One of the more intriguing “found footage” movies of the last few years, Troll Hunter has a cracking premise that is never fully realised. As a ramshackle jeep careers around the Norwegian mountain terrain, you get the feeling that the enthusiastic film-makers came up with a truly great concept but then didn’t know how to sustain it over the course of a feature length film. As such it only remains a film of moments, but some brilliant ones at that.
Essentially an extended episode of Scooby Doo, minus the CGI dog, we are asked to climb aboard with a group of students making a documentary about a rumoured spate of bear killings. They begin to follow a mysterious hunter, intent on uncovering him as a grizzly killer, but discover that what this straight talking eccentric is pursuing is something altogether more mythical – the menagerie of trolls that dwell in the hills of Norway. Billy Goat’s Gruff this ain’t!
Belying its tiny budget, this is visually spectacular stuff, similar to last year’s Monsters. Clever masking techniques are used to shroud the limitations of the special effects – night vision goggles and many a thick forest. But we also get a snow-capped finale that bests anything Michael Bay achieved with his metallic mayhem and billions of dollars, that is epic in scale and execution; it’s a masterclass in monster misdirection and an effective use of the now-tired shaky-cam technique. Unfortunately that’s where comparisons to Gareth Edwards’ brilliant effort end.
Following the initial set-up and time spent with the indistinguishable-from-each-other students, Troll Hunter really kicks into gear with the first excursion. The excitement is palpable, if not exactly scary, which is also sadly true of the entire film.
Then we see the first troll and it’s downhill from there. Each encounter offers up a different species of troll, which is interesting in a David Attenborough kind of way, but the problem is that at no time is there any threat or real engagement with these creatures, so each supposed moment of fantasy enchantment falls flat.
{etrelated 61245}A strong narrative thread is evidently lacking, with the group simply stumbling from sighting to sighting following a largely irritating and possibly insane man. Their actions are not plausible based on the events that occur. We need a reason to believe that they would continue on the path they choose, and as such it remains episodic and rather tedious.
The government intervention adds a welcome X-Files style twist to proceedings, and thankfully the environmental message is never forced home, but both these contribute very little meat to the bare bones.
A US remake has already been green-lit, which will no doubt lack the subtle Norwegian charm of Ovredal’s film, but will hopefully up the ante when it comes to momentum, and fulfil the potential hinted at in this middling little oddity.
[etRating value=“ 3”]
Essentially an extended episode of Scooby Doo, minus the CGI dog, we are asked to climb aboard with a group of students making a documentary about a rumoured spate of bear killings. They begin to follow a mysterious hunter, intent on uncovering him as a grizzly killer, but discover that what this straight talking eccentric is pursuing is something altogether more mythical – the menagerie of trolls that dwell in the hills of Norway. Billy Goat’s Gruff this ain’t!
Belying its tiny budget, this is visually spectacular stuff, similar to last year’s Monsters. Clever masking techniques are used to shroud the limitations of the special effects – night vision goggles and many a thick forest. But we also get a snow-capped finale that bests anything Michael Bay achieved with his metallic mayhem and billions of dollars, that is epic in scale and execution; it’s a masterclass in monster misdirection and an effective use of the now-tired shaky-cam technique. Unfortunately that’s where comparisons to Gareth Edwards’ brilliant effort end.
Following the initial set-up and time spent with the indistinguishable-from-each-other students, Troll Hunter really kicks into gear with the first excursion. The excitement is palpable, if not exactly scary, which is also sadly true of the entire film.
Then we see the first troll and it’s downhill from there. Each encounter offers up a different species of troll, which is interesting in a David Attenborough kind of way, but the problem is that at no time is there any threat or real engagement with these creatures, so each supposed moment of fantasy enchantment falls flat.
{etrelated 61245}A strong narrative thread is evidently lacking, with the group simply stumbling from sighting to sighting following a largely irritating and possibly insane man. Their actions are not plausible based on the events that occur. We need a reason to believe that they would continue on the path they choose, and as such it remains episodic and rather tedious.
The government intervention adds a welcome X-Files style twist to proceedings, and thankfully the environmental message is never forced home, but both these contribute very little meat to the bare bones.
A US remake has already been green-lit, which will no doubt lack the subtle Norwegian charm of Ovredal’s film, but will hopefully up the ante when it comes to momentum, and fulfil the potential hinted at in this middling little oddity.
[etRating value=“ 3”]
