Sometimes there’s really nothing more likely to hit that sweet spot than a big, loud creature feature. Directed by Roar Uthaug (and monster lovers will find plenty of roaring here) Troll does exactly what you’d hope from a film called Troll. It’s about a big-nosed mythical monster that wakes up in the Norwegian hills, the last of its kind, and proceeds to stumble about the countryside, swatting helicopters and stomping on buildings as it heads to Oslo. The spirit of King Kong and many other halfway decent giant monster movies looms large in this one, and Troll is all the better for embracing its forebears and its heritage and telling a simple, unpretentious story that delivers thrills, spills and…did we mention it?…a big-nosed mythical monster.
The story is a thing of beautiful simplicity, and for once we’re not complaining. The Norwegian government call in palaeontologist Nora Tidenham (Ine Marie Wilmann) when a group of protesters are killed in the mountains of Dovre. Teaming up with the Norwegian’s Prime Minster’s advisor (and the film’s comic relief) Andreas (Kim Falck), military muscle Kris Holm (Mads Sjogard Pettersen) and Nora’s slightly fruit loop father Tobias (Gard B. Eidsvold) who lost his professional credibility and his job because of his fervent belief in the existence mythical monsters, Nora discovers the incredible truth. Trolls are real, and a very large one is causing chaos and carnage as it wanders around the country. There’s actually a bit more to it, of course, some troll backstory that adds a pleasing layer of humanity to the creature and makes it more than just a big, bad beast tormenting humanity for the sake of it. The human characters are a quirky, likeable bunch, but we’re all really here for the troll action, and the film sparkles in a handful of key sequences where the troll is flattening a holiday resort, fighting off an attack from a squad of helicopters and, in the finale, bearing down on Oslo. We’re not talking Godzilla-level devastation here – this is a much more modestly-budgeted feature – but Troll is all the better for not sacrificing its soul and heart for the sake of tiresome scenes of wanton destruction. And it does have real heart, too; once we learn of the history of the trolls and their tragic fate at the hands of the early Christians, it’s hard not to pity the creature and feel some genuine sympathy for its plight even as plans are laid to destroy it by utilising UV light to turn it back into rock.
Troll is a great piece of unassuming monster mayhem, a refreshingly Nordic take on tropes and cliches that Hollywood has mined to the point of exhaustion over the years. Thrilling, fast-paced, funny and with a proper emotional beating heart, Troll is a terrific treat, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for the sequel cheekily teased during the end credits. Monstrously good.
Troll is streaming now on Netflix
