The Troll Hunter is a Norwegian (where else?) light-hearted horror, presented in the mockumentary style of The Blair Witch Project, however, the genre is pretty much the only thing these two have in common. Originally released in 2010, the film is entirely in the native tongue, and as such suffered a lack of interest over here due to subtitles, I'm pleased to say it's starting to get a nice bit of a cult following.
This is the story of three university students tracking the mysterious appearances of dead bears all over Norway, before stumbling upon a very strange man at every single scene of the crime. They nag and stalk him until he relents, finally revealing that he is, in fact, a troll hunter, an employee of the government of Norway responsible for keeping the population of trolls under control, whilst working entirely in secret.
Okay, I know. It sounds absolutely preposterous. And in all honesty, it is. However, my advice here is simple: don't be a boring fart. This is a great example of how to make a tongue-in-cheek 'horror' movie. When you consider that the actor playing the eponymous hunter is one of Norway's most notable comics should tell you that this is to be watched for a bit of fun. The performances of all the cast are very open and honest, and they really do create the illusion that you're watching actual documentary footage...though definitely massively coincidental footage at that. There is a sense of humour that seeps from each of the cast, particularly brilliant is the debate over whether a troll will be able to smell the blood of a Muslim, or whether it's just Christians they like the taste of.
You will be impressed by the special effects too, and rightly so. There's really no way (NORWAY!) you could take this film as a good watch if they didn't make the trolls something special to look at, and they really are. Whether it's a three headed woodland troll or an 80ft mountain king, you'll certainly not be confusing them for those weird doll things...
The plot is, like I said, a bit coincidental, but then again, which films aren't? It is almost guilty of being a little too rainbows and sunshine cheese towards the end (no spoilers here), but saves itself entirely due to an ever present sense of humour and brilliantly daft little subplots running around in there. You get all sorts: environmentalism, animal rights, a fairly unexpected but unobtrusive love interest and probably one of the most unique car chases you're ever likely to see.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film, I really did. Go see it!
4/5 - Brilliant watch if you're looking for something original and fun, but still up for a little bit of a scare.
Farvel!
