Film #23 - Troll Hunter (2011)

Look at that poster, just look at it. This film just has one of those concepts which makes you wonder 'How has nobody else ever thought of this before!?', a found footage film about three students following a man whose secretly hired by the Norwegian government to keep the troll population controlled? Sounds like a film that should be flying off the shelves with buzz coming in from all over the place! Oh wait no, it's in Norwegian. Well there goes any chance of popularity then, as the film watching public still can't handle reading subtitles every once in a while. This is an unfortunate truth and a real shame because Troll Hunter is one of the most fun and unique films I've seen from last year.

The film admittedly begins slow focusing mainly on the three students trying to track Hans, a man they believe to be a poacher of bears. Luckily however, about half an hour in two things begin to happen that really kick this film off and help it find it's stride, these two events being the appearance of trolls and the focus on Hans as a character. While the students often seemed to be quite irritating people (as students tend to be) with their grinning and their winging, Hans' later fleshing out forms a character that both leads and owns the human side of the film coming out as an obvious highlight along with the trolls. One interview scene in a cafe in particular really shows you a more human side to a character you at first believed to be cold and bitter.

What's also very much worth noting is that for a film that cost only just around $3.5m to make, the trolls look incredibly authentic and actually blend into the film with a far easier nature than most special effects creatures you'll find in Hollywood productions. In fact, the whole film is worth watching just for the sheer spectacle of the screen conquering final Troll right at the end of the film. Troll Hunter is one of the finest B-Movies I've seen in some time while really giving Hollywood a run for it's money as far as special effects go. Get past the slow beginning and you'll find a unique, humorous and at times quite scary film that's sure to find it's way into the hearts of many over the next few years.

8/10