Troll Hunter

Title: Troll Hunter

Director: André Øvredal
Released: 2010
Starring: Otto Jespersen, Hans Morten Hansen, Tomas Alf Larsen, Johanna Mørck, Knut Nærum, Robert Stoltenberg, Glenn Erland Tosterud

Plot: Student film makers, Thomas, Johanna and cameraman Kalle are making a documentary about a suspected bear poacher Hans (Jespersen). Soon however they discover what Hans is hunting is not bears but trolls. Following this revelation the group choose to follow Hans as he goes about his work.

 

Review: When it comes to the found footage genre, I frequently find myself zoning out, especially when so many of the films belonging to this sub-genre seem to be under the impression that fuzzy shots and frantic camera movements give the viewer the illusion of being with the character being followed or that it somehow increases the tension, which is an interesting idea considering how hard it is to be affected by something that the camera can’t even bother to focus on for more than a couple of seconds at a time. This of course is not to say that there havn’t been films which have managed to make the format work with both “The Blair Witch Project” and the original found footage movie “The Last Broadcast” (though some may argue that “Man Bites Dog” is the true owner of this title) being prime examples and now with this film we finally we have another film to challenge my lack of faith in these films.

Shot in a similar style to “Man Bites Dog” and makes it kind of a shame that they didn’t go for a cheeky nod and call this “Man Hunts Troll”. Shot in a documentary style, it is one faithfully maintained throughout aswell as one which proves to be highly effective as the students discover the truth about Hans and soon find themselves joining him as he goes about his work for the Troll Security Agency ensuring that trolls don’t enter into populated areas, something which seems to be happening more regularly Hans reveals and the reasons why he attempts to discover over the course of the film, all the while with the students in tow while still finding time to fill in the gaps as the students hold spontaneous interview sessions between hunts while educating the group on the behaviour and general troll biology.
 

Hans generally is a great central character, especially as he is played as just another bored government employee who just happens to hunt troll for a living and in many ways bringing back for myself memories of the Masaru Daisato in “Big Man Japan”. Here Øvredal really shows an eye for details, from Hans armoured truck which wouldn’t look out of place in “Mad Max” through to his hunt equipment ranging from the UV lights which cause the trolls to turn to stone or explode (depending on their age)  through to his clunky suit of armour he wheels out when required to get a blood sample from one particularly angry troll. Han’s even has developed his own brand of Troll stink to allow himself and the film crew to disguise themselves, though for some reason nothing can overpower the scent of a Christian which for some reason trolls are especially attracted to. Over the course of the film we also get to meet some of the other members of the Troll security agency such as Finn (Hansen) who is less than happy with the students threatening to expose this secret organisation, while generally covering for troll attacks by making them look like bear attacks.

Another film which is certainly worth noting while drawing comparisons would be “Jurassic Park” which when it comes to the troll footage seems to have been an inspiration, as director Øvredal makes real effort to shot the various species of troll with a style none to dissimilar to a nature film, as especially seen in the first encounter we have with these mythical creatures with said creature being shown majestically making its way through the woods as it tries to locate them with its multiple heads. Here we see none of the usual camera jerking as instead he maintains a sustained and focus camera shot as he tracks the creature, were as most films would shot these same sequences with jerky camera movement and out of focus shots. Its of course these sequences were the strength of the film lies as Øvredal ensures that each troll encounter is memorable building on each encounter to the finale show down with a towering Jotnar troll.

Unsurprisingly the troll sequences form the real highlights of the film with Øvredal showing a keen eye for directing this action, while finding new ways to mix up how he shows each of these sequences, from skilfully cranking up the tension as the group find themselves in a troll infested cave, while their escape in Han’s truck from the Jotnar troll is truly a standout sequence and one which certainly benefits from watching the film on a large screen, especially as it only adds to the visual illusion of riding with the group as they make thier escape.

