Troll Hunter (2010)
You'll believe it when you see it!
On today’s episode of “I swear I’ve done this” we feel like we are stuck in an eternal loop of doing the same things while eating a pizza that tastes like a cheeseburger. Tonights movie is one I watched a while ago - and honestly would have sworn I did during my stint of hard-pushing through a lot of found footage movies in search of the good ones. I feel like that seems like an impossible feat for some, but there are some that are legitimate shinning samples of what the genre really could be if a bit of effort was thrown into them. Now, I will state before hand that tonight’s flick is going to require a lot of reading for those who don’t know Norwegian - so if you aren’t in the mood for a little reading, perhaps it’s not the night for you to check it out. For the rest of us however, be rewarded by my Monster Hunter Wilds fueled desire to watch some man versus something real big, tongiht we visit (apparently for it’s first time on here) Troll Hunter.
This movie plays out in a classic fashion - a group of college kids out to make a documentary or movie end up getting in to far more than they initially would have thought. Interspersed with plenty of scenic Norway as they travel from spot to spot following what they think might be a bear poacher, they find themselves knee-deep in a secretive plot to keep humans safe from none other than trolls. These aren’t your cartoonish for kids righteous-haired trolls either, no - these are the big eat you rather then greet you kind of trolls. Of course, with a discovery like this it’s hard for the crew to pass up further following the hunter as he goes about his rather thankless job - which he pitches as the reason for letting them follow him about anyways. See, there’s way more troll activity going on than should be, and he needs to figure out why.
It’s a found footage movie, so of course the name of the game here is “immersion.” Actors play things up when it seems appropriate, and outside of what some might call a few questionable character actions (that I at least can come up with some reasons for) they keep it on the level for most of it. Yeah, camera guy comes off like a bit of a prick at times - but it doesn’t feel like it’s necessarily out of place for a human. Obviously, I can’t really speak as towards the line deliveries entirely - I only know about three words in Norwegian and none of them useful in the context of the movie. Still, general facial expressions and energy of the actors is on point for being both immersive and also well done from what I can tell.
The characters don’t have a ton about them really - college kids be college kids. They don’t seem to be too wise beyond their ages, but they also don’t feel like they are way too dumb to feasibly exist either. Of all of them, the main person we get to focus on as our intrigue and mystery is the hunter, who we really know nothing about at the front end and then slowly get to learn just how boss the guy is doing a thankless job with seemingly no worry about the ridiculous level of danger he’s constantly in. He comes off as cold and detached at first, but you get to see some of the wheels turning as it goes on that’s a nice touch. Likewise, the students all end up developing past the “nah, trolls aren’t real that’s dumb” phase relatively fast after the reveal, with our camera guy really being the only hold out - which does lead to a momentary interest peak when he seems to be getting unnaturally worried about things, even though the situation at hand really doesn’t make you think too much about it.
Underappreciated
Costumes fit the setting, and for the most part nothing really stands out. The crew all wear different enough outfits that they look unique from each other, but nothing so outlandish they look like they don’t belong in the movie. There is one instance of costume work straying from normal - and that’s the “anti-troll armor” that’s basically like a bear suit to help you not get mauled, which looks suitably jank but better than nothing. Although the costume part doesn’t have a ton to really stand out, it doesn’t slouch either - details like our lead interviewer’s coat damaged and held together by tape after a troll gets a little mouthy with him off screen stick around the entire time. The hunter’s vehicle and camper are also suitably spruced up with wear and tear that really sells the “crap job” aura the hunter puts out there. Props get a good working here, also feeling not too outlandish and reasonably real for the immersion aspects.
Effects work is a bit mixed I suppose, but honestly it holds up pretty good. I can’t really say that I know what a real troll looks like, having never seen one, but I feel like they look good enough in the settings they have and how they are used that it doesn’t take you out any more then the fact tha it’s a troll would. I really don’t think they are bad at all, but I’m also not going to say that they are way better then the best of offerings out there - as far as found footage movies go though? Yeah, this probably knocks it right out of the park. I’m sure if it was done nowadays with lots of time and a major budget they could pump up aspects - like hair physics for example - but the thing plays great. There’s also some Night vision shots in there that look pretty decent as well.
Audio is there, and largely falls to background outside of line deliveries. A lot of the travel scenes make use of vehicle radios to add in music, but given the found footage nature most the scenes in the woods and the likes are music-lacking adventures into “did I just hear a spooky noise?” Usually characters react first so it queues you in to pay more attention, and things that are meant to hear are never really hard to hear. That said, of course, my lack of knowing Norwegian means mostly all my understandings were coming from the hard-baked subtitles on the Amazon version I watched for this viewing. That being known, there is still some good emotion that comes through in the actor deliveries, and the troll noises are both somewhat varied and mysterious. There are in fact plenty of things for the thoughtful types, but i’ll just sprinkle a few like conspiracies and the nature of fairy tales, perhaps even some about thankless jobs in there.
Absolute balls of steel.
I really enjoy this movie, and was glad a year back or so when I heard they were going to make a sequel. Does it need one? No, but it’s still cool when something good gets more and it hopefully isn’t just a cash grab. As for this entry, it’s got some good acting and some good composition, and although it isn’t devoid of a lot of the tropes of found footage movies (like the “run away” shakey cams), it is incredibly competent at not being the worst of found footage flicks. It might not be the most action packed or horror-ridden of the genre, and at times it almost feels like a travel ad to beautiful Norway, but it’s interesting enough that it keeps your interest and plays some fun ideas and what it has available to it.