Movie Review: Troll Hunter (2011)

There have been several "found footage" movies. Some, like Cannibal Holocaust, can be considered controversial, and others, like The Blair Witch Project, will have a love/hate effect on the audience. I can't imagine that anyone who watches Troll Hunter would find themselves anything but entertained. Though it starts with a prologue about this real and not manipulated footage being mailed to a movie company, you know pretty quickly that the filmmakers mean it as nothing more than an interesting way to introduce the footage.

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We start with a college film crew in Norway. They intend to follow a well known bear poacher known only as Hans to see why he kills bears and just leaves the carcasses where they lie. He tells them to go, but if they did, we wouldn't have much of a movie. As they track Hans in the middle of the night, he runs past them screaming the word "Troll!" All they can do is run. After talking with the college crew, Hans gives in and allows them to film his efforts.

The movie isn't shy about showing the creatures. There are many kinds of troll, and Hans explains them and the details about them as though we are watching a special on Animal Planet. It's so well done and truly fascinating. As I go through one international film after another, I'm finding great little treasures from around the world. Norway is the latest country to surprise me with something wonderful, and Troll Hunter is something horror, sci-fi and documentary fans can enjoy equally. Of all of the found footage films I've seen, this is definitely my favorite to date.