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Trollhunter

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The Troll Hunter
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAndré Øvredal
Written byAndré Øvredal
Produced bySveinung Golimo
John M. Jacobsen
StarringOtto Jespersen
Hans Morten Hansen
Tomas Alf Larsen
Johanna Mørck
Knut Nærum
Robert Stoltenberg
Glenn Erland Tosterud
CinematographyHallvard Bræin
Edited byPer-Erik Eriksen
Production
company
Film Fund FUZZ
Distributed bySF Norge A/S
Release date
  • October 29, 2010 (2010-10-29)
Running time
103 minutes
CountryTemplate:Film Norway
LanguagesNorwegian, English dub
BudgetNOK 19 million ($3.5 million)
Box office$4,159,678 [1]

The Troll Hunter (Norwegian: Trolljegeren) is a 2010 Norwegian dark fantasy film, made in the form of a "found footage" mockumentary. It is written and directed by André Øvredal, and features a mixed cast of relatively unknown actors and well-known Norwegian comedians, including Otto Jespersen. The Troll Hunter received positive reviews from Norwegian critics. It opened on June 10, 2011 in the U.S,[2] to a mostly positive critical reception.[3]

Plot

A group of university college students, Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud), Johanna (Johanna Mørck), and their cameraman Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen), set out to make a documentary about a supposed bear poacher, Hans (Otto Jespersen). At the site of an illegally slain bear, they interview several local hunters, who comment that the bear tracks look odd and that someone probably dumped the carcass there, as well as Finn Haugen (Hans Morten Hansen), head of the Norwegian Wildlife Board. Finn dismisses the idea that the bear tracks could have been faked. The students manage to locate Hans, and follow him through Western Norway; when they try to interview him, he tells them to go away, but they persist. As they follow him into a forest, they see flashing lights and hear roars from something larger than a bear. Hans comes running back to his vehicle, screaming "Troll!" As they flee through the woods, Thomas is attacked and bitten by a large animal. They escape in Hans’ Land Rover, and discover their own vehicle turned over with the tires mysteriously missing. As they drive out of the woods, Hans admits that he does not hunt bears, but trolls. Though sceptical, the students ask if they can join Hans in his hunt and film it, and he agrees.

The next day the students meet up with Hans, who asks if any of them believe in God or Jesus, as the trolls can detect the smell of a Christian's blood. They assure him that they are not, and they return to the same forest as the night before. Hans tells them to slather themselves with troll 'scent' made from "everything you can squeeze out of a troll". Hans wields a “flash gun,” a weapon that emits powerful UV-rays to simulate sunlight and turn trolls to stone, though he comments that sometimes the trolls “just explode.” Though the students begin to suspect that Hans is 'trolling' them, they are stunned when Hans successfully flushes out a giant three-headed troll, which chases after them. They return to Hans' Land Rover, where they see him use a large UV-lamp to turn the troll to stone. As Hans destroys the petrified troll, Finn arrives with a team of Polish bear trappers who deposit a bear carcass. Finn then plants fake tracks to keep up the ruse that bears are responsible for a string of mysterious deaths and mutilations of livestock in the area. Finn objects to Hans allowing the hunt to be filmed and angrily tells the students that they will not be allowed to keep their tapes.

In a series of interviews Hans reveals that he and Finn actually work for the Troll Security Service (TSS), which hired him to help keep trolls a secret and to kill any that leave their territory and come near populated areas. He explains that there are a number of varieties of troll, and that the one he killed the previous night was a Tosserlad and therefore could not be the same one that bit Thomas and which Hans has been seeking, a Ringlefinch. The trolls are acting aggressively and have begun to leave their territories more often than usual, and Hans must get a blood sample from the Ringlefinch to try to help determine why.

The students accompany Hans on another hunt and, using live goats on a bridge and the blood of a Christian man as bait, Hans successfully attains a blood sample from the Ringlefinch troll, before blowing it up with his UV-gun. Hans takes the blood to a veterinarian who works for the TSS, but finds that it will take several days before any results can be found. Thomas interviews her and learns that the trolls’ adverse reaction to sunlight is due to their inability to convert Vitamin D into calcium, which causes their bodies to overreact.

