Andre Ovredal’s film Trollhunter only just recently made it over to the US, but it’s already collecting a mighty fine résumé of critical reviews.
The Norwegian movie deals with an underground world of trolls that are working in the background of nature, and which common folk are not allowed to know about. As you might expect, an uber-secret organization of troll hunters keeps them in check.
According to the official synopsis, “A group of students investigate a series of mysterious bear killings, but [learn] that there are much more dangerous things going on. They start to follow a mysterious hunter, learning that he is actually a troll hunter.”
The surprising thing here is that it’s a student-documentary-style film, ala Blair Witch.
Since that first genre defining film, there have been innumerable attempts to make a similar film.
Due to the low production value – and seeming ease of script – of the style, almost every amateur filmmaker in the world has done at least one of these. The style has become almost universally panned by critics over the years, and any attempt at a major Hollywood film in this style fails.
Perhaps this one only pulls it off well because it’s not from the US, but that means it’s strange that a US production company, Chris Columbus’s 1492 Pictures has secured the rights to do a US remake of the film, hiring Marc Haimes to adapt the screenplay.
“Trollhunter was a visceral, thrilling, cinematic rock and roller coaster ride of a movie.” says Columbus, defending the decision, “Visually, there are scenes in this film that American audiences have never seen. We want to introduce an international audience to this amazing moviegoing experience.”
Personally, I hope that part of the ‘adaptation’ is a change in style away from the ‘documentary’ device, otherwise, I have a feeling no one will want to watch it.
