Bill Gibron is a veteran film critic from Tampa, Florida.The title says it all. The only additional information you need for this rollicking Norwegian export is that it follows the found footage, first person POV approach of movies like The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield. After that, you are set for 90 minutes of jolly giant ogre mayhem with writer/director André Øvredal doing everything he can to keep the film's otherwise low budget leanings from showing through. It doesn't always work, but when it does, it's a terrific bit of mythic monster magic. A string of bear attacks in a remote region prompts a group of college students (Glenn Erland Tosterud, Johanna Mørck, Tomas Alf Larsen) to grab their camera equipment and head out into the wilderness. While interviewing locals and investigating sites, they can't help but notice the tricked out truck and the oddball individual (Otto Jespersen) in a long coat and hat. Turns out he is a Troll Hunter, commissioned by the government to track and take out the indigenous folklore creature population of the country. At first, the kids don't believe him. But while tagging along on one late night forest raid, they discover (and capture on film) the startling truth. They also learn of the less than exciting life and immense amount of paperwork involved in the often thankless profession.
At its core, The Troll Hunter is really a sly social commentary intercut with a few spectacular F/X scenes to make the journey into Scandinavian bureaucracy all the more entertaining. From the opening news reports to the moment when our students first meet up with the fabled hunter, Øvredal keeps us guessing. We know we are going to see some trolls, but the whole set up suggests something a bit different. Then Jespersen takes center stage and the film finds whole new angles to explore. The Hunter is not a happy man. He can't advertise his profession, can't take credit for the various lives, and villages, that he saves. As the last remaining vestige between civilization and some hairy, overgrown (and quite angry) hobgoblin, he feels unappreciated and unwanted - especially by the elected people in power.
When he comes across the college students, the Hunter sees his chance for redemption - or at the very least, proof that he and his prey actually exist. It's a tricky back and forth (celebrity vs. anonymity) that keeps the movie on its toes. Unlike previous examples of the shaky cam dynamic, Øvredal tries to keep things framed and focused. This is especially true of later attacks when the sheer scope of what is happening is hammered home with amazing flights of fancy. One could easily see suits in Hollywood jumping over themselves to remake this movie. The premise is just that potent. But without Jespersen, the bleak backdrop of a snowbound hinterland, the paper-pusher subtext, or the sparse use of F/X, it would just be another average A-list attraction.
Part of the fun of The Troll Hunter is watching the title character go about his business with a bored, almost routine look upon his frazzled face. Even better are the inferences that, without him, Norway would eventually be overrun by these mammoth beasts. Jespersen, a comedian in his home country, has a wonderfully expressive persona that wears every beleaguered truth across its broad bearded terrain. He looks the part, and Øvredal does a great job of making everything seem real and authentic. Granted, this is perceivably nothing more than a great gimmick expanded beyond the standard resume reel experience. Thanks to the attention to detail and stellar star performance, The Troll Hunter is terrific.
aka Trolljegeren