Hans and the students continue to search for the cause of the unusual troll movements, investigating a farm where a number of trees have been inexplicably uprooted, though the government tells the locals that a tornado is the cause. Hans and the film crew come back at night and enter the woods, where they find troll tracks leading into an abandoned mine. Despite protests from Kalle, they enter the mine and discover the lair of a pack of Mountain King trolls. The trolls return unexpectedly, trapping the group inside. Kalle, in a panic and sweating profusely, admits that he is a Christian. The trolls catch his scent and kill him, while the others escape with the now broken camera.

Hans, Thomas, and Johanna return to Hans’ trailer to find Finn searching for the tapes. Finn demands that Hans head north to troll territory to get the problem under control. Hans agrees despite expressing fear of entering troll territory. He reveals to Thomas and Johanna that some years ago he was forced to massacre an entire troll population in that area, and does not like to go there. The group sets off with a new Muslim camera-woman and begins finding signs of a Jotnar, a giant mountain troll, 200 feet tall. Hans takes them deep inside troll territory, where Thomas begins to fall ill just as the Jotnar appears. A phone call from the veterinarian reveals that the blood from the Ringlefinch came back positive for rabies. It is likely that a rabies epidemic among the trolls is causing the unusual and aggressive behaviour, and that Thomas has been infected by the bite received several days earlier.

Hans lures the troll away and attempts to kill it with the UV-lamp on his Land Rover, but the battery dies and the vehicle is destroyed. He directs the others how to find the highway before walking up to the enraged troll, delivering the finishing blow with his UV-gun and walking off into the sunrise. As the others hike out of troll territory, Finn and several government agents arrive to confiscate the students’ tapes. Thomas flees with the camera and is seen collapsing at the side of a road when the tape cuts out. Just before the cut to black a truck is seen stopping next to the camera, presumably the driver is the person who "found the footage". An epilogue tells the audience that none of the students were heard from again and directs viewers to contact the police with any information they might have regarding their fate. The film ends with a real news clip of the Norwegian Prime minister Jens Stoltenberg inadvertently admitting to the existence of trolls, though the press fails to take notice.

Cast

  • Otto Jespersen as Hans the trollhunter, a member of the Troll Security Service
  • Hans Morten Hansen as Finn
  • Tomas Alf Larsen as Kalle
  • Johanna Mørck (Robin De Lano, English dubbing) as Johanna
  • Knut Nærum as Power company manager
  • Robert Stoltenberg as Polish bearhunter
  • Glenn Erland Tosterud as Thomas
  • Urmila Berg-Domaas as Malica

Production

Filming took place in the forests and mountains of Western Norway, and actress Johanna Mørck called it an exhausting experience.[4] According to director André Øvredal, the team tried to maintain maximum secrecy around the project. They kept both the title and cast secret until shortly before the première; instead dropping cryptic teasers to create a viral effect.[5]

Producers Sveinung Golimo and John M. Jacobsen reported great international attention around the film. Already before the première, several American companies had expressed interest in doing a remake.[6] Golimo and Jacobsen's production company were also responsible for the highly successful 2008 film Max Manus.[6]

Reception

Dagbladet's Inger Merete Hobbelstad gave the film four points out of six, and compared it to The Blair Witch Project. She complained that the dramaturgy could be better at times. The special effects she found to be of variable quality, though certain scenes were "amazing". She also highlighted Jespersen's performance as essential to the film's success.[7] The film received four points out of six in the newspapers Klassekampen[8] and Verdens Gang as well. Verdens Gang critic Morten Ståle Nilsen summed it up as "Better than we feared. Weaker than we could hope." Nilsen also made the comparison to The Blair Witch Project, and though he did not find The Troll Hunter brilliant or original, he predicted great commercial success for the film. Like Hobbelstad he appreciated Jespersen's effort.[9]

