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?
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.
I'm glad that your Keira Knightley diss failed due to the mispelling...I loves my Keira. Unless she does in fact have a talentless brother/father/cousin called Kieran Knightley, in which case I retract the comment.
ReplyDeleteBut on the note of trolls, had this on my to watch list so I shall be venturing in asap.
(the word verification to publish that comment just then was: hermouth. This made me laugh. Just thought I'd let you know.)
ReplyDeletelol, apologies for the mispelling but I still stand by my comment! Regardless of how plebeianly I may have put it!
ReplyDelete