Friday, June 17, 2011

I’ll be frank: I’m tired of found-footage films. If you had told me 12 years ago when I was burgeoning film nerd, losing my cool over The Blair Witch Project, that I’d ever tire of shaky cameras and fake reality, I’d have scoffed as I ventured in for my third theatrical peek. A decade later though and the concept of the mock-umentary, the fake reels of film found on some doorstep, the single camera duly following its entirely made up subject feels all-encompassing. And I’m damn tired of it. But what’s the best way to spice up the idea? To add a little fire to the quickly cooling sub-genre? Kick it over to far Northern Europe and let them put their own particular spin on it. Troll Hunter doesn’t stray far the idea The Blair Witch Project gut-punched in to the public conscious, but it adds a particular Norwegian spin and with an amazing performance by its lead, the film hurdles the inherent boredom of its American counterparts.

Movie Review - Troll Hunter

Turns out that in Norway the long told stories of trolls (the bridges, the fear of light, the enormous noses, etc.) aren’t just stories. Trolls are real and a covert section of the Norwegian government has been tasked with keeping them under wraps. A trio of doofy college kids stumble upon the titular Troll Hunter and the film follows their slow introduction in to the world. Director Andre Ovredal has done what so few American found-footage films attempt: he researched, a lot. His trolls and the troll-world they exist in are based upon the legends we’ve grown up with and it makes the character’s interaction with the trolls hilarious and frightening. These aren’t monsters in the way a vampire might be, but rather wild animals that the Norwegian government has cooped away, like our own fears of the children’s tale. The education of the three main characters becomes our own education and the teacher behind it, Trolljegeren, is played with stolid indignation by Otto Jespersen. His troll hunter is a man who’s grown tired of the slow killing of the trolls for the good of secrecy, and his decision to fork over the secrets to a television film crew is one of sad righteousness.

Jespersen’s performance is a nuanced one and it helps to push the film past the standard tropes of one-camera horror flicks, but more so it is Ovredal’s love of the subject matter that makes it different. This isn’t just about attractive youth being murdered by a ghoulish force, this is about the history of a country and the introduction of this secret past to the future. Beyond that, the film is funny and fun and doesn’t get lost in the seriousness of scaring. A scene where Trolljegeren puts on a full suit of leather armor, only to be battered about like a limp rag made me laugh out loud, and the film is full of these sorts of surprising moments.

An American remake is already in the works and I can’t imagine how Hollywood plans on shifting the focus from trolls to whatever is deemed America’s version of trolls. That said, we all know an American version is going to heavy-handed and lacking in humor, and though, yes, I will certainly attend the film, I’ll do so with severe resignation.

- Noah Sanders -



Unless otherwise expressly stated, all text in this blog and any related pages, including the blog's archives, is licensed by John Laird under a Creative Commons License.