While the film is unquestionably at its strongest when the trolls are on the screen, or the group are learning more about Hans and his trade, the is still a fair amount of filler especially during the third quarter were we get to see perhaps alittle too much of the unquestionably picturesque Norwegian landscape, but used to such extent it does frequently give the feeling of the film slipping into a video postcard. As such the film perhaps could have benefited from trimming some of this fat of the run time or even another encounter which could have been found during these segments. The film equally suffers with several of its more regionlised moments humour, while the sheer amount of Norwegian comedians rounding out the cast (or so Wikipedia tells me) I have to wonder if this film is funnier to Norwegian audiences than it is to English speaking audiences??

While it might have its flaws there is still fun to be had here, especially as Øvredal goes more for spectacle than scares, but then the found footage genre has hardly been renown for producing such scares. Øvredal through has truly brought his own style to the genre and it is only all the stronger that he chooses to not stick to the established rules of the genre. Ultimately though this is a fun ride while the originally ensure that this is worth giving a curious watch.

Catfish

Title: Catfish
Director: Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman Released: 2010
Staring: Nev Schulman, Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost, Abby Pierce, Angela Pierce

Plot: A documentary charting the quickly developing friendship through “Facebook” and continuous e-mails between photographer Nev Schulman and the child painting prodigy Abby. Soon this friendship expands to include her mother Angela and her older half sister Megan, who Nev soon begins building a romantic relationship with. However it’s not long before Nev begins to suspect that everything is not what it seems and sets out to find the truth.



Review: “Catfish” should really come with a “Google Earth and Facebook proudly sponsor” tagline on it’s poster as essentially as this feels almost like a glossy advert for both, especially seeing how extensively they are both used throughout, which is pretty much right from the start. Still “Catfish” or the other “Facebook” movie as I like to call it, is kind of a curiosity seeing how it’s limited cinema release saw it in the cinema and pretty much straight to DVD within a couple of months, were it now joins a pretty exclusive list of films, which have never been made available to rent through Blockbuster, which when you consider that they stock nearly pretty much every new release made it only all the more surprising that this one was never picked up. It’s safe to say that this lack of distribution, has only really proved detrimental to the film and meant that it’s been left for the audiences to hunt it out themselves, leaving the film relying heavily on word of mouth promotion, especially when it comes to the authenticity of the footage, which most notably had “Super Size Me” (2004) director Morgan Spurlock branding the film “The best fake documentary he had ever seen”, despite the constant protest from Directors Joost & Schulman who still maintain that everything shown in the film is real.

This documentary really comes with great timing, especially with so many people now using social networking sites like “Facebook” and generally using the internet as their connection to the rest of the world, as the film explores the frequently asked question, since the internet became such more than a nerdy obsession, of how you can really be sure that people who they say they are, after all the Internet is essentially a platform for you to become anyone you wish to be, with the minimum amount of hassle and this is at the core of what the film is about and I will attempt to keep any spoilers until the end of this review, as this is another film which works best when entered blind of with the minimum amount of information, so my advice would be to stop reading now and go see this film, unless you’d rather risk spoiling any potential surprises.

Nev’s photography mainly revolves around dance and theatre and it’s when one of his recently published photographs gets sent to him as a painting that the story begins, as he begins first of all communicating through e-mail and later “Facebook” with the child painting prodigy Abby, as they slowly build a friendship as she sends him more and more of her paintings. Soon it’s not long before he has also started speaking with her mother Angela on the phone, who soon becomes the spokeswoman for her daughter, frequently making excuses for Abby whenever Nev asks to speak to her, which for some reason he never seems to question, until later in the film when cracks start to appear in the story. In the meantime Nev also begins talking with the equally talented half sister Megan, with their friendship soon turning to romance which again Nev seems to never question until later in the film, happily reading off dirty texts sent back and forth between himself and Megan, while also making up photo-shopped pictures of them together, which did have me asking myself who essentially is the more creepy here. Still It’s only after Nev receives a song supposedly being sung by Megan that he starts questioning the whole situation further and sets out to find out the real truth behind the family and this is were the real meat of the film comes into play.

