Trollhunter
Maybe you're sitting here, idly browsing your flist and thinking, Man, Hollywood just does NOT make enough movies about trolls and the people who hunt and slay them for a living. Well, I have good news for you!
Trolljegeren is a Norwegian found footage mockumentary where three college students set out to make a documentary about bear poaching. They stalk a scary-looking recluse named Hans, only to find out that Hans is hunting something in Norway's dark forests, but it ain't bears.
I thought the movie was pretty funny, but it's more of a dry, deadpan sort of humor that occasionally relies upon a familiarity with Norwegian folktales. I'm tempted to describe it as light-hearted Blair Witch Project, but that doesn't really seem like a fair comparison. Trollhunter has its scary moments, but it's not a horror flick, and it doesn't feel as low budget as Blair Witch Project did. The dialogue and interaction between the characters doesn't feel as forced, either, which I consider a huge bonus.
Instead, what you get is a group of awfully polite students who get along fairly well and just want to Uncover the Truth: impish Thomas is the frontman, with Johanna on sound and constantly toting an unwieldy boom mike, while Kalle is the cameraman and rarely seen. They're rather adorable in their determination to get to the bottom of this bear poaching thing, and when they find out it's a bit more serious than that, they have a lot of questions and slightly bug-eyed WTF expressions. It's great.
I'll warn you upfront, the look of the film is a bit inconsistent. Norway has stunning landscapes, of course. There are many shots of snowy mountains crowned with misty rain and fog and jagged fjords cut into the landscape. They also splash out some sweet CGI money on the trolls, but it's not a Cloverfield type moment where you think holy crap, that's where the budget went, well done... But considering that the total budget was something like 3.5 million, (which is fairly small for a movie) it's surprisingly effective.
The bears, however, look like some ruthless bastard shot Teddy Ruxpin and left him for dead.
While I love the idea of found footage movies, they're a bit of a cliche now and I hate the shaky hand-held camera effect because it makes me all queasy. But I liked this movie. It was cute, and I enjoy seeing people doing something weird and different in a setting and style that's not cookie cutter Hollywood blockbuster.
Recommended if you're in the mood for something quirky and your knowledge of troll-related folklore is sadly lacking.
Trolljegeren is a Norwegian found footage mockumentary where three college students set out to make a documentary about bear poaching. They stalk a scary-looking recluse named Hans, only to find out that Hans is hunting something in Norway's dark forests, but it ain't bears.
I thought the movie was pretty funny, but it's more of a dry, deadpan sort of humor that occasionally relies upon a familiarity with Norwegian folktales. I'm tempted to describe it as light-hearted Blair Witch Project, but that doesn't really seem like a fair comparison. Trollhunter has its scary moments, but it's not a horror flick, and it doesn't feel as low budget as Blair Witch Project did. The dialogue and interaction between the characters doesn't feel as forced, either, which I consider a huge bonus.
Instead, what you get is a group of awfully polite students who get along fairly well and just want to Uncover the Truth: impish Thomas is the frontman, with Johanna on sound and constantly toting an unwieldy boom mike, while Kalle is the cameraman and rarely seen. They're rather adorable in their determination to get to the bottom of this bear poaching thing, and when they find out it's a bit more serious than that, they have a lot of questions and slightly bug-eyed WTF expressions. It's great.
I'll warn you upfront, the look of the film is a bit inconsistent. Norway has stunning landscapes, of course. There are many shots of snowy mountains crowned with misty rain and fog and jagged fjords cut into the landscape. They also splash out some sweet CGI money on the trolls, but it's not a Cloverfield type moment where you think holy crap, that's where the budget went, well done... But considering that the total budget was something like 3.5 million, (which is fairly small for a movie) it's surprisingly effective.
The bears, however, look like some ruthless bastard shot Teddy Ruxpin and left him for dead.
While I love the idea of found footage movies, they're a bit of a cliche now and I hate the shaky hand-held camera effect because it makes me all queasy. But I liked this movie. It was cute, and I enjoy seeing people doing something weird and different in a setting and style that's not cookie cutter Hollywood blockbuster.
Recommended if you're in the mood for something quirky and your knowledge of troll-related folklore is sadly lacking.