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.

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.

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.

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 ...