Trolls, according to the traditions of German-Scandinavian mythology, are gloomy, mostly evil giants that live in the bowels of the mountains. It was believed that they were endowed with tremendous physical strength and a repulsive, terrifying appearance. As a rule, these mythical creatures tried to harm humans, trampled crops, stole cattle, destroyed bridges and roads. Later sources liken trolls to other demonic creatures, even gnomes. It is not surprising that filmmakers did not ignore such colorful characters. Films about trolls occupy a separate niche in the history of the world film industry.
Lovers of "natural" monsters
Films about trolls are mostly quite noticeable horror movies of the mid-90s. During this period, animated models of diverse monsters gradually went out of circulation, they were replaced by plain-looking computer models. But most of the directors remained adherents of "natural monsters" - actors dressed in appropriate costumes. A striking example of such a picture is the directorial debut of the Englishman Paul Matthews in the horror film "Ominous Force." The plot of the picture tells about the atrocities of a gigantic troll, which is constantly terrorizing the uninvited guests of its cave dwelling. In the Matthews project, the troll is a chic decorated costume, and actor Peter Treklone played the role of the monster. The film is recommended for viewing by nostalgic lovers of "natural" monsters. The only moment critics criticized the film for is the sagging storyline closer to the middle of the story.
Dilogy
Films about trolls often have sequels. So the famous co-production film of Italy and the USA, directed by John Karl Buchler, “Troll” in 1985, five years after the release of the movie, got the sequel “Troll-2”.
The original 1985 film is recognized as one of the best representatives of the rarely cultivated subgenre of fantasy horror. The unsurpassed master of creating creepy creatures, Buchler embodied in his project a huge number of mythical creatures that are distinguished by their special quality of performance, detail of facial expressions and realistic appearance. All inhabitants of the magical world turned out to be extremely realistic, believable, as if alive. Horror boasts an abundance of bright, colorful characters: from the main characters to episodic roles. Creating a kind of thriller about the fabulous universe of mythological antagonists, the director emphasized the colorful presentation of each character and the visual range. The director managed to pay attention to each character - magical creatures and people dying one by one at the hands of the cruel troll king.
Troll 2
In 1990, the Italian director Claudio Fragasso, a person significant in low-budget cinema, with the support of producer Joe D'Amato himself, a man with the title of chief plagiarist of Italian cinema, created the sequel to the successful film John Carl Buchler. The category “films about trolls” was replenished with not the most successful example. The film has a good visually playable series, a set of standard frightening elements, however, according to film critics, the movie did not escape a decent amount of absurdity. The picture is plainly simple in the script, deplorably low budget. Trolls and other monsters are presented in the form of explicit rubber masks, not differing in credibility and mobility. The storyline is too predictable: the family comes to a provincial town and faces a number of problems. Aggression of local old-timers is not the main trouble, in contrast to the invasion of evil monsters. In general, Claudio Fragasso came out with a curious thrash-horror movie based on a specific fairy tale, though not as magical as in the original movie.
In the pseudo-snuff genre
Not all the best films about trolls were shot in the 80-90s of the last century. Proof of this can serve as the project of the scriptwriter and director, Norwegian Andre Ovredal in the genre of mokumentari “Troll Hunters”. The tape pleased the viewer with fresh and unimagined emotional experiences of the characters, gave the viewer an exciting impression of feelings. Art house pseudo-documentary is devoted entirely to not the most popular characters in the cinema - trolls. Ovredal took off a very exciting and instructive tour of the world of Scandinavian mythical creatures, designed for reporter material. Because of this, it seems that the viewer is watching a sensational and exciting investigation, and does not contemplate the pointless running of the heroes through the fields and forests.
Leprechaun
In the 80-90s of the twentieth century in Hollywood, in addition to high-budget blockbusters, projects of unknown directors with a modest budget were also shot - films about gnomes and trolls. Naturally, such paintings were weaker in terms of the presence of impressive special effects and the presence of "stars" in the ensemble of actors. The 1992 film "Leprechaun" is the best example of a low-budget, but quite interesting and high-quality comedy horror film that scared in childhood the same way as "Nightmares on Elm Street" or "Friday, 13". The plot introduces the viewer to an elderly man Dan O'Grady, who stole a bag of gold from a small evil gnome Leprechaun. The cruel creature moves from his native Ireland to the O'Grady mansion and destroys its inhabitants. However, the gnome himself falls into the trap, where he remains for many years, until one day he is accidentally freed by a group of teenagers.
In this project, director and screenwriter Mark Jones made her debut Jennifer Aniston, who is currently a star of the first magnitude. And the film itself spawned 4 more parts, the continuation of the history of the unfriendly gnome.
Global scope
The unprecedented relevance and popularity of the fantasy movie genre in the 2000s has gained a truly global reach in the film industry. Significant influence on the formation of fantasy in modern cinema had the work of R. J. Tolkien. The writer created an amazing universe of gnomes, orcs, hobbits, trolls and other magical creatures. Now these images are used as clichés by various contemporary directors. Each adaptation of the writer's works can be included in the category “films about trolls and goblins”: “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”, “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”, “The Lord of the Rings: Two Fortresses” and all episodes of the epic about the adventures of the Hobbit.
Also noteworthy
The films below are not a complete list of the “troll movies” category. The list can be supplemented by the following tapes:
- "The abode of evil creatures."
- "Tenth Kingdom".
- "Adventures in the land of the Dwarves."
- "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."
- Hellboy II: The Golden Army.
- Mini-series "The Color of Magic".
- Spiderwick Chronicles.
- "The journey of the unicorn."
- "Rollie and the Forest Spirit."
Plus a number of animated films: “The Troll in the Central Park” (1994), the epic of the USSR “Moomin and others”.