The most favourable review from the major national newspapers was written by Mode Steinkjer in Dagsavisen, where the film received five out of six points. He commended Øvredal's ability to combine "subtle humour with physical tension", and also commented on the "striking naturalness" displayed by Tosterud, Larsen and Mørck as the three students.[10] Kjersti Nipen, on the other hand, reviewing the film for Aftenposten, gave the movie only three points out of six. She called it "flat, predictable and rather devoid of content". Although she regarded it as funny at times, she found the use of the mockumentary format exhausted and overused.[11] The review in Morgenbladet was not favourable either.[12]

The most favourable review in Norway came from NRK, the Norwegian Broadcasting Company; Birger Vestmo gave the film six out of six points, and wrote that “a new Norwegian classic is born." He also applauded the film for combining Norwegian cultural elements with Hollywood cinematic flair.[13]

Among American reviews, Mike Hale of The New York Times called it a "clever and engaging mock documentary" with "ultradry Nordic humor", though "about 20 percent too long" with "more traveling shots through car windows of the fjord-land scenery than are absolutely necessary". The special effects, while "created with a computer-graphics budget that we can assume was far short of the Hollywood standard, are surprisingly lifelike and frightening."[14] Frank Lovece of Film Journal International praised star Jespersen for "what ought to be a star-making dramatic performance", and found the film "both a remarkably suspenseful voyage ... and a dry-witted commentary on the nature of expedient bureaucracy.... Part horror movie, part social satire, and bursting with Norway’s savage beauty ... [i]t is destined to be a classic of its kind."[2] V. A. Musetto of the New York Post gave it three stars out of four and cautioned, "You'll want to catch this clever movie before Hollywood ruins everything with a dumb remake."[15] British writer Ross Miller of Blog Critics gave it 4.5 stars out of 5 and said, "Troll Hunter takes what is now a conventional style of found footage filmmaking and puts a unique stamp on it... one of the best examples of this type of film so far."[16]

On review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, The Troll Hunter currently holds an 82% 'Fresh' rating.[3]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack includes "In the Hall of the Mountain King" from Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg's music for the play Peer Gynt.

Cultural references

The painting "Soria Moria Castle" by Theodor Kittelsen

The Troll Hunter contains many references to Norwegian culture and Norwegian folktales in particular. Among those are the belief that there are different species of trolls, for example the woodland and mountain trolls, which as in the film can be further categorized into subspecies. The most well known is probably the Mountain King which is mentioned in the play Peer Gynt and its music by Edvard Grieg. The Norwegian name for Mountain King, «Dovregubbe», is a compound word, and the first part is the same word used in the mountain range Dovrefjell, which is also where they meet the final troll.

Other common troll descriptions from the Norwegian folklore which are used in the film include trolls having a tail, can have multiple heads, can smell a Christian's blood, usually eat rocks, but loves meat and can be man-eaters. The trolls are also described as big, old, strong, but slow and dim-witted and turns to stone upon contact with sunlight. The latter is a point emphasized in the film, as the Troll Hunter uses UV-light to kill the trolls. However, the Troll Hunter also makes a statement that not everything from the tales are true.

Troll painting by Theodor Kittelsen
Troll painting by John Bauer

The film also has several specific references to fairy tales. For example Boots Who Ate a Match With the Troll when the camera man asks about an eating contest, and the Three Billy Goats Gruff when the Troll Hunter attempts to trap the troll under the bridge. The fairy tale Soria Moria Castle is one of the tales that tell trolls can smell a Christian man's blood. A painting by Theodor Kittelsen based on the same fairy tale is also used as a backdrop on one on the trips they do in the film. The looks of the trolls in the film is also influenced by painters like Theodor Kittelsen and John Bauer.[17]

As reflected by how the students answer the Troll Hunter, only a fraction of Norwegians consider themselves religious or visits the church regularly,[18] even though the majority of Norwegians are members of the state church.[19] In the way the final cut is made, it is ambiguous if the trolls reacted to Christian scent and songs, or just to unusual scent and noises in general. Or the psychological belief that they believed the trolls recognize it and react accordingly.

