Troll Hunter is a low budget Scandinavian found footage movie about a three college kids who are making a documentary about a troll hunter. I know it sounds totally pants, but it is actually quite good. (Full disclosure I was sick on the couch with a stomach flu when I watched it.) The story is surprisingly interesting and the characters are surprisingly well realized.
The whole idea is that this group of friends set out to film a bear hunt, but instead stumble across a giant government cover up. Trolls are real, the government knows, and has an agency dedicated to keeping trolls and humans safe from each other. There are designated troll habitats and as long as the trolls stay on their own land everything is fine. When one leaves and starts causing trouble like killing cows or hikers, the TSS sends out Hans to deal with the troll. Once the troll is taken care of clean up crews come in and make things look like say a rabid bear or a tornado. It is vaguely Men in Blackish.
The movie looks good too. The shots of the Norwegian countryside are spectacular. The effects for the trolls are the perfect blend of cheap and well done. Trolls are clunky creatures. The interior shots are sufficiently bleak to set the tone of Hans. The found footage trope mostly works. The chase scenes early on are enhanced by it, but by the end it was a little distracting.
The movie also has an underlying moral message about living in harmony with nature. Trolls aren't evil. They are just wild animals whose habitat is threatened.
I'd recommend Troll Hunter as a pay rental. It was good fun for a sick day.
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