Trollhunter2011
Trollhunter (2011)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Trollhunter is a mockumentary with an appropriate level of creeping dread, but one that also benefits from generous helpings of dry wit.
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Movie Info
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Cast
as Thomas
as Thomas
as Kalle
as Johanna
as Finn Haugen
as Hans
as Polsk bjørnejeger #1
as Malica
as E-verkssjef
as Campingplasseier
as Polsk bjørnejeger #2
as Hilde, veterinär
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Critic Reviews for Trollhunter
All Critics (103) | Top Critics (25) | Fresh (85) | Rotten (18) | DVD (4)
The film is shot with handheld cameras in the standard mockumentary style, but the content is often hilarious, especially when the trolls show up.
Given that the cast improvised all the scenes live on set, the dialogue has a surprising ring of truth, and is shot through with an unexpected, often unsettling, humour.
It's so steeped in troll and paranoia lore, it risks boring you with the details at times. But it also makes you more inclined to believe it, and the frights are real enough.
Those fog-draped fjords provide a distractingly pretty backdrop to this tale of mysterious, massive creatures who roam the forest by night, searching for Christians on whom to munch.
It can't seem to make up its mind about whether it wants to frighten us or make us laugh. It does a little bit of both, to be sure, but not nearly enough of either to make much of a lasting impression.
"Trollhunter" has a lot of down time as the crew treks to the fjords, but it's also got dryly subversive humor and, eventually, some impressive special effects.
Audience Reviews for Trollhunter
A nice piece of sci-fi, taking Norwegian mythology and bringing it into the present day with reasonable scientific justifications, whilst the amateur documentary style film making adds realism without resorting to any Hollywood-style sudden scares. It presents itself as a serious documentary, but doesn't take itself seriously with lots of nice tongue-in-cheek moments played out with deadpan humour. Despite the amateur-style filming, the movie is really well produced and the trolls are spectacular.
Super Reviewer
This verite styled, fake documentary, is both obviously raucous with funny dialogue, characters, and playful images, and thrilling as it centers on a long upheld conspiracy by the Norwegian government. The film starts as a documentary made by several college kids, looking for the identity of a bear poacher who has been killing rogue bears around the countryside. They end up meeting and stalking a man named Thomas (Trosterud), who seems atypical and suspicious. The rest of the film follows the wayward kids as they follow Thomas on his many missions through the cavernous mountains and lush forests of Norway, killing wayward trolls. Trosterud gives an interesting performance as the sullen and reserved Thomas. He always speaks with affinity, gives away information on his profession without seeming to care about the consequences, and is gruff and bad mannered at times. Though he seems not to care about what will come when he reveals all his secrets, it's obvious that there's a laid plan for what he will do once everything is unearthed. The trolls themselves are really well designed. They move like real animals, and they have castes and species differentiation that make them unique and tangible for the audience. The way they roam the mountains in family structures makes them as predatory as any frightening beast in nature. The other supporting characters are oftentimes officials and other people in the conspiracy, who don't want the tape to get out, but at the same time they are more concerned with the fleets of huge trolls killing off everything in sight. The documentary crew aren't seen very much, but they act like real college kids, with all the confidence of youth and the problems of that age as well. Some of the visuals are incomparable in how amazing they seem, how vivid and realistic they come across, and this movie is worth watching just for that. The Norwegian countryside serves as a moody backdrop as well as a beautiful setting. It's also pretty funny at times, whether it's a lewd performance by a Polish bear trapper, or Thomas' mannerisms during his interviews. This film can be highly recommended for a plethora of reasons, plus there are trolls. Very little to lose in watching this.
Super Reviewer
This Norwegian found footage film teams up University filmers with a trapper who turns out to hunt trolls for the government, top secret, mind you. Their unlikely adventures in the Norwegian wild are as funny as they are unsettling. The creature effects are not entirely en par with Hollywood standards, which also gives the film a more light-hearted note than probably intended. That doesn't change the fact that the gorgeous landscapes and the wonderfully grumpy main character make for a great combination, a highly entertaining horror film that parodies both found footage films and documentaries, yet works as both. Extremely amusing and a surprisingly fresh take on a genre that should have been dead five minutes after Blair Witch Project ended.
Super Reviewer
Trollhunter Quotes
| Hans: | Anyone need some gravel? |
| Thomas: | Now we know that Trolls also explode. |
| Hans: | No one here believes in God or Jesus? |
| Thomas: | Nope. None of us. |
| Kalle: | Don't look at me. Serious? Because they can smell the blood of a Christian man? |
| Thomas: | In a sense, you're a true Norwegian hero. |
| Hans: | No, you're wrong about that. There's nothing heroic about what I do. It's dirty work. |