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Generally favorable reviews - based on 25 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 58 Ratings

  • Summary: The government says there’s nothing to worry about – it’s just a problem with bears making trouble in the mountains and forests of Norway. But local hunters don’t believe it – and neither do a trio of college students who want to find out the truth. Armed with a video camera, they trail a mytrail a mysterious “poacher,” who wants nothing to do with them. But their persistence lands them straight in the path of the objects of his pursuits: Trolls. They soon find themselves documenting every move of this grizzled, unlikely hero – The Troll Hunter – risking their lives to uncover the secrets of creatures only thought to exist in fairy tales. (Magnolia Pictures) Expand
  • Director: André Øvredal
  • Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller, Horror
  • Rating: Not Rated
  • Runtime: 90 min
  • More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 25
  2. Negative: 4 out of 25
  1. Reviewed by: Eric Kohn
    Jun 6, 2011
    100
    The Troll Hunter offers high-caliber entertainment despite a low-budget production.
  2. Reviewed by: Kim Newman
    Sep 5, 2011
    80
    You might need to take a Norwegian guide along to explain various local references and identify the specific trolls, but Troll Hunter's proud cultural identity - tremble, a US remake is in the works - is its strongest suit. It's wry, spectacular fun.
  3. Reviewed by: Joshua Rothkopf
    Jun 7, 2011
    60
    As with so many modern fantasy films, the sequences here seem designed to go viral on YouTube in a flash of coolness, not necessarily linger in the mind or heart.
  4. Reviewed by: Michael O'Sullivan
    Jun 30, 2011
    38
    The film's real problem is that it can't seem to make up its mind about whether it wants to frighten us or make us laugh.

See all 25 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 11
  2. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. 10
    Great movie - good effects even though its fairly lowbudget. History is ok, and the troll are HC Andersen adventure like, which fits the atmosphere of the movie (pardon my spelling im from Denmark) Expand
  2. You know what this movie is? It's something stuck up reviewers have forgotten how to experience. Fun. I mean, what could be more fun than watching a manic chase scene involving a giant three-headed troll? Okay, maybe doing so with popcorn. Expand
  3. 6
    This was supposed to be a comedy / horror type of movie, and yet it was not at all scary or funny. Still, it was fun (except for the overly repeated running with the camera sequences), and decently made. Expand
  4. Troll Hunter is the latest in the rapidly tiring trend of handheld camera mockumentary films. It documents a group of students following a mysterious poacher (Otto Jespersen) who turns out to be a troll hunter, tasked with keeping the population of these mythical creatures under control, and to prevent them coming into contact with humans. This story is intriguing at first, and there's some nice allusions to folklore woven into the narrative (trolls turning to stone in sunlight, their tendency to hide under bridges), but it rapidly deteriorates into drudgery. The trolls that are so central to the plot are very convincing, and some great visual effects and sound design has gone into their creation, but the film's limited budget means we don't see them on screen nearly often enough. I also question the decision to make the film a mockumentary - though this style is entertaining enough at first, and makes the story slightly more believable, it is far too limiting a filmic device in terms of what the viewer can actually see, and especially in terms of characterisation. Had Troll Hunter been filmed simply as a conventional narrative film, we might have had more opportunity to get to know our characters, but as it is, they remain enigmas, both when behind the camera or when running for their lives in front of it. The story as a whole, primarily due to the way it is filmed, is very uneven in terms of pace. Whenever any kind of momentum or tension is successfully built up, it is lost in the very next scene by some clunky expositional dialogue or a scene that is particularly jarring in its change in tone from the rest of the film. What Troll Hunter does get right (though, again, you would appreciate it more in a more conventionally filmed movie) is that it makes the most of the stunning Norwegian landscape in which the story is set. The action (at least, what action there is) takes place in a huge variety of atmospheric locations - from dark, creepy forests to claustrophobic caverns to open, mountainous plateaus. The film's stunning finale takes place in the latter setting, and this desolate, snow-covered vista is perfect for the final showdown with a particularly big, particularly nasty troll. Troll Hunter has an interesting premise, and the production design, sound and visual effects are top-notch, but an unevenly paced plot, underdevelopment of characters and the use of a tired format detracts from the overall viewing experience. I sincerely hope the trend for mockumentaries is close to dying out, as it's becoming a bit of an annoyance, and unless you're the rare exception to the rule (Cloverfield) it's just an excuse to film things badly, and dispense with character altogether. Expand

See all 11 User Reviews

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