Part social commentary and part thriller the film rolls along at a steady pace, making the viewer feel that they are part of the group as each piece of the mystery is slowly revealed, the further the film pulls you into the mystery behind this supposedly talented family. However the further the film goes the easier it becomes to understand why accusations have been made to the authenticity of the footage, especially when the film crew descend on a horse farm supposedly owned by Megan only to find it eerily empty, with the choice to shoot it in a Blair Witch style certainly being questionable, meanwhile at the opposite end of things we have shots like Nev scratching his crotch in full view of the camera, while on the phone and more worryingly a prolonged open legged shot of one of one of Abby’s friends also go a way toward justifying authenticity, after all why would you choose to include scenes like that otherwise? What is clear though is that having stumbled across a more interesting story, almost by accident Directors Joost and Schulman are keen to film it through to it’s conclusion while trying to clearly playing dumb to prolong the mystery which the viewer has no doubt figured out before they choose to play thier big reveal, with this choice questionably make the film all the better as a result, especially as we discover the reasons behind this ruse are more to do with escaping a difficult and emotionally draining existence, with the true depth and plotting behind these created character proving only the more astounding especially when you consider how it was pulled off, by one person as revealed in a fantastic scene in which the real artist behind the paintings and also creator of this ruse explains it all as they sketch Nev’s portrait, an moment which almost feels like a final wish being granted aswell as a way of bringing a satisfying closure to the whole strange journey.

In all it is a strange movie to describe as what starts off as a strightforward documentary and what could have made an intresting short film, soon changes it’s focus towards internet fakery and how we choose to represent ourselves, before finally making us question if it is a good thing that we have people like this in the world, as the true meaning behind the title is finally revealed and that it’s a question which like the film I will end this with, while urging you all to hunt down this film, for what will no doubt be one of those films which sadly slips from the general conscious of the public only to be passed around the film junkie ranks were no doubt it will truly be appreciated for the intriguing documentary it is.

Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

Title: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
Director: Scott Glosserman
Released: 2006
Staring: Nathan Baesel, Angela Goethals, Robert Englund, Scott Wilson, Zelda Rubinstein, Bridgett Newton, Kate Lang Johnson, Ben Pace, Britain Spellings, Kane Hodder

Rating: 4 / 5

Plot: Leslie Vernon (Baesel) is an aspiring serial killer who models his murders using Horror film conventions, inviting a documentary crew to follow him as he prepares to stage his masterpiece.



Review: Since the release of “Man Bites Dog” (1992) there have been numerous attempts to recreate the idea, which featured a documentary crew following a serial killer as he goes about his chosen profession, with the most note worthy to date being the dire “The Last Horror Movie” (2003), which is interestingly enough also the film being stolen in the UK video piracy advert, which in all honesty is a much better idea than actually wasting your money on it, but here Director Glosserman has instead thrown us a curve ball, no doubt realising that he couldn’t top “Man Bites Dog”, he has instead set the film with in the same fantasy film within a film world which Quentin Tarantino more recently has preferred to set his films, creating a film which is not only darkly comic but also gives the occasional clever nod to it’s source material.

Setting the film within a film, certainly helps to not only give the film a new spin, but also throws the viewer off step, for this is world that they are certainly not used to, but in doing so it has allowed Glosserman to have his characters reference slasher legends, such as Freddy, Jason and even Michael Myers, as the film opens on the streets of Elm St, were we also get a fun cameo from Kane Hodder as Freddy Krugers neighbour, before the film then moves onto the banks of crystal lake, with these fiction killers being viewed with a sense of almost awe, in particular when we are introduced to Leslie’s mentor, who has long since retired, commenting how he was practically forced out by the aforementioned mentioned slashers “Raising the game to a whole new level”. Still it’s the conversations between Leslie and his mentor, that provide the most insight into this world, as we see his mentor still practicing yoga style breathing techniques, which despite either character explaining the reason, will be clear to those familiar with the genre as being an effective way of faking your death.

Still not content to keep the film within the film world, Glosserman throws us a further curve ball, by stepping out of this world and letting the viewer, watch the film as an actual slasher film and all with a simple change of film stock from handheld cameras for the documentary world to cinefilm for when Glosserman steps back and allows us to view it as a slasher film, which was confusing to begin with until it hit home what he was trying to achieve, but then Glosserman isn’t a director who feels he constantly needs to hold the audiences hand or constantly dumb things down with continual explanation, preferring it would seem to allow them work things out for themselves.

