Troll Hunter

'Troll Hunter (2010)' doesn't aim for chills or scares, even though it contains several genuinely tense sequences. Instead, it reaches for a kind of low-key pastiche. This subtle satire goes hand-in-hand with its light, tongue-in-cheek but not overtly silly tone and its ever-evident deadpan sense of humour. Indeed, it's a dryly funny film when it wants to be, provoking blindsiding smiles even when it doesn't provoke proper laughs (which does happen on occasion). As its protagonists become more and more integrated with the secret life of its eponymous hunter, the piece digs further and further into its source lore and has a lot of fun deciding which bits to adapt and which to claim are simply 'fairytales'. This aspect of the picture probably plays even better in its home country of Norway, but the thing does a good enough job of contextualising itself that even those only vaguely familiar with the concept of a troll (which ought to be most people) will find enjoyment here. The film's special effects are surprisingly good - fantastic, even. They bring the narrative's fantasy elements to life in an impressively realistic way, combining with the excellent 'found footage' aesthetic to be perhaps as believable as possible (especially considering the generally low budget). Overall, the movie is really enjoyable. It's also rather distinct, taking an authentic look at a lore that isn't often explored in cinema. It's well-achieved in almost every way. 7/10.