Troll Hunter (2010)


REVIEWER RATING: 
7/10

While other countries are busy putting ghosts in front of the camera for the "found footage" or mockumentery sub-genres, Norway decided to pursue a different approach and tackled the country's Troll folklore by proposing the question: What if Trolls exited in today's modern society and are merely kept secret by the Norwegian government? Thus, we have Troll Hunter, a surprisingly well made mock-doc that delivers some top-notch FX and an intriguing premise.

The story follows a few ambitious young university students working on a documentary about a mysterious rogue bear poacher that they believe is behind series of deaths of the local bear populace. After several interviews with some government sanctioned hunters and people around town, they eventually narrow down the whereabouts of the poacher and after numerous failed attempts at an interview with the man, they decide to follow him into the woods one night, hoping to catch him in the act. Instead, they end up running for their lives from something.. big.

Although the trolls are big can be very vicious and a terror among the community, the film is actually not really a horror flick. In fact, it's more of a comedy with strong fantasy elements than anything. Regardless, they are still terrifying to see, especially for our leads, as they pose a threat to them and everyone else due to their sheer size and destructive power. Speaking of which, the CGI for the trolls are very well done, in my opinion. Aside from maybe a few brief questionable sequences, they (for the most part) look fairly realistic, and I suppose the whole POV element helped with some of the realism. I especially loved the events that lead to the final troll sequence.

My only real gripe with the film would probably be its somewhat disappointing and abrupt ending. It's really hard to end a "found footage" movie and unfortunately this is just another example of that fact. Aside from that, I thoroughly enjoyed the pic from start to finish and would highly recommend it to others, especially for fans of the "found footage" and moc-doc sub-genres.

More of a fantasy-comedy, Troll Hunter proved to be a fun and intriguing ride from start to finish; offering an original premise and some great CG and creative look for these large creatures. Fans of the "found footage" and mockumentary sub-genres should get a kick outta this, but don't go in expecting a horror flick. Recommended.
OVERALL: 
More of a fantasy-comedy, Troll Hunter proved to be a fun and intriguing ride from start to finish; offering an original premise and some great CG and creative look for these large creatures. Fans of the "found footage" and mockumentary sub-genres should get a kick outta this, but don't go in expecting a horror flick. Recommended.


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