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Troll Movie Review

Troll is a 2022 Norwegian monster film directed by Roar Uthaug. It is a flawed, but mostly surprisingly strong monster flick.

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“You have to see it to believe it.

That’s what they say.

It’s the opposite.

You have to believe in something to see it“

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It follows a ragtag group of people who must come together to stop an ancient troll that was awakened in a Norwegian mountain and prevent it from wreaking havoc. ‘Trollhunter’ was released about a decade ago. It was also a Norwegian movie about trolls, but this one is vastly different in its approach, thus effectively justifying its existence. While the former was your standard found footage flick, this one is filmed more ambitiously and its focus is more environmental.

There is a very predictable, yet effective ecological message near the end of the movie and this take on trolls being benign and actually the victims was refreshing. The backstory that the “monsters” get here is the highlight of the story and the most intriguing aspect to it. Couple that with a fantastic post-credits scene and you’ve got solid room for sequels here.

What worked less effectively is its anti-Christianity theme that is too aggressive and on-the-nose. It turns out that Christians were responsible for trolls’ disappearance. Add to that lines such as “He smells Christian blood” and you basically have here a very unsubtle tirade against religion that really did not work.

What did work, however, was the film’s adventurous approach to storytelling. Yes, the third act resorted to that highly frustrating trope of city destruction and mayhem with an unfortunate militaristic angle reminiscent of the worst tropes hailing from Hollywood, but the first act was thrillingly unique in its scientifically detailed and atmospheric build-up. The leading up to the troll himself was more interesting than the eventual revelation.

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Troll is populated by solid characters for this genre’s standards. Nora is very sympathetic as the lead scientist while Andreas is rather funny as the sort of comedic sidekick. The grandfather’s arc was predictable, but still quite sweet. All the aforementioned characters worked, but the military and political figures were unnecessary to this story and this Americanized take on this genre coming from Norway was disappointing, especially in the context of the much more mythological and culturally unique first half. The cinematography is thankfully stupendous throughout with the drone shots making the most out of Norway’s unique landscapes while the troll’s design is pleasantly classical and endearing.