03/03/2012: Trolljegeren (Trollhunter) [2010]

Trollhunter is a Norwegian documentary that was shot by a trio of university students, as they follow a mysterious hunter while doing an investigation into recent bear attacks. They soon discover he is a government paid Troll Hunter, quietly taking care of any trolls that wander out of their territories. The journalists footage was released on the 13th of October in 2008, and has since been investigated. It was determined genuine and Trolljegeren is the footage that has since been released.

This is how Trollhunter starts, with a quick couple of text slides giving us this information telling you that it is true, and all footage is real. While the found footage idea has been overused many times since movies like The Blaire Witch Project were released, claiming to be real footage and real events, Trollhunter is very original and doesn't abuse the style. Most found footage movies these day are prone to cutting at inopportune moments, blurring the facts, and showing you nothing but teasing glimpses. Trollhunter gives you everything you need, using not a single cut to try to misguide or hide anything.

Who needs three heads when you're the size of a mountain?

 So while most know that Trollhunter is obviously fake, and is just a movie, how does it hold up as a movie?
Trollhunter uses a number of Scandinavian folktales as it's basis for the troll mythology and builds upon it. I won't ruin it, as I feel it's one of the best parts of the films and arguably the bulk of it. What I will say is that the movie doesn't hide its trolls, and you will see quite a few throughout the movie.

Behind the revealed existence of trolls as a major focus of the movie is the characters used to tell the story. The trio of journalists are like the watcher unaware of the existence of trolls or what they are getting into, and so we follow their journey closely. Hans the Trollhunter is the man who introduces us to this magnificent world, gruff, weathered, and unhappy with the current system, Hans is excited to reveal the existence of trolls. As such he makes a great source of information and through his actions, a great hero.

Someone remind me to add goats, Christian blood, and a suit of armour to my mythical animal encounter survival kit.

 Trollhunter is classified as a fantasy horror film, and while apparently the trolls gave my friend nightmares, I didn't find much of the film scary. There are a couple of tense moments, and it can be a little violent when it comes to goats and trolls but that's all.

Most notably Trollhunter is a Norwegian film, independently made and refreshingly original. The landscape and vista's in Norway that show up in the movie are quite breathtaking. The snow capped mountains and tundra to the rugged and stony mountain sides. Also the movies language is Norwegian, making the use of subtitles required for most. I am never one bothered by subtitles, but if you are, I don't think this movie would be as good voice dubbed.

The bear carcass delivery service is fast and efficient in Norway.

Unsurprisingly there is already talks of an American remake of this movie, with the IMDB page already up and rumors circulating. This depresses me because it seems like the majority of the public is never happy with any movie these days without a blockbuster budget. Trollhunter would not have been so great if it was not a small budget, foreign indie film. The CGI in it was minimal but fantastic, the budget didn't affect it there. The setting and storyline were also golden and from what I could tell through the language barrier the acting was decent. I'm sorry Hollywood, but I will not be waiting for your rip off of this great movie.

So, if you want to see the original Trollhunter before it becomes a mainstream Hollywood remake where everyone is almost unaware of the original check out Trolljegeren today. I mean, it's on the Movie Network, not some hidden and obscure foreign film. I would highly suggest that you check this out even if you're not a fan of the found footage style that is so overused today.













































Link:
Trollhunter IMDB