Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

"Trollhunter" finds a unique niche within the "found footage" subgenre that allows it to mostly overcome its central gimmick of pretending it's made from real footage - it's Norwegian and it focuses on trolls.The cultural bent to this story can't be underestimated. A hunt for trolls in North America just wouldn't work. Norway's remoteness, and that troll lore originates from that part of the world, adds distinctive character and the subtle notion of "if it were true, wouldn't it look something like this?"The film follows college trio Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud), Johanna (Johanna Mørck) and Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen) tracking down an infamous bear-hunter named Hans (Otto Jespersen) for a school project interview. When they pursue him too closely, however, they discover that he's actually hunting trolls, which not only exist, but seem to be breaking out of their territory and into human domain more than usual of late.Filmmaker André Øvredal plays coy at the beginning until the troll discovery is made, and he really launches into world-building, explaining all the peculiarities of trolls (e.g. the three main kinds, how they can be killed, their ability to smell Christian blood, etc.) Øvredal really embraces this, playing off the attributes of vampire hunter movies and generally trying to appeal to viewers who like to buy into the fantasy of it all. The story then unfolds partly like a documentary and partly like a horror thriller (and even a video game).The thrills and the entertainment value therefore come in the hunting scenes. The formula gets a tad repetitive, but all the world-building and myth-focused information that comes out of the documentary-style footage creates anticipation for the subsequent troll bout. With visual effects that clear the necessary hurdles for fantasy filmmaking, "Trollhunter" avoids more damning criticism of being cheap or falling flat in these pivotal moments.We hardly get to know the students, who are supposed to be the main characters in movies like this, and that keeps us feeling safely distant from what's happening as opposed to right up in the action. We play the observer, not really putting ourselves into the shoes of these students discovering trolls are real (and very dangerous). On the other hand, Hans is a fascinating subject and emerges as the film's true main character. (He does get the most screen time, technically). The choice to paint Hans as a veteran who has been doing this a long time and has grown disenchanted with the work and the government processes in place to deal with trolls turns out to be the best creative choice from a writing perspective. Jespersen gets to not just play a bad***, but one with inner torment. Part of this character choice proves necessary from a functional standpoint because his attitude allows him to be okay with bringing the students along with him, but it also gives dimension to Hans in the way the best documentaries do with their subjects.Successful genre films often blend old or familiar stories and techniques with new ideas and that gives "Trollhunter" its freshness. So many films have been built on the found footage premise, or the monster-hunting premise, or the premise of imagining certain literary or mythological creatures are indeed real and "Trollhunter" neither denies borrowing from those sub-genres nor does it become too hampered by them. ~Steven CThanks for reading! Visit Movie Muse Reviews for more

I'm not typically a fan of "found footage" movies but I'm going to make a happy exception for Troll Hunter. I found the film to be surprisingly entertaining and enjoyed the take on Nordic myths. The characters never felt stale although a few tropes were trotted out. I especially liked the character of Hans, the eponymous Troll Hunter. World weary and tired of his job, he comes across as somebody who's done a dangerous and thankless job for way too long. The special effects where surprisingly good and the trolls were believable threats. A large part of that, especially early in the film, is due to the shots being at night and therefore any problems with the animation aren't as readily noticed. It lost a few stars due to a couple of plot points that didn't feel resolved to me. Overall though the movie is fun and a welcome addition to my movie collection.

Trollhunter is one of those rare gems that only comes along once in a while. You go into it expecting to pass a few hours and by the time the end credits finish rolling, you're still thinking "Wow that was great!"The movie follows a documentary style film crew investigating a recent string of strange and bizarre bear deaths in Norway. Whilst investigating, they start to follow a strange man who seems to know more about the situation than is being leaked to the public.The movie starts off at somewhat of a slower pace and really hits it stride towards the halfway point. Once they learn of the strange man's profession and subsequent hobby, the action picks up and the plot- line begins to take shape. The acting is believable and doesn't seem all that forced. The effects for a low budget movie are VERY good especially with the climax at the end of the movie.My only problem with this movie is that the ending feels somewhat forced and cheap. Given what the characters have to endure and get through it feels like a cop-out.Overall a great little thrill ride of a movie and the special effects are pretty top notch for a movie of this size and budget. You'll be shouting "TROLLLLSKE" at the top of your lungs before you know it.

I know that's quiet a claim,but anyone who seen this will probably agree with me in the sense that it was done so well it starts to fell real while you know it can't be.From start to finish it's all very grounded by the explanation of the troll hunter and every little detail just fits the story so good that you feel they actually put a lot of thought in this for a fantasy that is based in our reality.There have been rumors of an American remake but I actually don't think this would work on American soil because the landscape it self is also part of the story and so is the folklore behind it.It is justified that it would have at least 1 or 2 sequels because there is a lot of material you could continue on but it would be difficult to top because the movie all ready covers a lot of ground and get's bigger from 1 scene to the next.The story,the cast,the FX all blend together perfectly and make it in to an enjoyable adventure that thru the found footage part makes you feel like you were really there with them.It is also an example that you can approach fantasy seriously and succeed because the fun comes from the characters who at first can't believe that this is happening to them.I highly recommend this to anyone who likes fantasy,found footage flicks or even those who like a well written story.And that's a stone cold fact.Let's go troll hunting!