In Search of Film: It’s Hunting Season!

In Search of Film: It’s Hunting Season!: So after much deliberation, I took 2 hours out of my day to watch the one of the last B-movies of 2011, The Troll Hunter. This ...

It’s Hunting Season!

So after much deliberation, I took 2 hours out of my day to watch the one of the last B-movies of 2011, The Troll Hunter. This Norwegian monster mockumentary follows a group of students as they attempt to uncover the truth when dead bears begin to show up. Manned with a camera, microphone, and boom the students begin their quest for the answer – Who (or what) is killing these bears? They soon encounter a mysterious character who, without meaning to sound bias, has poacher written all over him - from his dirtied, frayed hat to his worn hiking boots. And his distant persona and reluctance in assisting the students’ investigation does little to disprove this theory. However, similar to the belief in Britney’s come back – this theory was untrue! A hunter he is but his game is not measly 7 foot, 0.5 ton bears... his game is 200 foot, 30 ton trolls!

As the troll hunter warms to the students’ curious nature, he decides to share his profession with them and in true monster fashion, he refrains from conveying this through speech (I assume for fear of being institutionalised) and instead lures them into the troll infested forests and awaits his monsters. We catch glimpse of our first troll quite early on in the film, which may sound obvious but with monster films it is hard to tell if the creature will frequent the screen or remain in the shadows. The first encounter is fast paced and in night vision, which enables you to gage a clearer image of the troll but does not for long – retaining a level of believability to the creature and the scene. As the pursuit for trolls continues and the student’s frequent the woods more, we are invited to see more of the trolls visually, and genetically! This is aided by a somewhat random rendezvous with a scientist who has been working with the troll hunter to better understand the trolls’ genetic make-up. This includes a fatal reaction to light; petrifying the elderly and exploding the young and of course, a taste for the converted. The blood of the converted is at the top of the menu for any troll, like alcohol for alcoholics, heroin for heroin addicts and talent for Kieran Knightly. However, it is not just their genome that the scientist is interested in, there is an illness spreading amongst the colony. Guess what... they have rabies! 200 foot, 30 ton, rabies infested trolls... what more could you want from a monster film?

It was by this point I began to question to relevance to the bear deaths and the trolls. Was it just by chance that they came across the trolls whilst investigating the bear fatalities or was this all somehow interlinked?

You can exhale now!

The bears are scapegoats! Brought in by a the Troll Security Service (TSS) whose role is to ensconce the existence of trolls from the public, and what better way to do so than import deceased bears and strategically place them near the carcases of the trolls’ victims. This involves a collection of amusing scenes, including a TSS agent falsifying bear tracks but inadvertently confusing the left and the right paw, as well as an occurrence with a group of comedic Polish bear smugglers.

Needless to say, there are several deaths and a multitude of close-calls. Whilst taking every opportunity to show the carnage caused by the trolls. My advice it to watch this film for what it is, pure simple troll infested fun. 

TT3D: Closer to the Edge.

This terrifyingly beautiful documentary follows Guy Martin - lorry mechanic and motorcycle enthusiast, as he prepares to compete in the infamous TT races of the Isle of Man. For those of you, alike myself, who are unfamiliar with the TT races and super bike mania in general it is best described by one race spectator as “Hard Bikes being driven by Hard Men!” But it is Martin himself who provides the central, and perplexing, narration on the sport and its community which is supported, or sometimes conflicted, by other racers.

The opening scene has viewers roaring through the streets of the Isle of Man, from the perspective of the riders. This is very effective at two things: evoking empathy from the audience, providing a accessibility to the in-the-moment emotions of the riders as well as a literal rider’s point-of-view and  successfully making me a little travel sick from the comfort from my, very stationary, sofa. Though I refused to permit my churning stomach make any impact on my enjoyment of this film.

Exploring this, somewhat, niche sport through the very individual character of Martin is an unlikely success. Myself being, as Martin describes, a “Southern Fairy” I am not familiar with the dialect of North Lincolnshire, and to be both brutally and shamefully honest, I found him a little difficult to... interpret. Initially! His character also seemed a little alien to me: he is depicted as an almost singular character, and by his own admission, he holds little to no interest in anything but bikes and the TT.

However, Guy’s character is very easy to warm to and it is quickly realised that it is not necessarily about the passion for bikes but passion itself that allows the viewer to connect with Guy. As the story develops Guy’s character splits both aesthetically and physically. When in his home county, or in the comfort of his van, he is the oil-covered bike patriot, but when he is immersed into TT world he becomes the mysterious anti-hero. With a succession of slow motion caption, and the mystery that is itself evoked by motorcycle attire, it is very easy to forget the Lincolnshire boy that hides within it. The motorcyclists’ outfit is very good a dehumanising its incumbent, and this itself sexualises Guy.

However, the dehumanisation of bikers by their costumes are most apparent in the presentation of the racer’s fatalities. As the inevitable happens and the accidents begin, shamefully, it is somewhat easier to watch a masked figure being thrown about than an unmasked figure. Yet, when the pictures of those lost in their quest for TT success follow, it is difficult to hold back the tears. Many critics believing this documentary’s release was a direct response to the success of Senna, and I see the similarities in Senna and Martin’s personalities and their passions, but I also see it in many other people – Passion is universal.