Girls of Geek B Movie Review: Troll

Written by:  John Edward Betancourt

The 1980's were a confusing time when it came to horror films.  You had absolute gems that left your heart racing, and your stomach clenched as either an iconic monster or new twist to the genre terrorized you.  Often times they were so good you had to check under the bed or in the closet just to make sure something evil wasn't waiting there for you.  

Then there were the other films in the genre.  

They were campy, cheesy and sometimes beyond awful.  They were train wrecks caught on videocassette and often times you simply could not look away.  I understand not every film can be perfect, and I own plenty of movies that get me judgmental looks when people see them on my shelf.  But some horror films from the 80's I just plain didn't get.  Case in point...Troll.  

The Potter family has just moved to a lovely new apartment and are doing their best to settle in.  But within these walls is a doorway to other realities, and an ancient creature needs the Potter's daughter to end the current rule of man by bringing back the good old days, when magic ruled and the creatures of legend walked the earth. It's a race against time as young Harry must find a way to save his sister and the world before the Troll and his kind rule the world once again.   

Let me just get this off of my chest right now.  This is a weird little film.  I mean look at that poster, and tell me how that doesn't scream horror film.  Granted the trailer let's you in on the fact that you can expect a little mysticism, but even that provides clips that well...look a little scary.  So imagine my surprise when I watched this film to basically find a fairy tale come to life.  

Fusion of genres is always an interesting gambit and well Troll missed the mark completely.  This is a film that could have been incredibly creepy and inspire the imagination all at the same time by bringing us an evil little troll while opening up new worlds to our eyes.  Instead we get neither.  Just cheap scares, a dude running around in a troll suit and well, some magic thrown in for good mix.  

The odd irony of this film is the fact that the main character is named Harry Potter, Jr. and that's just nuts.  Regardless, I do understand the people behind the camera wanted to do everything they could to give us something fresh and new and take us on one hell of a journey.  For that I give them credit.  But it's the execution of confusion that brings it down.  Of course the ultimate question is whether or not you should see this film and well...oddly enough the answer is yes. 

You'll find television star Julia Louis-Dreyfus in her first film role for starters and well...this movie is that accident that you slow down to see on the side of the road.  You simply cannot look away because of how odd it truly is.  Either way, if you love B movies, check it out.  If you want to see something wildly different, check it out.  Just go in without expectations and know that there is some magic in the world when you find the resolve to sit through every minute of Troll.

---