Hey everyone. Capone in Austin here.
Oh, you will fucking love THE TROLL HUNTER from Norway, the chronicles of the one-man army whose only job is to keep the troll population of his country from making itself known to the human population. The titular character has managed to do his job in secret (with the help of certain members of Norway's equivalent of the Department of the Interior) for decades until a young film crew stumbles upon him while shooting a piece on bear poachers and decides to follow him on his mission to investigate why troll have been especially active in recent weeks. Naturally, the crew is doubtful of what the hunter is telling them and have them do in preparation for their first troll encounter, but after clarifying that none of them believe in God (trolls can smell the blood of Christians) and rubbing the crew head to toe in "troll stench," the team goes into the woods and the hunter draws out their first glimpse.
I'm not sure that putting together THE TROLL HUNTER as a fake documentary adds much to the drama, and, frankly, this feels like one of the most scripted fake docs I've ever seen, but none of that really matters because the trolls in this movie are fucking awesome and disgusting, seemingly based on centuries-old drawings (or perhaps the drawings were based on real trolls!). I love that there are several species of trolls, each with their own set of abilities and personality traits. A couple of them are also taller than you can fathom, and the effect of having the trolls interact with the human occasionally is nearly seamless. My favorite element of the film is the soundscape, from the deep cracking of tall trees to the ungodly roar of an angry troll bearing down on the hunter and film crew, the sound makes this movie a better experience.
But THE TROLL HUNTER isn't all serious business, and there is a great deal of humor in the film. But much like another Fantastic Fest film based on myth, RARE EXPORTS, the filmmakers take their subject seriously. There is nothing resembling campiness or silliness anywhere in this movie, and that sold it for me. Still, when the film crew needs a new camera person and a Muslim woman comes on board, the hunter is asked how the trolls will react to the scent of her blood since she's not Christian. His honest response: "I really have no idea what will happen." I loved moments like that in the film. The film takes a while to get going, but to me that make it feel like more of a real documentary, and once the trolls start appearing, the pacing picks up considerably.
THE TROLL HUNTER has been deliciously under the radar until the last month or so when a teaser trailer popped up, which gives nothing away. But now that the troll is out of the proverbial bag, I hope geek audiences worldwide demand their TROLL HUNTER sooner rather than later. I'm hearing rumblings about it coming out before the end of the year, and I hope that's the case because I desperately want to watch this movie again, and possibly share it with an audience in Chicago. THE TROLL HUNTER is a classic adventure story told in a very different fashion that I believe people will respond positively to. Most importantly, it's a metric shit ton of fun.
-- Capone
capone@aintitcool.com
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