Director: Andre Ovredal
Screenplay: Andre Ovredal, Havard S. Johansen
Starring: Otto Jespersen, Glenn Erland Tosterud, Johanna Morck, Tomas Alf Larsen
Release Date: 2010
TROLL HUNTER begins, in true BLAIR WITCH fashion, with a block of text explaining that what we are about to see is an authentic documentary cobbled together from 200 hours of footage found after the filmmakers mysteriously disappeared. It follows a group of Norwegian students from Volda College, director Thomas (Tosterud), sound operator Johanna (Morck) and cameraman Kalle (Larsen), as they track a mysterious man thought by locals to be the poacher responsible for a series of bear killings. The man’s name is Hans (Jespersen), and he travels the countryside in a terribly battered Land Rover that is covered in alarming claw marks, camping out in various trailer parks and disappearing into the forest for much of the night. After several attempts to secure an interview in which Hans runs them off, they eventually track him deep into the wilderness one night just in time to catch him in the middle of a battle with an enormous three-headed troll. After their vehicle is trashed by the beast, Hans agrees to let the students ride along with him as he tracks these monsters across the thick forests and icy tundra of Norway, educating them on the very real science of troll hunting and the Norwegian governments’ part I keeping the existence of the mythic creatures out of public knowledge.
TROLL HUNTER is not only another solid entry in the ever-expanding “found footage” subgenre kicked off by THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, but also one of the most creative, exhilarating and technically efficient monster movies I have seen in the last half decade. Director/screenwriter Andre Ovredal and co-writer Havard S. Johansen do a fine job of piquing our interest in the first half hour as the students quickly uncover the mystery of Hans nocturnal wanderings. Hans is a very quiet, stern man whose eyes betray an infinite sadness and tragic back story that is never made fully clear, but we enough is suggested throughout the picture’s running time to fill in the gaps and keep us engaged in his story. His bitter nonchalance and workmanlike attitude in the face of these Grimm’s fairy tale-inspired monstrosities adds a much-welcome humorous edge to the proceedings. He has only agreed to let the students film him because, in his words, "I'm tired of this shitty job", and feels the world should be allowed to know what he has devoted his life to keeping under wraps.
But what I enjoyed most about TROLL HUNTER was the immense complexity and thought put into building the world of this movie. There is a vast history of troll lore laid at our feet as Hans explains the numerous species and sub-groups of trolls, including the Ringlefinches, Mountain Kings, and the enormous, mountain-dwelling Jotnars. We learn how the Norwegian government has set up the Troll Security Service, or TSS for short, to keep the mythical beasts restricted to certain territories far-removed from civilization using ingenious ruses like massive circles of power lines which seem normal enough, but are actually being used as electrical fencing to keep the Jotnar at bay. Hans infiltrates the troll’s territories by covering himself and the documentary crew in concentrated troll stench to cover their human odor. One odor the troll stench cannot cover up, however, is the smell of Christian blood, which sends any troll into an enraged feeding frenzy. Hans asks the filmmakers before they embark on the hunt if any of them believe in Jesus, and while they all claim they don’t, one of them of course reveals they are a believer at the worst time, when they are trapped in the den of sleeping Ringlefinches, leading into one of the only truly creepy scenes in the movie as we witness the trolls chasing Hans and the film crew out of the cave through the eerie green glow of night vision. Later on, when asked if the trolls can tell the difference between Christian and Muslim blood, Hans humorously muses, “I honestly don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”
Strong aversion to Christianity aside, there is very little supernatural about the creatures. Hans goes into battle with the beasts with enormous UV ray emitting flash bulbs that replicate the effects of sunlight, causing the younger trolls to explode and the oldest ones to turn to stone. This is attributed by a veterinarian friend of Hans to an inability of the trolls to convert vitamin D from the sun into calcium, resulting in incredibly rapid calcification. In another scene we witness Hans attempt to draw blood from a Ringlefinch, under orders from the TSS, using, you guessed it, three billy goats as bait. In many other scenes, we get to see the bureaucracy of the TSS at work as Hans is forced to fill out a tedious “Troll Slay Form” after each successful hunt. It is the stubborn attention to little details like these that I admire most about this film, as the plausibility of the scenario aids the filmmakers in drawing the viewer into this crazy world.
Special mention must be made of the visual effects work utilized to create the various species of trolls. We only ever see them sparingly, usually shrouded in darkness and briefly illuminated by the strobe-like flash of the UV lights. I’m fairly positive the creatures were created via CGI, but there may very well have been some creative puppetry at play as well. The monsters initially look as ridiculous as the premise would suggest, until they give chase, and then they turn into truly terrifying behemoths, not to be laughed at. Particularly effective use is made by the blinding light of the flash bulbs, which light up the entire forest and lend a truly epic atmosphere to the battles without actually showing us anything. All of these effects were pulled off on a shoestring budget, but they did an amazing job and it is a testament to the immense talent of the filmmakers to squeeze every penny of production value that they could out of limited means.
I figured I would like TROLL HUNTER, but I never expected to be as entranced by it as I was, and the richly detailed back story and incredible character work by Jespersen went a long way towards cementing this a permanent space on my DVD shelf. The only negative thing I can say about the film is that the ending is rather abrupt and not entirely satisfying, but that is a trait that is inevitable with these found footage films. We may already know the outcome of the story, but what matters is how much fun we have reaching that conclusion. TROLL HUNTER is a total blast, a real breath of fresh air and creativity that is sorely lacking in mainstream movies. Give it a shot. Even if you don’t enjoy it on the same level that I did, I guarantee it will at least keep you thoroughly entertained. Word is that Summit Entertainemnt is planning on remaking this for US audiences soon, but I say screw that and check out this movie as soon as you get the chance.
My Rating:
9/10
