughout. But without getting any of that, really, I'm satisfied. Any film that ends with me smiling, I consider a good film. To my mind, the trolls are just right. A little scary, little funny. I gather if you are Norwegian, you are already familiar with the troll Hunter himself, Otto Jespersen. I had no clue he was Norway's most famous comedian, so the was no disbelief to suspend. He did an excellent job. The kids were fine. Basically I have no complaints at all and enjoyed the film very much ...

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.

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.