“Trollhunter” is inevitably being compared with “The Blair Witch Project.” They both feature mysterious footage caught by students — who disappear without a trace — using low-budget equipment to investigate local legends. And it’s true, if you liked the 1999 American flick, you’ll probably enjoy the new Norwegian film. Not because it’s a “Blair Witch” in Europe, though — because it’s a far superior film. “Blair Witch” and “Trollhunter” both took themselves seriously. They were filmed as if they were real documentaries made by young people who are first curious about, and then terrified by, myths that seem to come to life. The difference is that “Trollhunter” milks its scary story for laughs. The result is an unexpectedly entertaining film whose deadpan humor transcends its Scandinavian roots.
The film opens to reports of unexplained bear deaths around the area. Hunters are convinced that a man in a Land Rover who’s always near the scene must be a poacher. Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud), Johanna (Johanna Morck), and Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen), a trio of college students, decide to follow him. They learn more than they imagined: Hans (Otto Jespersen) turns out to be the title character, a member of the Troll Security Service, which the government has always kept secret.
| On screen |
| ‘Trollhunter’ |
| 4 out of 5 stars |
| Stars: Otto Jespersen, Robert Stoltenberg, Knut Naerum |
| Director: Andre Ovredal |
| Rated: PG-13 for some sequences of creature terror |
| Running time: 103 minutes |
At first the three laugh. “No one here believes in God or Jesus?” Hans asks, before letting them join the hunt. “Seriously?” one responds. “Because they can smell the blood of a Christian man?” Their skepticism will come to haunt them — it turns out this part of the Norwegian myth is true. (This turns funny later, when the group hires a Muslim camerawoman. One of the students asks Hans if she’s safe. “I honestly don’t know. We’ll see what happens,” he responds.)
Hans has taken on the crew, after some reluctance, because he’s frustrated with the demands of the job. “I have no rights whatsoever. I get no night bonus,” he says of hunting the creatures who are killed by sunlight. That and other aspects of the legend are explained here scientifically.
It’s what makes “Trollhunter” such a laugh-out-loud black comedy. “The Blair Witch Project” followed some scared students into the woods. “Trollhunter” brings all sorts of professions in on the project, showing what can happen when fairy tales come true.
