TROLL HUNTER

(A.k.a. TROLLHUNTER)

Opening text claims that the film we’re about to see has been edited down from hours of found footage.

Events then kick-start with three Norwegian students in the process of making a film for their University. Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud) is the presenter, while sound technician Johanna (Johanna Merck) and camera operator Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen) remain largely off-screen – at least to begin with.

Their film is based on illegal bear killings in the Northern region of the country. In particular, they’re interested in the hunters whose job it is to keep the problem of rogue bears under control. Focus quickly turns to an enigmatic figure unknown to the rest of the bear-hunting community, known only as Hans (Otto Jespersen).

Believing Hans to be a poacher, Thomas is eager to bag an interview with the surly middle-aged gent and drags his small film crew onto campsites, ferries and finally into the dark of the woods in bids to confront their subject.

When in the woods, in the dead of night and in the middle of nowhere, Hans sends the filmmakers fleeing when he races up to them screaming "Trroooll!". He later gives them a lift back to civilisation when they realise their car has been trashed by something in the night.

The aspiring documentarians are sceptical as Hans takes them under his wing and opens up to them, claiming to work for the TSS (Troll Security Service) as the country’s sole troll hunter. His task, he tells them, is to ensure the various breeds of troll keep within their own boundaries and are never seen by human eyes.

Mocks soon turn to slack-jawed amazement as Thomas and co get to follow Hans on several jobs, witnessing the creatures in their varying guises first-hand and trying to capture as many of these incredible sights onto camera as possible.

Unfortunately, Hans’ boss – shady government official Finn (Hans Morten Hansen) – doesn’t take kindly to the film crew’s existence and is determined to get his hands on their footage, in order to maintain his lies to the public about how bears are responsible whenever a troll attacks.

TROLL HUNTER begins as yet another "found footage" film, begging comparisons almost immediately to THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. As it develops, it branches off into more witty and ultimately more fantastical territory.

The cast are uniformly good, breathing warmth and sincerity into their roles. They handle the balance of mocking humour (the students’ face-pulling behind Hans’ back provides the funniest moments) and horror well, creating a believable and absorbing whole.

Debut writer-director Andre Ovredal deserves the real accolades though. He’s managed to take a tired format and rejuvenate it into something genuinely fresh, unpredictable and ‘different’.

Part of TROLL HUNTER’s success is due to its knowledgeable respect for its subject matter. Trolls are a big part of Scandinavian mythology and Ovredal stays faithful to the finer points of local folklore, employing Hans as a means of expanding on beliefs of how the beasties either explode or turn to stone when exposed to ultra-violet light, how they become incensed by the scent of Christians and so on. Mixed with savvy humour, the result is a film which feels well-researched without ever labouring the point.

Best described as a dark fantasy rather than a horror film, TROLL HUNTER does however contain a handful of tenser sequences. One such occurrence finds the students trapped in a troll family’s lair with Hans. One minute we’re laughing as they recoil from the stink of the creatures’ farts and Kalle frantically rubbing ‘troll stench’ into his pores in a bid to conceal his Christian beliefs; the next minute we’re on the edge of our seats as the protagonists make a life-or-death dash for daylight. The tension mounts on occasion, despite the – albeit excellent – CGI FX which make the not-too-scary trolls look like ’Fraggle Rock’ characters.

Another part of the film’s success must surely be due to its seamless transition from mockumentary to full-blown monster movie. Ovredal is adept at both styles, crossing genres in a manner not dissimilar to the superb DISTRICT 9.

Consequently, TROLL HUNTER has a slick ‘Hollywood’ finish to its execution. The shaky handheld camera style of filming can’t disguise the apparent £2.1 million budget. It’s more CLOVERFIELD than PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, certainly. But, with sumptuous Norwegian countryside scenery and a heavy slant on local mythology, it thankfully retains a distinctive European vibe (bits of it also recalled MAN BITES DOG for me). Hans’ dogged anti-hero lends the film a moral ambiguity that questions whether the trolls are truly monsters, pitching the film way above its more mainstream comparisons in terms of intelligence.

A sequel is said to be already on the cards and talk of the inevitable American remake has begun. I doubt either will be as fresh, entertaining or surprising as Ovredal’s frequently thrilling film.

TROLL HUNTER comes to UK DVD uncut in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, enhanced for 16x9 television sets.

The picture quality is very good, although difficult to review as the film is made to look deliberately cheap in an effort to keep the ‘student project’ conceit going. At one point, the camera is smashed during the action; the next five minutes of film are shot through a broken lens. Despite this, colours are bold, detail is fine and playback is pleasingly free from issues such as compression noise, blocking or motion blurring.

The shooting style of the film improves consciously in the final third of the action when a replacement cameraperson is drafted in. This footage fares best in this overall above-average transfer.

Norwegian 5.1 audio offers an excellent aural accompaniment to the often exciting visuals. Optional English subtitles are easy to read. An alternate English dubbed audio track is also provided on the disc, in 5.1, but I neglected to check this out.

The disc opens with a handful of trailers – MONSTERS; HAYWIRE; VANISHING ON 7TH STREET – which in turn lead to an animated main menu page that instantly gives the impression of the film being a BLAIR WITCH knock-off. Stick with it though: it’s anything but.

From there, a static scene-selection menu allows access to the main feature via 12 chapters.

On the surface it sounds like TROLL HUNTER has been graced by a generous helping of bonus features. However, they’re mainly fluff:

The film’s original trailer is a competently edited but uneventful 73-second affair that most will have already seen online.

7 minutes of extended scenes don’t amount to much, and if anything only serve to highlight how canny editing made the completed film punchier.

Photo galleries do their usual thing over the course of 6 minutes. They offer a plethora of on-location images. They’re not to be sniffed at, but ... does anyone honestly traipse through these?

3 minutes of deleted footage offer a little more chatter and fumbling about in the woods. Again, it’s not hard to see why this stuff didn’t make the film’s final cut.

"Improvisations and bloopers" does what it says on the tin. Corpsing abounds in these brief but fun sequences (2 minutes).

Three featurettes – "Visual Effects" (6 minutes), "Behind the Scenes" (23 minutes) and "HDNet: A Look At Troll Hunter" (4 minutes) – round things off. These EPK-type junkets contain some interesting behind-the-scenes footage along with sound bites from cast and crew members, but are too trite individually to be deemed truly worthy.

TROLL HUNTER is great fun for those not put off by its lack of overt horror, or the fact that the monsters – three-headed beasts, giant ‘Jotnars’ and more – look more friendly than fierce. The film is funny, involving, often beautiful to look at, and capable of mixing rousing action with Indie brigade drama.

Also available on blu-ray.

Review by Stuart Willis