UK Release date: 9^th September 2011

With the emergence of worldwide bestsellers from a Swedish Stieg Larsson in the form of the terrifying yet captivating ‘Girl with a Dragon Tattoo’ trilogy, we now move on to what its neighbouring country, Norway can do in creating dramatic cinema. And here at Story Star Publishing, we aim to highlight the diversity of the fantasy fiction movies making it on the big screen. Troll Hunter tells the story of group of Norwegian film students who make it their goal to capture real – life trolls on camera after finding out that their existence has been notoriously covered up by a government conspiracy. At first, these students set out to discover mysterious bear killings but as they come into contact with a troll hunter, they unearth much more than expected. It is a dark fantasy fiction drama that doubles as a documentary and also features shady yet funny images of giant trolls chasing innocent people in and around the countryside.

It is a serious horror film and yet satirises the ‘Blair Witch Project’ and represents a quite unexpected pleasure for the audience who can accept the horror as well as the humoristic elements in this fantasy drama. This movie demonstrates an absolute love for monsters, exotic Scandinavian scenery and a bigger love for destructive mythological creatures such as the trolls. The film’s premise is made up of footage of actual events and after investigation, the film is deemed authentic in this alternate world. Director Andre Ovredal is great at adding humour to a film which has equivalent scenes such as the chase scene in Jurassic Park especially by recruiting infamous Norwegian comic Otto Jespersen to play the main lead ( as the Troll Hunter) and the ‘hero’ in the film. It is more than the average set- up documentary and can be praised for its pure originality, something which the fantasy fiction movie genre sometimes seems to lack.

The trolls are designed to look scarily grotesque and even though the storyline is unique, the set – up of the film does not require much showing that masterpieces can be created with limited resources. The troll hunter himself is parodied intensely through possessing homemade armour for emergencies and he drives around with huge spotlights from his truck supposedly ready to pounce on his troll, the victim who is much bigger than he is. An effective mirage between fantasy and comedy is created here especially in the way that trolls should die, which is something you should discover yourself when you watch the movie. Loud laughter guaranteed.

Altogether, although it is the most creative yet totally crazy blockbuster to come out of Norway, it is definitely a must – see for all fantasy fiction lovers.