The film also makes references to the often heated conflict between farmers and predators eating their livestock and the farmers' limited ability to react without breaking Norwegian wild life regulations[20] Of course, in the film these predators get the blame for what the trolls are doing. Similarly there are conflicts that arise when new power lines need to be made through the landscape.[21] The often bureaucratic Norwegian society is also referenced when the Troll Hunter shows and fills out his form.

With several of the cast being comedians that are fairly known to the Norwegian audience, including Otto Jespersen playing the Troll Hunter, it also sets the tone of the film for many. Robert Stoltenberg playing the Polish bear hunter makes that scene less serious, and plays on facts and stereotypes that most Norwegian immigrants are from Poland,[22] often speak mediocre Norwegian or English and often do what they are told without asking questions,[23] often do the work Norwegians won't do themselves,[24] and are relatively often found to be underpaid and work under non-legal conditions.[25][26]

An other minor detail is the inclusion of svele when the Troll Hunter is eating on the ferry.

Remake

The day the film opened in the United States, Deadline.com announced that director Chris Columbus's company, 1492, along with CJ Entertainment & Media had acquired remake rights to the film.[27]

References

  1. ^ The Troll Hunter at Box Office Mojo
  2. ^ a b Lovece, Frank (10 June 2011). "Film Review: Troll Hunter". Film Journal International. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  3. ^ a b The Troll Hunter at Rotten Tomatoes
  4. ^ Ødegård, Espen (29 October 2010). "– Som et eventyr å være med på". Ringerikes Blad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  5. ^ Hole, Ronald (26 October 2010). "– Det var helt vilt". Bergens Tidende (in Norwegian). Retrieved 29 October 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ a b Haugen, Ida Anna (28 October 2010). "Film: «Trolljegeren»-produsent: – Man må ta troll på alvor". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  7. ^ Hobbelstad, Inger Merete (28 October 2010). "Tøys og tull—og troll". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  8. ^ Kulås, Guri (28 October 2010). "Troll i ord?". Klassekampen (in Norwegian). p. 28.
  9. ^ Nilsen, Morten Ståle (27 October 2010). "Trolljegeren". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  10. ^ Steinkjer, Mode (28 October 2010). "Sprekker ikke". Dagsavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  11. ^ Nipen, Kjersti (28 October 2010). "Trolljegeren". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  12. ^ Eriksen, Ulrik (29 October 2010). "Sprekkeferdig". Morgenbladet (in Norwegian). pp. 28–29.
  13. ^ Vestmo, Birger (26 October 2010). "Trolljegeren". NRK (in Norwegian). Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  14. ^ Hale, Mike (9 June 2011). "Movie Review Trollhunter (2010)". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  15. ^ Musetto, V. A. (9 June 2011). "Just grin and bear the trolls". New York Post. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  16. ^ Miller, Ross (19 June 2011). "EIFF 2011 Movie Review: Troll Hunter". Blog Critics. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  17. ^ "Know Your Trolls: A guide to troll science from the director of TrollHunter". io9. 5 May 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)
  18. ^ "Få nordmenn i kirken, men ikke færre enn før" (in Norwegian). 20 June 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)
  19. ^ "More participants at communion". Statistisk Sentralbyrå. 20 June 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)
  20. ^ "Norsk Sau og Geit er skeptisk til rovdyrtapstall for sau". Nationen (in Norwegian). 27 October 2011. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)
  21. ^ "Kampen fortsetter i Hardanger". NRK (in Norwegian). 26 June 2011. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)
  22. ^ "Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents". Statistisk Sentralbyrå. 28 April 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)
  23. ^ "– Norskundervisning er ikke nok for å unngå arbeidsulykker". NRK (in Norwegian). 6 December 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  24. ^ "- Det eksisterer ikke polakkarbeid, bare arbeid". E24 (in Norwegian). 8 December 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  25. ^ "Polakker på samlebånd". Dagbladet debatt (in Norwegian). 20 June 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  26. ^ "Innleide firma bryter loven". Aftenbladet (in Norwegian). 27 September 2011. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)
  27. ^ Fleming, Mike (10 June 2011). "Norwegian Fright Film 'Troll Hunter' In Remake Deal With Chris Columbus' 1492 And CJ Entertainment". Deadline.com. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
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