Troll II

Yes, the acting is bad, the costumes are cheap and the music is laughable. But worst movie of all time? definitely not. I don't have the energy to dissect the film scene by scene nor would anyone want that, but I actually did enjoy certain aspects of the film, what I enjoyed was its 'campy' improvised feel, and how it always manages to avoid cliché, and that even in the most unconventional ways. The film has the creators stamp all over it and when he encounters a snag or hiccup in the plot, be damned to those who disagree with how one should deal it, he plows through it and comes up with his own completely unique solution no matter how illogical it may be. This is film this is make believe, I don't care if it makes sense it is actually refreshing to see a little bit of 'weird' now and then. That is not to say that I wholly enjoyed the film, I found it to drag on and several times let myself be distracted by other things while the film played, it is no great film even in its badness, it is bad for sure, but there were more than a few entertaining moments. For instance, Troll 2 has nothing to do with trolls, it is a movie about goblins, but hey whatever just a technicality eh? lololol.

You often hear of movies that are so bad that they're good. It's hard to point to a single movie that is like this though. What some may say is "so good it's bad" may come off to others as just plain bad. However, everyone I have talked to who has seen this movie has agreed: Troll 2 is so horribly, shamelessly bad, that it is good.

The writing for film is more than awkward (take the redundant "Stonehenge Magic Stone"), and the character dialogue sounds so incredibly unnatural they might as well be robots. The reason for this is because the man who wrote the script and directed it, Claudio Fragasso, is a native speaker of Italian. He wrote the script in English when English was (barely) his second language. The acting is absolutely terrible, but who can blame them? This was most likely the first (and last) film any of these actors have been in.

The costumes and special effects have that wonderful B-movie quality to them. While there are many blaringly obvious errors, I find that the smaller ones are actually funnier. Actors shaking when time is supposed to be "frozen," or flies on their face during the climatic scenes. There are so many continuity mistakes that I sometimes found myself wondering if the director was putting them in on purpose. It was like every time the camera shot changed, the crew completely forgot how the previous shot was set up, and had the actors give their best guess on where they're supposed to be.

I think everyone needs to see at least a few horrible movies in their lifetime. Troll 2 is entertaining and hilarious, especially when watched with friends. The plot is ludicrous, but at least you never know what's going to happen next. Many scenes seem completely unnecessary, and this film simply does not bother to justify any of the things that happen in it. The end result is a horror B-movie that ends up being so horrible that you can't help but laugh. The only question I find myself asking now is do I give it a "1" because it was so bad, or a "10" because it was so good?

This IS the best movie ever made. Nothing I have experienced has displayed the degree of perfection attained by the geniuses (yes geniuses and nothing less) behind Troll II.

The story-line is gripping, believable, and damn scary. The Waits family is on a month long vacation in the country town of Nilbog, as part of the family exchange program. They leave the modern conveniences of their home to "rough it" in Nilbog's rural setting. I'm on the edge of my seat already, but wait, there's more. Young Joshua's deceased Grampa Seth comes back from the grave to warn the family of Nilbog's dangers. The beautiful Holly Waites's boyfriend tags along with his blatantly homo-erotic chums. There's something strange about the curiously unrefrigerated "Nilbog Milk." Oh, and did I forget to mention that the town is full of GOBLINS?!!!

The acting in this film can be summed up in one word and one word only: superfine. Every member of the Waites family was portrayed realistically and intriguingly. The chemistry between Elliot and Holly was so intense that I would be surprised to hear that there was not something going on off camera. The town matriarch has full command of the screen whenever she graces it with her presence. One actor takes the cake, however. Scene stealer Draco Floyd as the Store Owner is a sight to behold. He truly takes this movie that extra step into masterpiece. Watch for him. He'll give you chills.

The special effects are top of the line for 1992, and some of these techniques are still used today. Watch for the spear throwing, the regeneration of Creedence's hand, Grampa Seth in the mirror, "the shirt buttoning scene," the vegetable transformations, "the popcorn scene," and of course, the goblin costumes.

The underlying social commentary of Troll II was truly ahead of it's time. Homosexuality is dealt with on many different levels. Elliot and his boys are obviously repressed closet homosexuals. Their's is a constant struggle for acceptance into the Waites family. The town of Nilbog is in fact run by a lesbian who lusts after Holly Waits and takes great pleasure in the demasculinization of Arnold. Vegetarianism is approached more directly. The goblins turn their human victims into vegetables before devouring them. This says in no uncertain terms that everything you eat (plant or animal) was alive once, and killing is still killing. Troll II takes a chilling look at organized religion in the sermon scene. The Preacher (played by my father, I'm pretty sure of it) has his congregation in the palms of his hands and easily turns them against the lovable, freckled Joshua. Power like that belongs in no one man's hands.

On the whole, realism sells Troll II. It's scary because it COULD happen. Don't watch this one alone or at night, but DO watch it. You won't forget it.

My sister made me watch this. She insisted it was a contagion, a disease she was compelled to spread. After seeing it, I truly understand, relate, and recommend.

It's awful! But a transcendent awfulness...you want to pass it around like milk that might be spoiled, but everyone needs to test it anyway.

I've never laughed so much at something that isn't even trying to be remotely comedic; it's a travesty.

I'm not surprised there are drinking games built around it, but you'll be more than amused watching it sober.Yes, it's that bad! But fun - you want to see it over and over again, and force other people to watch it too. Rent it on a particularly bad day: you'll forget everything irritating in your life, and be weirdly involved in a world of badly-clad midgets; suddenly wondering if baloney sandwiches or urine could possibly be the solution... If you vote, give it a one - it truly deserves the recognition of being one of the worst movies ever.

Written and directed by Claudio Fragrasso, a name that any self-respecting fan of bad films should be aware of, Troll 2 is a logic-free mess that features absolutely no trolls (vegetarian goblins, yes; trolls, no!), costumes by Laura Gemser (a woman who knows a lot about taking clothes off, but seemingly very little about designing them), bad 80s hair and fashion, a goblin queen by the name of Creedence Leonore Gielgud (who scrubs up rather nice and seduces a bloke with a cob of corn), lousy special effects and make-up, one of the most irritating child 'actors' of all time, and a crazy finalé that sees good triumph over evil with the help of a double-decker bologna sandwich and a rock from Stonehenge (quite what that is doing in Utah, I'll never know!).

Whilst there is no doubt that Troll 2 is a technically very poor film, I'm not entirely convinced that it deserves it's current position of number 59 on the IMDb bottom 100. I've seen tons of films that I have enjoyed far less than Troll 2—films with seemingly no redeeming qualities whatsoever, the celluloid equivalent of Ketamine; at least this one provides plenty of unintentional laughs and is so utterly bizarre in places that it kept me watching to the bitter end. Surely that's gotta be worth a rating of at least a 3/10?

P.S. If you should find yourself struggling to finish the film, there are always the Troll 2 drinking games to make things a little less painful; I suggest taking a shot every time piggy-nosed brat Joshua mentions his Grandpa Seth—you'll be plastered in no time!