Much like “Man Bites Dog”, there is a heavy focus on the preparation, which goes into what he does with majority of the running time being dedicated to the setup for the final stalk and slash sequence, as Leslie walks the documentary crew through the setup of the location and how he intends for the action to play out, even clearing up some horror clichés, as he explains almost why so many stupid things which happen in slasher films, like windows failing to open actually happen, which if we are to believe what Leslie tells us, is largely down to the forward planning of the slasher. Still it’s this deconstruction of the genre, which provides several of the films highlights, including Leslies own personal training regime, as he shown having to train daily to keep his fitness levels up, while his house is filled with medical textbooks, ensuring that he is hitting all the right spots on his intended victims and only highlighting the thought which has been put into the character, while bringing a sense of realism to the film, rather than leaving the audience to believe that he was born a natural slasher.

The cast are all likeable enough, with the documentary crew coming across more curious than Naive to what Leslie does and while they don’t become as involved as the crew in “Man Bites Dog”, they still sell the reason that they are filming the documentary well, while the teens making up the intended targets of the slaughter Leslie are planning coming off more stereotypical, though I suspected this was the intention of Glosserman, especially with some of the twists he pulls out during the finale, while he also handles the use of his horror icons well, as rather than have them upfront and centre, he instead keeps them squarely in supporting if still memorable roles, with Poltergeist's Zelda Rubinstein appearing as a libarian, while Robert Englund here embodies Halloween’s “Dr. Loomis” as Doc Halloran, a character who is underused here, no doubt due to the glaring similarities and serves more as another horror nod, rather than a character with any importance, despite Leslie’s mentor declaring him “Leslie’s Ahab” which only makes it more of a shame that Glosserman chose to not expand on this character, much like his decision to make the finale, a straightforward slasher and almost feels like he attempting to redeem the documentary crew, for their earlier actions and in particular their bizarre willingness to go along with Leslie plotting.

In the end it might fail to reach the same level as “Man Bites Dog” especially in terms of Leslie chosen profession, which Leslie instead shows a much more restrained demeanour and despite the earlier mentioned flaws it’s still a film worthy of being compared to “Man Bites Dog”, if only for attempting to do something different, rather than a straight adaptation and while it might have it’s moments of plagiarism, but still has a lot of original ideas to balance things out, including some great character design work especially with Leslie, who is a potential horror icon in the making and it’s this raw potential on show here, which alone makes it worth a look.

Cannibal Holocaust

Title: Cannibal Holocaust
Director: Ruggero Deodato
Released: 1980

Staring: Robert Kerman, Francesca Ciardi, Perry Pirkanen, Luca Barbareschi, Salvatore Basile, Ricardo Fuentes, Carl Gabriel Yorke, Polo Paoloni

Rating: 4 / 5

Plot: A documentary film crew disappears in an area of rainforest known as “The Green Inferno”, while searching for the tribes of cannibals which live in the area. Professor Monroe (Kerman) an American anthropologist heads up the search party to find the crew, encountering two tribes the Yanomamo (The people of the trees) and the Shamatari (The people of the swamp), two tribes locked in an ongoing war with the other. However when they discover the remains of the film crew along with their missing film, the grisly and shocking truth is only then discovered.

Review: “Cannibal Holocaust” is a film whose reputation tends to proceed it, which originally made me weary of actually watching it, much like the rest of the cannibal genre, which proved to be especially popular with Italian horror directors in the 70’s and 80’s, with the genre peaking between 1977 and 1981 with this film in particular being one of the genres most notorious entries, whilst also marking the beginning of the end for the popularity of the genre, it still manages to cover all the main areas familiar with the genre including rape, torture, castration and animal cruelty in one grisly offering.

