A group of students investigate a series of mysterious bear killings, but learns that there are much more dangerous things going on. They start to follow a mysterious hunter, learning that he is actually a troll hunter.
Not nearly scary enough to be a horror, but not consistently funny enough to be a comedy, The Troll Hunter ends up somewhere in the middle.
A true one-off, with all the frustrated expectations that entails. Troll Hunter plays it strange and straight, introducing creatures so unforgettable they would make Harry Potter expelliarmus his bowels.
With superb visual effects (for the budget) and wonderfully absurd atmosphere, it’s a shame there’s no real frights to make this a great comic-horror as opposed to just a solid little oddity.
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.
A marvellous, sly film which, had it managed to be a little more frightening, would have been a masterpiece.
Fun, funny and fearless. Hunt it out if you’re after something different.
It's sluggish in places and too long but has a memorable hero in Hans and remains amusingly straight-faced.
The special effects are solid for the most part, and there are a couple of impressive images, some half-decent troll action and a whole lot of ridiculousness.
Likeable creature feature.
The scenes involving the trolls themselves are spectacular, but somehow not scary exactly: they look too absurd for that. Real fear is to be found when the trolls are just invisible forces deep within the beautiful landscape.
The film begins strongly, but once past the half-hour mark loses energy and direction.
Simply spectacular.
André Øvredal’s movie has wittier ideas up its sleeve than the average “mock-doc” shocker, a genre it transcends through sheer originality.
As it progresses, the joke begins to wear thin without being accompanied by a parallel rise in tension. But there's fun to be had if you're willing to surrender to it.
Funny, scary.
Andre Ovredal's Troll Hunter makes a mock-doc out of Norse folklore
General release. Check local listings for show times.
Cameo, Edinburgh from Friday November 4, 2011, until Thursday November 10, 2011. More info: http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/
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