Movie Review: Troll Hunter (2010)

Directed by Andre Ovredal

Starring Otto Jespersen, Robert Stoltenberg and Knut Naerum

A group of college students, camera in hand, are investigating a string of suspicious deaths in the bear population in the wilds of Norway. The wildlife department, and local hunters are convinced it is the work of a poacher and the students believe they have found the culprit it a mysterious loner who ventures out nightly into the woods in his tricked out Land Rover. Only after following him into the woods one night, what they discover is that the mysterious loner is not a poacher at all but a former Army Ranger who has been hired by the government to keep the wild Troll population in check.

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The Troll Hunter conveys his displeasure in his job, the long hours and horrible pay have brought him to the point of burn out and he believes the government needs to change its tactics in regards to dealing with these giant beasts that roam the landscapes, so he agrees to allow the college students to follow him on a few missions so they can get the amazing footage they are looking for and release it to the media. And what we are treated to in the process is a pretty frikkin awesome monster movie here kids. This is one of those mocumentary, found-footage films that really does it right and for 103 minutes I found myself completely lost in the beautiful scenery, the weird storyline and the amazing special effects that brought those beautiful hairy beasties to life.

All of the scenes involving the trolls (and there are quite a few) were just downright amazing and a complete blast to watch. From the smallest Trolls, about the size of a truck, to the biggest, about the size of a mountain, they were all breathtakingly brought to life with great effect. There were a lot of deliciously tense moments, with my favorite being the scene where the students and Troll Hunter find a cave that has signs of Troll activity inside. Before they can get out though, an entire tribe of Trolls arrives and they find themselves trapped inside, with the sleeping Trolls directly between them and a safe escape. The Cameraman is in a panic, dousing himself in Troll stench and finally confesses that he had lied earlier when he said he wasnt a Christian (who's blood a Troll can smell a mile away). The Trolls awaken, in a rage, and......well, I wont spoil it.

The bridge scene is also great and pretty damn funny, with the Troll Hunter donning a suit of iron with a giant syringe in hand, in an attempt to obtain a blood sample from one of the feisty critters. And the final sequence set in a vast tundra where they face off with a 200 foot tall Troll is absolutely epic. If you are a fan of monster movies and haven't seen this one, now you have something to live for. And although it takes about 30 minutes for the film to get up to full steam, it helped to set the story up pretty good so I didnt really have a problem with that. A great popcorn movie, with lots of creepy moments and top notch effects.

8 hairy beasties out of 10

Reviewed by KennyB