Les Chasseurs de Trolls

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.

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!

I saw this at Sundance last Friday and have to say it is the most fun I have had at the movies in a long while. The story is filmed in "mockumentary" style a la Cloverfield and has a healthy dose of dry Scandanavian humor to accent the dramatic and action sequences. While the story is relatively tight, it does not have the pretense as Sundance entries often do, as it never takes itself too seriously. We ran into a couple of the film's producers the next day in Park City and found them to be as grounded as the film they were behind.

I highly recommend this film and seriously hope it sees the light of day in the U.S.

'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.