The film is essentially split into two parts with the first half focusing on Monroe and his team, searching for the missing film crew, while the second half focuses on the footage itself and while it’s true that either half could have stood up on it’s own, the blending of these two halves complement each other perfectly, whilst also helping the viewer to gain a true understanding of the two tribes, who upon first impressions seem savage and quick to violence, especially when one of these first encounters see’s Monroe and his team bearing witness to a native girl being violated with a rock by her husband, before being bludgeoned to death by in a ceremony we are informed, is being performed as the result of the girl committing the crime of adultery, a scene which sets the tone in many ways for some of the horrors yet to come. Despite witnessing this brutal act, Monroe approaches the tribe in a scientific manor as he attempts to win the trust of the Yanomamo, a method which includes him running around naked with several female members of the tribe (apparently played by girls hired from the local brothel) and even joining them in a feast were the main course turns out to be the body of a member of the rival Shamatari tribe. Thankfully it pays off as the tribe revel their grotestque totem made up of the remains of the missing film crew, as well as giving Monroe the footage which the team captured, which the natives also believe to be a source of black magic.

With the footage taken back to New York to be studied, the film enters its second half as we learn more about the film crew, whose director Alan Yates (Yorke) has built a reputation for staging scenes to create more exciting footage, with his last film “The Last Road to Hell” despite being claimed in the film as being fake footage, was actually created using real news reel footage of public executions. Still it’s this desire for more exciting footage which ultimately proves to be the down fall for Yates and his crew, as we soon discover as they butcher their way through the rainforest, gleefully killing various animals on their journey to find the cannibal tribes, who upon finding the tribe, find them perhaps a little to sedated for their liking, as they proceed to set out on a mini rampage, setting fire to the village, while raping and shooting the natives, with the only member of the crew who actually bothers to protest their actions being Yate’s fiancé Faye (Ciardi). Faye constantly proves to be the innocent in the group, being shown protesting the group’s actions frequently, aswell as most notably throwing up in disgust, when they kill a turtle on film.
It is unsurprising that the Yanomamo take these actions of the crew, rather badly and proceed to hunt down the crew, murdering them in an orgy of violence and gang rape which disturbingly Yates continues to film from the safety of the bushes, even when his fiancé is being killed. Thankfully he soon also meets a suitably grisly end and having seen what they have done to provoke this reaction, your almost cheering on the natives.

Despite the numerous scenes of violence, which feature so predominantly throughout, it is really the scenes involving animals being killed, which prove to be the most disturbing, in particular the killing of a turtle by Yates team, which is not only shot with an unflinchingly voyeuristic style, but also appears to have been filmed in real time. The fact that all the animals being killed are very much alive, only adds to the disturbing and monstrous nature of the footage, comparable to slaughterhouse footage used so readily by animal rights groups and it is no doubt these images which will stick with you, more than any of the scenes of violence being committed against the human cast. These scenes would prove to be a source of much regret for director Deodato and would also lead to the film being banned in Deodato’s native Italy, were it was mistaken for being a snuff film, which is only really true if you happen to be a turtle.

One of the most effective parts of the film, belongs to it’s score by Riz Ortolani, which essential switches between two main themes, with one being it’s main theme which is a nice laid back orchestral track and really highlights the beauty of the surrounds, while the flipside of this soundtrack being the darker synthesised theme, which appears during the more shocking scenes, on occasion several times without warning, appearing part way through a scene and only makes these scenes all the more darker and chilling.

The cast all give convincing performances, even if Porn star turned actor and genre regular Kerman proves to be the main draw here, while the rest of the cast give more than convincing performances, especially with those playing members of Yate’s team, which in a way explains why so many people found their footage so realistic, especially with so many of their scenes appearing largely improvised, only adding to this illusion.

Although not an enjoyable viewing experience, with it’s every attempt to disgust and shock the audience, it is still however an important film for not only the cannibal genre, but the horror genre on a whole, as it’s influence can be seen especially with films such as “The Last Broadcast” (1998) and “The Blair Witch Project” (1999) both of which used the same grainy documentary style, which Deodato adopts for the footage shot by Yate’s team and it’s an incredibly effective way of telling the story of how they met their demise.
The film contains so many memorable moments, though the chances are that you won’t want to remember most of them (and if you do perhaps you should be seeking some help) but even as sick and twisted as it gets, it still proves to be a gripping ride until the end, as you find yourself strangely drawn to see it out until the end, which is perhaps the one credit which it holds above so many of its gratuitous genre cousins, as it remains at it’s heart a powerful piece of film making and an interesting comment on how civilised a society we really are.