Monday, February 20, 2012

Troll Hunter


I finally watched Troll Hunter this weekend. Like many films that would have otherwise flown under my radar, I heard about this one from Alex J. Cavanaugh. It was a fun, entertaining movie.

Like a lot of low budget films coming out these days, this is a "found footage" mockumentary, or in other words, a fictional film made to appear real. Most of it is very well done. Unlike The Blair Witch Project, or Cloverfield, the hand held camera aspect never gets so herky-jerky that it makes you dizzy. The special effects are also mostly very good. There was one scene near the beginning that got a little cheesy and could have been done better, but after that most of the shots were amazing. The scene on the bridge in particular was incredibly well done, if you've seen the movie.

Anyway, this dark fantasy is definitely worth a rental (it's currently on Netflix streaming, so if you have that, it's free) if you enjoy that kind of thing, but might be a little scary for young children. It's rated PG-13 for some sequences of creature terror.

From IMDB:

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.

53 comments:

Unknown said...

I've heard many good things about this movie, but have been hemming and hawing a bit because I don't like handheld camera work. But if you say it's not Blair With or Cloverfield quality, I just might give this a view.

Marta Szemik said...

Blair Witch was awful and overrated. I may give this one a try though.

Natalie Aguirre said...

I'll have to check this out. When I watch a movie by myself because I doubt my family would watch it with me.

Tracy said...

I loved Blair Witch, but do admit I had more than a couple minutes of vertigo while watching.

Never heard of this one, but for some reason I find it so funny that part of the premise is a group of students investigating a series of mysterious bear killings. I suppose this is covered in the movie, but why do students care about bears and what qualifies them to "investigate" them?

Cathy Olliffe-Webster said...

See? If you and Alex hadn't mentioned this, this movie wouldn't have even made it across my radar. It it was called Troll and Sensibility, maybe.

Talli Roland said...

Is it wrong that I've never heard of this film? I bet it will be out in the UK, like, a zillion years from now.

Nancy said...

Thanks for the recommendation. We do have netflix so it is always nice when we don't have to pay extra on our movie nights.

LTM said...

Troll hunter. Seriously, Matt? ;p

Anonymous said...

MATT! I have this on my list to view! My friend recommended that I'd watch it...I have the original Swedish version w/ subtitles (I think it's Swedish, anyway!) He raved about it, knowing just how much I love those mocumentaries. I thought Blair Witch rocked and Cloverfield scary (I saw this in the theater and the jets flying overhead blew me away!) Okay, I'm definitely going to watch this next! Thanks for the reminder!

Luanne G. Smith said...

I watched it. I thought it was great. Laughed out loud at the troll under the bridge scene.

~Sia McKye~ said...

A mockumentary? lol!

Matt, I haven't see it yet although I know my guys want to.

God, I hated the way Cloverfield was shot. It was too distracting. Ugh.

Sia McKye OVER COFFEE

Brinda said...

I liked Cloverfield. Maybe I would like this.

A Beer for the Shower said...

I'm willing to give this a chance if it's more exciting than Blair Witch. Everyone loved that movie. I thought it was boring. Running around, running around, running around and crying... and then the only 'exciting' stuff happens during the last 2 minutes. Blah.

Old Kitty said...

Please Hollywood, don't remake!
:-)

Take care
x

Nicole Zoltack said...

Sounds good to me. I'll have to add it to my Netflix queue.

Dianne K. Salerni said...

I'll have to check that out! I've already got Attack the Block on my queue thanks to Alex.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Glad you checked it out! It came highly recommended by George at Cinemarvellous, which is why I watched it. Word of mouth really does work.

Sarah Ahiers said...

LOVE this movie so much! It was just so fun and also kind of terrifying.

Michael G-G said...

My 15-year-old is the cinephile in the family, and this sounds like his sorta thing.

I'm all proper and costume drama, as befits the Brit roots. (Downton Abbey = Yay!!)

Blogger isn't showing me whatever pic/vid you have chosen to start the piece. You might want to investigate, or it could just be me.

Happy PD. (All the kids are at home, but poor wife has to work.)

Michael G-G said...

Yay!! The photo's there now. That's one knobbly-kneed, hairy-a**ed behemoth. (Might be worth watching after all!)

Dawn Ius said...

I'm undecided about how I feel about that herky-jerky kind of filming - I think I prefer my movies a bit more polished looking. Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity kind of annoyed me...but it could be because I wanted a good scare and they didn't deliver. I might give this one a try...I've got THE RIVER TV series uploaded and waiting to be watched. My hesitation has been the filming style.

