Troll Hunter (2010)
I had to make a special effort to find a cinema that was showing this one, but it was well worth it. "Troll Hunter" is Norwegian movie from the "found footage" genre. A group of students decide to make a documentary about the rise in bear deaths blamed on poachers. They follow a mysterious man who appears to be setting traps around the Norwegian valleys, trying to discover whether he is the poacher.
It doesn't take a genius to work out what he's really setting traps for, what with having to pay for a ticket before seeing the movie. However, there are other aspects to this. How come no one believes in trolls? How do you go about hunting trolls in the first place? And are the trolls responsible for the bear deaths?
Troll Hunter put me somewhat in mind of Gareth Edwards' movie "Monsters". The effects are simple and effective, yet mostly in the background. While the trolls don't look ultra convincing, that's part of the point really. They fully understand that when it comes to effects, a little can go a long way. BBC critic Mark Kermode has already compared the trolls in "Troll Hunter" to muppets, which is unsurprising when you consider what trolls are generally thought to look like:
Left: A statue of a troll in Norway. Right: Typical picture of trolls.
I do wonder about the more subtle effects than the CGI trolls (which I won't post here). I presume they weren't allowed to start chopping trees down for this movie, for example.
"Troll Hunter" isn't simply about terrifying the audience (though you do fear for the characters quite often). It inevitably has a comedic element. The main character to be developed is the troll hunter himself, a rather stoic figure with hidden depths. The students are rather less developed though they are all clearly defined individuals. No matter how much or how little character each of them has, there's a great chemistry between them all.
Unlike in "Monsters" where the monsters were barely ever on screen, here we see the trolls fairly often. Still, the dialogue in between the troll sightings ensures that the mythology is consistently built up and we are always excited about the next appearance.
With scientific explanations for the behaviour of trolls (such as turning to stone in sunlight), some neat gadgets and tools used in troll hunting (such as a suit of armour) and some odd working practices (like using a bucket full of Christian blood to lure out the troll) make for very fun movie. As good as the effects and the actors are, perhaps the most impressive thing about the movie is the level of invention that has gone into it. You couldn't replace the trolls with giants or goblins. The story centres around the troll mythology of Norway and turns out to be fertile ground for mythology-building.
I amused myself after the showing with the idea that Americans might make a remake of this, because the idea seemed absurd. If American tourists or journalists discover the troll hunter rather than a group of local students, it doesn't seem clear how the story could play out the same way. What's more, if you relocate the story to an English speaking country then the troll mythology will be misplaced. The location of the story is vital to the whole concept. Yet this hasn't stopped plans for an English-language remake by Chris Columbus. I suppose when there are trailers for "Troll Hunter" that seem to deliberately avoid including dialogue, it just goes to show that subtitles are seen as film marketing poison.
Finally one more thing I ought to mention is that as well as being the home of troll mythology, the Norwegian setting is also absolutely gorgeous. The valleys in which the troll hunting take place are absolutely stunning. Sometimes in the aftermath of a troll attack there are periods in the film where we get more of a chance to observe the scenery, after all the trolls only come out at night. Still, this isn't a case where you notice the scenery because the plot isn't sufficiently engaging. The views are so gorgeous that they would be difficult to ignore and as the movie progresses you find yourself looking at them more and more as the habitat of these mythological monsters rather than as cold empty landscapes.
"Troll Hunter" is certainly one of the best 'found-footage' movies I've seen. It makes full use of its setting, it has endearing characters, the comedy gives a knowing wink to the audience and the CGI effects are used effectively in the story to full dramatic effect. It's simply wonderful.
A+ (Excellent)
Other movies in the "found footage" genre.
Monsters
Actually I'm not sure why this is considered to be part of the genre. While its use of effects gives it a similar feel to "Troll Hunter", the only 'found footage' in the movie is in the first five minutes. Most of the story is told in typical filming style. Nevertheless, using real life damage from natural disasters and minimalistic effects, we get a very real foreboding sense of the (mostly unseen) monsters in the movie.
Cloverfield
A found-footage version of Godzilla set in New York with echoes of 9/11. Effects play a pretty big part in this movie and it's a good thing too, since we need something to distract us from the hugely irritating central characters. There's something rather special about the way the monster remains in the background for the most part and this really makes the movie stick with you. With some more endearing characters this could have been an all-time favourite.
The Blair Witch Project
While widely maligned, particularly after the initial buzz went away, this still remains the movie most associated with the 'found footage' genre in people's minds. 'Found footage' doesn't mean a lot to people, whereas 'in the style of The Blair Witch Project' tends to get rather more attention. I can't help but think of "Blair Witch Project" as a comedy, since it involves watching a bunch of people cr***ing themselves in fear in a wood. While the intention was probably for the audience to share rather more of the fear themselves, there are a few points, such as the leaf-eating scene, where the comedy must have been intentional. Also, I must admit that the ending scared me, even if didn't quite seem to justify the rest of the movie.
Diary of the Dead
George Romero decided to have a go at the found footage genre, but with a seemingly non-existent budget and a script written by an 8 year old this was a massive let down for Romero's fans. Amongst all the other problems, this also shared with Cloverfield the issue of "why are you still holding the camera?". Troll Hunter actually seems to have dealt with this quite well, though the camera seems to focus on other people's reactions rather a lot when personally I'd be rather more fixated on the monsters themselves. But back to "Diary of the Dead": If I was wandering around in a dark abandoned building in the middle of a zombie outbreak I might feel it was time to put down the camera. When I then run into a random guy looting the place who threatens me, I might think that having a camera in my hands is putting me at a distinct disadvantage. There's a big problem when making horror-themed "found footage" movies of explaining why anyone would still be carrying a camera when they are scared out of their minds. And with that in mind...
REC/REC2
As you can see in the trailer for REC2, some of the cameras are attached to helmets. However, the first REC movie has the camera being held by an ordinary journalist, so why does he keep filming when things get desperate? Well, it turns out that the camera can be a rather neat survival tool. It has it's own light so when the lights go out the camera can still light the way. And of course, when the worst comes to the worst, there's the night vision option. Still, now that REC2 has been released there's rather more reason to stick with the REC franchise than simply the found footage aspect. The REC movies have their own mythology and provide us with the most original take on the zombie genre since 28 days later. The difference being that while there isn't a lot of excitement at the possibility of a "28 Years Later" movie (what with neither Alex Garland or Danny Boyle playing any part in the first sequel), the original creators were still signed on for REC2 and had some interesting new directions to take the story. With REC Genesis and REC Apocalypsis on the way, this is probably the most exciting horror movie franchise out right now.
Cannibal Holocaust
Part of the video nasties scandal and widely recognised as being absolutely horrible, the "found footage" style actually got the director in trouble. The creators of the movie were brought into court and had to convince the jury that the footage in the movie wasn't depicting real life murder.That right there is both the reason to be interested in the movie and the reason not to ever watch it. Clearly not for the fait-hearted (and I'm pretty sure that includes me).
Paranormal Activity
Looks like a real 'whistle and bang' movie to me, but then again I'm basing that on the trailer which has several loud bangs at the same time as showing an audience freaking out. Add to that my general dislike of movies where ghosts seem to be able to do anything they want with no real rules or reason and I'm fairly convinced this isn't my sort of movie. That said, it's been hugely successful. Have I misjudged it?