ADFF 2011 Review: Troll Hunter

Found footage horror movies have been done dozens of times in Hollywood, but for a reason – they are cheap to make and turn up a tidy profit if done right. Here, we have a Norwegian film shot in the ‘found footage’ format that isn’t technically a horror film but is actually pretty unique nevertheless.

The film follows a number of Norwegian film students who are determined to find out the cause of some accidents and murders in town, which they know the government is covering up with excuses. As they dig deeper into their investigation, they encounter a professional ‘troll hunter’ as they find out that trolls actually do exists in Norway and the government hires hunters to keep it a secret and kill them for decades.

While it starts off like any other found footage film would, ‘Troll Hunter’ is actually a completely different beast from other movies (no pun intended). First of all, it’s not a horror film but more of a social commentary with thriller elements involved. The scenes in which the trolls are first introduced are genuinely thrilling and creepy and hook the audience right in. The chases that ensue are action-movie like and the general uniqueness of them gets the audience because when was the last time you saw a film about a bunch of people being chased by a gigantic troll? Every single instance of a troll appearance is the highlight of the movie, and a lot of credit for that goes to the special effects team that do an absolutely brilliant job in making them look realistic yet epic in scale.

The film is steeped in Norwegian culture and mythology, as it delves deeper into the existence of trolls and the methods that the government takes to make sure they don’t come out to the public. As the film goes down, the plot becomes thinner and more geared towards Norwegian audiences than audiences unaware of the culture which is a detractor from the experience at times. There’s a religious element here that the troll can smell out a Christian, and it comes into play brilliantly later on in the film.

‘Troll Hunter’ is an effective movie that brings something new to not only the subgenre but to films in general, and I can see why Hollywood grabbed it quickly for a remake. It may be a little too Norwegian at times, but it’s a wild ride nonetheless.

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