Troll Hunter (2011)

I've seen a lot of people recommend this title, and because of that, I've been wanting to see it for a long time. I was not familiar with pretty much any Norwegian folklore about trolls, nor I knew the locations depicted in this film. But that didn't seem to matter. It was fascinating learning about it while the movie rolled.It starts slow, as it ramps up to the first encounter but from then on it becomes really interesting. The whole style is well made and quite different from anything else. Even tho there are some misses and downtime, it all end ups working together.It does a great job of creating a documentary feel. It really was like learning about trolls as real beasts. The details about their lives like of any other animal are believable and well spread to give an escalated sense of knowledge as the film develops. Of course, this is folklore and it didn't make sense for them to exist, but in the scope of the movie, they are credible. You should note tho that I enjoy folklore and old tales, so even if I liked when there was talk about the trolls, for others it might be boring.A few plot points feel a bit skipped but it's all to focus on the trolls as that's really what the film is about. The characters are not really developed for the same reason. Except for the troll hunter where is life and view of his job are better examined, but not much still. All characters are there to unveiling information about the environment and/or the trolls themselves, directly or indirectly, while also giving credibility to the documentary style. Given that, they have their place and the acting is good.The trolls are well made with their half funky, half scary appearance. They do behave like wild beasts, being portraiture, as far as I know, very well.It isn't particularly scary, it has its moments. It also has some comedic value in places. Both of this points being mostly driven by the trolls appearances.In the end, it's a well-made movie, great for those who like monsters and/or old fantasy tales. If you know the folklore it's a must. If not like me, it doesn't matter as half the fun is in finding those pieces and developing it for yourself. If you don't enjoy non-English movies, even with subtitles, it would have to be a skip as I would recommend watching it with the original audio. For the others if you are looking for something different in this genre, give it a try, you might just fell in love with it.

"Trollhunter" is reminiscent of Richard Matheson's book" I Am Legend," which concentrated as much on why vampires need blood, are afraid of garlic and mirrors, die if exposed to the sun, etc. The Trollhunter explains to college kids filming the Trollhunter's trolling for trolls the characteristics of the trolls, types of trolls, where trolls live, what trolls eat, why some trolls grow two useless heads out of their shoulders, etc. A veterinarian tells why trolls will blow up or turn to stone if exposed to the sun (hummm, sound familiar?). "Trollhunter" is a good film, and the Norwegian scenery is nice.

Finally got round to seeing this after hearing good things for some time but being wary of the documentary style. Turns out that this 'found footage' Norwegian film about the possibility of trolls being real is not without interest. Well made with very impressive creatures and even in the rain the woods and landscape looks pretty good. Apart from the troll aspect this is not very original and I will never get to enjoy watching a film as if on a boat being tossed about at sea. I know, found footage and all that but after establishing that can't we just view things without the camera being waved about? Anyway, some good chases, great views, some suspense but there was opportunity for more and there is the question of the humour. Otto Jespersen is the troll hunter and does very well in the role, mixing ghastly warnings of doom and wry humour. I understand that he is a comedian of note in his own country and that the film includes more comedians in smaller roles. I can only assume therefore that some of the most awkward and embarrassing moments were comedy elements that just don't work so well for non Norwegians. Worth a look for something a bit different but could have been so much better.

This movie is one of the strangest experiences of a movie I have seen in a while, not quite sure if it was trying to be funny at times or being serious. The film is all about a small film crew from a university who are trying to track a bear with some hunters. They then see a hunter who seems to be not registered to hunt bears and so they believe he is illegally trying to find it himself, but things are not as they seem. We then get introduced to the world of Trolls and what it consists of, the types of trolls, where they live and how they are dealt with. The plot becomes thrilling at times and by the end it leaves you guessing what will happen next, with its odd blend of humour to boot the movie is firmly a good one.The movie features a relatively unknown cast except maybe the comedian Otto Jespersen who to be fair will probably be only known to people in Norway. The cast being unknown works though because it gives the movie a more real feel to it and the footage actually looks like a bunch of amateurs filming it too. The characters are not the best people I felt if you like to connect with the people in a movie but nevertheless they can be funny and it is always good to see their reactions.Andre Øvredal directs and writes this and it is he who really takes this to a good level, he seems to direct in a way which is the basis for that humour I have mentioned and blends it well with all the things going on in this. He writes it pretty well too and yet again it feels humorous the script, there are times when the script can go a little over the top but it remains all well throughout. Toward the end I did feel the movie starts to actually eclipse it's documentary style and looks like an actual movie more, with this the success comes from it looking real so it's good that only the end looks a little too un- real.With the kind of budget this has you can't expect the trolls to look like they have come from a Hollywood blockbuster but what happens in this is pretty nicely done. The Trolls are usually seen either from far away or in the dark meaning even if the quality of the effects don't look 100% great, you still don't see the detail too much which could have ruined the believable look surrounding this. The movie also excels in creating the troll world, it has it's details all mapped out and never just goes straight for it, in fact some of the most interesting moments come from when the characters are simply sitting round discussing Trolls.Overall Troll Hunter is a fine movie and one I would definitely recommend you watch, it's mix of horror with comedy and of course Trolls makes this a unique watch and in regards to it's documentary style as well. The ending isn't one I personally liked so much but who cares the substance in-between is enough anyway to make it likable. Look out some of the jokes in this can seem like legit serious lines but really are satirical in nature, this film also employs things like the Christian thing, watch it and you'll see what I mean, it's a weirdly funny addition.