Trollhunter (2010)
Starring: Otto Jespersen, Glenn Erland Tosterud, Johanna Mørck
Writers: André Øvredal, Håvard S. Johansen
Director: André Øvredal
****Spoilers****
Three students wishful of becoming the next Michael Moore set out to make a documentary on a man thought to be a bear poacher. Unsuccessful in getting an interview, they go all stalker-like and begin following him across Western Norway. One night the students track him deep into the forests where they see large flashes of light beaming between the trees, along with guttural growls of something massive. The man comes running past them screaming “Troll!”. Scared shitless, the filmmakers follow right behind him, seeking refuge in his SUV. With their vehicle appearing to be the victim of a monster gangbang, they join him in his hunt and are granted permission to film it all. Though, they find his job title to be highly suspect.
Trollhunter is shot in documentary/found footage style, and it's honestly one of the the best of the bunch as far as I'm concerned. The camerawork is much less convulsed than say, The Blair Witch Project, and is every bit as passionately made as something like Cloverfield, if not more. The bulk, or perhaps all of the troll scenes rely heavily on CGI, and this is a rare instance where I have no complaints. The documentary element helps rather than hinders this picture, making the computer FX very believable. Most of the imagery rivals what you'd see in a fairly well budgeted Hollywood film. But even when the cameras aren't feeding your hungry eyes with troll hunting adventure, the backdrop of mountainous Norwegian landscapes more than make up for the non action sequences.
I'm no expert on Scandinavian folklore, and before watching this film I remembered very little about stories involving trolls. So, I did a little reading on the subject, and sure enough, this movie is coalesced with legendary stories about the mythical creatures within it. For instance, the film brings to life an old tale called The Three Billy Goats Gruff, in which three sheep are trying to cross a bridge to eat, but underneath the bridge is a troll trying to eat them. This is just one out of a handful of legendary tales that Trollhunter contains.
The creatures are split up into two main groups: forest trolls and mountain trolls, each having their own subgroups. They all have many different mannerisms and appearances. Some are small, some are freaking gigantic; some travel in groups, while others go solo. Trollhunter is a not a totally vicious film, so don't expect scene after scene of people being ripped apart and eaten by mythological monsters. It isn't completely void of graphic violence, but the lot of it lets your mind develop the outcomes. With that being said, the trolls themselves are total eye candy, and they should be well enough to please even the biggest aficionados of creature features. One little nitpick: the computer created trolls look massively more realistic than the dead bear props that we see here and there in the film. I'm talking ridiculous, but they do provide humor.
As this is a documentary style film, there isn't a whole lot of character development, though most of the people still manage to be quite likeable. Hans (Otto Jespersen) is basically the only one given a solid background, and he is the most sympathetic, indeed. Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud), Johanna (Johanna Mørck) and Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen) are the three aspiring filmmakers. All performances are fantastic. Jespersen fuels his role of a tired and 'over it' troll hunter with excellence, while Tosterud, Mørck and Larsen help give great comic relief, as well as fear to their characters.
An obviously large amount of passion went into Trollhunter from everyone involved, and that's what makes it work. I fell in love with most of the characters despite knowing little about them, and the moc-doc approach made me feel like I was right beside them running for my life. This movie is every bit as big as a Hollywood blockbuster, and succeeds at doing so with a budget of roughly $3 million. Instantly a cult classic for me... one that I'll watch repeatedly.