Nancy Thompson said...

Darn, I cancelled Netflix, and, apparently, after searching for a way to watch Pulp Fiction on Friday night, have found out that there are very few video stores on the Eastside (I'm not driving to Renton to rent a flick.) What to do, what to do?

farawayeyes said...

Never heard of this one, but I was married to him once. The Troll not the hunter.

Lenny Lee said...

hi mr matthew! i didnt ever hear of this movie before and it sounds pretty exciting. i like that kinda movie. we got that netflix streaming so for sure im gonna watch it maybe even tonight. thanks for posting about it.
...hugs from lenny

Johanna Garth said...

Funny, I wrote this one down from Alex's blog too. Sounds like it might be a little hard core for my crew (7 and 10) so it'll have to wait a few years.

Colene Murphy said...

Oooh. Adding the queue. Didn't know it was streaming on Netflix!

Lydia Kang said...

That movie poster made me laugh. Like, all it takes is one carefully placed Troll footstep and voila! The movie's over. Bye bye, protagonist!

D.G. Hudson said...

Perhaps it will become another of those B movie favorites.

Looks like a take on a 'Sasquatch' in the photo. (a creature found in the northwestern rainforests, so they say)

If it was troll hunting in Paris -- then maybe I'd rent it (like hunting for Quasimodo).

Christi Goddard said...

Well, if it's at all scary, count me out. I can't do scary at all. I'm a total coward when it comes to movies.

Adrienne said...

I'll have to let my older sons watch this one. It sounds right up their alley!

Movies on my Mind said...

Chris Columbus is gonna do the H'wood remake to this. Fact.

Unknown said...

I couldn't get through the Blair one but I'll definitely give this one a bash.

DL Hammons said...

I've had this in my hands before at Hastings and put it back for some reason. Time to add it to my queue! :)

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

I thought this movie was stupid.

Angela Brown said...

I haven't been into many of the mockumentary type of movies. I think The Blair Witch Project sort of turned me off. But if the camera shots aren't as bad - or make me feel nauseated - then I wouldn't mind giving this on a chance.

Carolyn Abiad said...

This sounds so ridiculous that it could just be awesome. I'll give it a shot.

Steve MC said...

Sounds cool. When's the book coming out?

Kelly Polark said...

The photo from it looks kind of silly. Like the truck dropped from the troll's pants.
:)
But if you say it's good, I believe you! :)

Bryan Russell said...

Yeah, I enjoyed it, though a few of the monster shots were a little silly. Less is more might have been better with some of those scenes, but it was definitely interesting. Particularly as I've actually been in some of those areas. :)

vic caswell said...

sounds interesting, sir shaved ape!

Ishta Mercurio said...

Cool! I'll have to check it out. I'm not that into creature terror-type-stuff these days, but I'm interested in the handling of special effects and other elements in low-budget films. Thanks for the recommendation!

Christine Rains said...

I really liked the film too. The trolls were awesome for such a low budget film.

Sarah said...

I'd recommend this one to my husband because it sounds like something he'd enjoy (and hey, we have Netflix streaming), but Blair Witch made him sick--we had to leave the theater!

Rusty Carl said...

I've almost watched it half a dozen times. I never seem to be able to quite pull the trigger on starting it though. Maybe I will soon.

alexia said...

After several glasses of wine? Sure, I'd watch it :)

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

it sounds like something that is going to show up on CHILL or SCIFI...I love these kind of movies!

Jamie Gibbs said...

Oooo, i'll have to stick this up on Netflix soon. I've been wanting to give it a shot for a while.

A Daft Scots Lass said...

I watched MoneyBall with Brad Pitt last night and cried like a bloody blithering idiot! What a great story.

Have you seen it yet?

Ted Cross said...

I'd never even heard of this one until now. I might have to check it out, though by size it looks more like a giant than a troll.

Rick Daley said...

My wife gets queasy with shaky-cam movies, so I don't get to see many of them. I really liked Blair Witch and Cloverfield, though, and I want to see Chronicle. I haven't heard about this one, I'll try to sneak it in some day...

Jessica Bell said...

Looks cool. Is there any gore? If there's gore I might have to hide under the bed covers through those bits ;o)

Anonymous said...

I love found footage mockumentaries. This is something I'd watch.

Jen said...

Thanks for reviewing this one! My husband and I have been meaning to watch it. It sounds like fun!

Jen