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 a...
Troll Hunter completes the hunt for an imaginative premise but falls bait to the "found footage" trolls. Ahhhhh! That, right there, is the most accurate description of my brain currently. Disappointed is an understatement, and I don't think a brief review will express that in its entirety. A Norwegian "found footage" mockumentary about cultural folklore, packed with dry humour might I add, should've been my cup of tea. Sadly, this turned out to be a pint of beer. I don't like beer. A pint filled with dull troll fat, plain beastly fur and a large amount of unhumorous saliva. A group of students investigate a series of bear killings which leads them to a troll Hunter. They quickly learn that the bears are not the most dangerous creatures living in the woods.
The premise was perfect. I could not have thought of a more imaginative proposition. Integrating archaic Norwegian folklore into a modern filming technique is just about the greatest juxtaposition available. Trolls wandering amongst the woods, sniffing out innocent Christians (or sheep) to devour amongst their three heads. With a governmental organisation responsible for hiding the existence of trolls, it certainly made for some far fetched practices, such as leaving fake bear prints within the woods. Øvredal had everything in his hand, yet I find myself conflicted. On the one hand, yes it is a very intriguing setup and definitely deserves applause for the sheer originality alone.
On the other hand, I was bored out of my mind. The story, writing and pacing was completely off and failed to attract my attention. Aside from Jespersen's pivotal central role as the troll hunter, the students were irritating and one-dimensional. The lack of personality within the writing made the experience that little bit more torturous. It was so focused on its linear narrative (point A to point B to point C etc.) that the absence of an involving story started to become noticeable. Too noticeable for my liking. Find troll, hunt troll, next troll. The "hilarious" humour was incredibly infrequent. A handful of scenes, such as hiring a Muslim camerawoman, had me admittedly snigger. But to call this a comedy, well, I just don't see it. Then again, my humour is neither here or there. The "found footage" style was great for presenting the awe-inspiring Norwegian mountainous landscapes, not so suitable for the dialogue sequences. Frequent cuts between each sentence made the narrative feel incredibly disjointed. I won't even talk about the mindless running around in the middle of the woods at night (it's why I disliked 'The Blair Witch Project'). Physically impossible to see anything!
Fortunately, for such a low budget, the technical aspects were pretty damn good. The visuals for the trolls themselves were of variable quality, but for the most part looked like something you would find in a blockbuster. I was impressed. The sound editing was loud and immersive. Never has a troll fart made my room shake before! And yet, despite all of these positive remarks, I just did not enjoy this mockumentary. Too slow, too repetitive and, dare I say, too boring. I appreciate that I'm in the minority on this one, so I'm hoping no trolls with hunt me down for my opinion (see what I did there...).
