Troll Hunter
2011 ‘Trolljegeren’ Directed by André Øvredal
Synopsis
You believe it when you see it!
A group of students investigates a series of mysterious bear killings, but learns that there are much more dangerous things going on. They start to follow a mysterious hunter, learning that he is actually a troll hunter.
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After 3 recommendations to watch this movie popped up on my Mothman Prophecies review, I decided fate was dealing me a hand I had to play.
I wanna thank Hayley, Scott Adcock, and Filmslayer for recommending me this yesterday! It was exactly the kind of cheesy cryptozoology film I enjoy!
Troll Hunter is a little found footage film that follows an amateur film crew that gets taken under the wing of a mysterious hunter who claims he hunts in the middle of the night for the government. He drives a beat up van, has a stereotypical facial scar, and he keeps to himself.
If you aren't already at least moderately interested in this movie, I don't know how to help…
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A very disturbing documentary on one of nature's most fierce and unbelievable creatures.
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Whilst humour is present throughout the film in it's dry Norwegian style, this dark fairy tale really carries itself with some superb tension.
The excellent performances from the unknown stars are vital, alongside incredible visual effects, to ensure a natural and overwhelmingly real atmosphere for this fantastically unique piece of independent filmmaking. -
Much like Rare Exports, this is another much hyped Nordic genre film which squanders a killer concept. I did enjoy this more than the aforementioned movie, at least this didn’t feel like it was missing an entire act, but it was still a little disappointing given the good reviews and positive word of mouth.
It follows the found footage conventions to the letter which is a little disappointing as it feels rather safe and predictable, something that found footage films used to be good at avoiding. The film does get a number of things spot on: The creature designs are excellent as is the way they are realised in CGI (it is certainly helped that they are kept off screen…
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“Troll!”
-Hans, trolljegeren (Otto Jespersen)Generally with found footage movies, the method of tell but don’t show works best, like in The Blair Witch Project. The less you see, the more effective it is, as you are forced to conjure up the monsters. If you’re going to go the other way and show everything, you best be prepared. One such film that got this right is Cloverfield, but the Norwegians arguably went one up with Trollhunter.
Only Scandinavia could pull off a film of this ilk, in which we follow a trio of determined students whom dog the footsteps of a mysterious poacher named Hans. They soon find out that the slightly mad Hans is actually a trolljegeren, a trollhunter,… -
Even though this film is a bit like a mixture of Blair Witch Project, Where the Wild things are, Jurassic Park and Rare exports, it also feels pretty unique. There are plenty of monster films about these days as there are mockumentaries, what the makers of this film have managed to achieve brilliantly though is the perfect balance of scares and humour. The Trolls themselves look appropriately authentic to Norwegian folk tale and the final scene is as big and impressive as you'd expect from a monster film which I found have all been a let down in recent years. It's not too often these days that a film is as good as you'd hoped, especially with such a different idea. Brilliant!
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Decent and entertaining, but doesn't make much use of the found footage form. The novel subject matter is way overdue for a cinematic treatment and this is an admirable first attempt.
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I don't get the critical love for this, for the most part it seemed like a by the numbers movie, the establishment guy that starts to see things in a new light when he shares his experiences with a younger more idealistic group. There's no real stakes going on, they would've abandoned their search at any point with no consequence, but they kept going due to curiosity, even when they had enough footage, they kept going just because
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TROOOOLLLLLL! This movie was actually very unique. This may just be a Blair Witch rip off but it works out fine. Good special fx for a indie film and great acting. Its not amazing of course, but its fine the way it is.
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With ocasional bursts of humor, this film seems to care about spending time in a car, looking at beautiful scenery, and walking in forests rather than actually develop any plot or give any explanation to anything at all.
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Neatly rendered, hardly innovative.
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I make no qualms about enjoying the hell out of a good found footage movie. I started loving the subgenre with the release of The Blair Witch Project when I was much younger, and the Paranormal Activity sequels of recent years (not the original, mind you) have cemented the fact that I simply like these types of films. Are there problems with these movies? Of course there are - namely, justification - but I am willing to suspend disbelief if the story is interesting and engaging.
Troll Hunter more than fits that bill, and is one of the finest found footage movies I've seen since my introduction to the genre in 1998.
The Norwegian film follows a group of students…
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I found myself fascinated by Sweden's beautiful country, and held into this fantastic story by Otto Jespersen's performance.
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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A surprisingly engrossing mockumentary.