You have to give “Troll Hunter” a little credit regardless of the fact that it’s a horror-sci fi flick about giant killer trolls. Whereas there are so many horror movies that create artificial suspense about unseen creatures of peril (continuing what “The Blair Witch Project” began) Troll Hunter is a movie gutsy enough and technologically creative enough to give us precisely what we came to see: giant trolls running amok!
How can you possibly fault a movie-even a Norwegian subtitled film-for giving us so much troll to look at? We see everything from three-headed trolls, to flatulent big-nosed trolls, to even a giant troll about half the size of Godzilla. The movie isn’t quite criticism-proof, despite the fact that it is a giant troll movie (and you’ll sound moronic questioning the absent logic of the film) simply because the cast of amateur filmmakers does not really possess the emotional range that you’ve seen from other characters in better mockumentary horror films.
Much like “Jurassic Park”, and “Independence Day”, the film’s emotional and creative achievement is secondary to the bizarre special effects the filmmakers have put together to bring us into this strange world. Admittedly, the creatures are fascinating to look at, if not particularly bone chilling, simply because they appear to be puppetry devices and not CGI-fast food quality effects. The best audience for the film is naturally Norwegian film fans, since the movie has multiple references to Norwegian folklore, and the dialog is probably much wittier in the native tongue.
Horror and Gore
The film isn’t graphic in violence though the scare tactics are well executed. The film is rated PG-13 in the US and will probably scare children, teens and anyone with an irrational fear of trolls. Perhaps the scariest part of the film is the ambiguous ending making you wonder whom the villain really was-trolls, troll hunters or the ones who would keep their presence a secret. Though the movie is slightly too long, it is not your typical B-horror movie.
How to Watch It
For the best results, watch the film with your religiously diverse friends-Christians, atheists and Muslims, since there is an uproarious joke about troll bigotry throughout the film.
