Trollhunter

A group of students from Volda University College, Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud), Johanna (Johanna Mørck) and their cameraman Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen), set out to make a documentary about a suspected bear poacher, Hans (Otto Jespersen). At the site of an illegally slain bear they interview local hunters, who comment that the bear tracks look odd, as well as Finn Haugen (Hans Morten Hansen), head of the Norwegian Wildlife Board. Finn dismisses the idea that the bear tracks could have been faked. The students follow Hans in an attempt to secure an interview but he continually rebuffs them. After following him into a forest at night time, they see mysterious flashing lights and hear roars. Hans comes running back, screaming "Troll!" Thomas is attacked and reveals that he was bitten by something. They escape in Hans's Land Rover and discover their own vehicle turned over with the tyres ripped off. Hans admits that it is not bears he is hunting, but trolls. Though sceptical, the students ask if they can join Hans and film his hunt, to which he consents on the condition that they do exactly as he instructs.

The next day Hans makes them disguise themselves with "troll stench" (a slimy concentrate made from "everything you can squeeze out of a troll") and asks if any of them believe in God or Jesus, because a troll can smell a Christian man's blood. Hans wields a "flash gun", a weapon that emits powerful UV-rays to simulate sunlight and turn trolls to stone, though he comments that sometimes the trolls "just explode" depending on how old they are. The students are stunned when Hans flushes out a giant three-headed troll (called a Tusseladd). Hans manages to turn the troll to stone and explains to the students that he only allowed them to come along because he's tired of working for little compensation and wants them to divulge the truth. Finn, who actually works for the Troll Security Service (TSS), arrives with a team to deposit a bear carcass and plant fake tracks, and tells the students that they will not be allowed to keep their tapes. In a series of interviews, Hans reveals that Finn's work is to keep trolls a secret, while his is to kill any that come near populated areas. He also explains that the trolls have been acting aggressively lately and have begun to leave their territories more often than usual, and that he must get a troll blood sample to determine why.

The students accompany Hans on another hunt using live goats on a bridge as bait. Hans successfully obtains a blood sample from a bridge troll (Raglefant) and takes it to a veterinarian who works for the TSS, but finds that it will take several days before any results can be found. Investigating a farm where a number of trees have been uprooted, Hans and the film crew find troll tracks leading into an abandoned mine, the lair of a pack of cave trolls (Dovregubbens). The trolls return unexpectedly and the group is trapped inside. The situation becomes more tense when Kalle confesses that he is, in fact, a Christian. The trolls pick up Kalle's scent and discover the group. In a panic, the group runs for the safety of daylight at the cave entrance, but Kalle is caught and killed before he can escape.

The replacement camerawoman is Malica, a Muslim; Hans is uncertain about how trolls will react to that. Finn demands that Hans head north to troll territory to get the problem under control. The group finds signs of a Jotnar, a giant mountain troll 50–100 metres tall. Thomas falls ill, and they learn that the troll blood sample came back positive for rabies, meaning Thomas has been infected by the bite he received several days earlier.

After several attempts, Hans manages to kill the Jotnar by launching a rocket-like projectile that transforms the troll into stone. Before doing so, he directs the others to find the highway. Finn and his TSS agents arrive to confiscate the students' tapes. Thomas flees with the camera and collapses at the side of a road when the tape cuts out. Just before the cut to black, a truck is seen coming down the road towards the camera. An epilogue tells the audience that none of the students were heard from again. The film ends with a news clip of the Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg appearing to admit to the existence of trolls, though the press fails to take notice.[7]

• Otto Jespersen as Hans the trollhunter
• Hans Morten Hansen as Finn
• Tomas Alf Larsen as Kalle
• Johanna Mørck as Johanna
• Knut Nærum as a power company manager
• Robert Stoltenberg as a Polish bear hunter
• Glenn Erland Tosterud as Thomas
• Urmila Berg-Domaas as Malica
• Torunn Lødemel Stokkeland as Hilda, a veterinarian

Filming took place in the forests and mountains of Western Norway, and actress Johanna Mørck called it an exhausting experience.[8] According to director André Øvredal, the team tried to maintain maximum secrecy around the project. They kept both the title and cast secret until shortly before the première, dropping cryptic teasers to create a viral effect.[9]

For the film's final scene, a clip of former Norwegian Prime minister Jens Stoltenberg speaking about an oil field outside Norway called the Troll Field was edited to create the appearance of him admitting to the existence of trolls.[7]

The painting Soria Moria Castle by Theodor Kittelsen

Troll painting by Theodor Kittelsen

Troll painting by John Bauer

Trollhunter contains many references to Norwegian culture and Norwegian folktales in particular.[10] Among those are the belief that there are different species of trolls, such as the woodland and mountain trolls, which can be further categorised into subspecies as in the film. The most well-known is probably the Mountain King, which is mentioned in the play Peer Gynt and its music by Edvard Grieg. The Norwegian name for Mountain King, Dovregubbe, is a compound word whose first part is used in the name for the mountain range Dovrefjell where the characters meet the final troll.[11]

Other common troll descriptions from Norwegian folklore which are used in the film include trolls having a tail, multiple heads, the ability to smell a Christian's blood, eating rocks, but loving meat and sometimes being man-eaters. The trolls are also described as big, old, strong, but slow and dim-witted, turning to stone when exposed to sunlight. The latter is a point emphasised in the film, as Hans uses UV light to kill the trolls. However, he also states that not everything from the tales is true.[12][13]

The film also has several specific references to fairy tales. For example The Boy Who Had an Eating Match with a Troll when the camera man asks about an eating contest, and the Three Billy Goats Gruff when Hans attempts to lure a troll from under a bridge using three goats. The fairy tale Soria Moria Castle is one of the tales that tells about trolls being able to smell a Christian man's blood. A painting by Theodor Kittelsen based on the same fairy tale is also used as a backdrop on one of the trips they do in the film (Thomas stands in the same pose and asks his friends "Do I look like that famous painting?"). The look of the trolls in the film is also influenced by painters like Theodor Kittelsen and John Bauer.[14]

As reflected by how the students answer Hans, only a fraction of Norwegians consider themselves religious or visit the church regularly,[15] even though the majority of Norwegians are members of the state church.[16]

The film also makes references to the often heated conflict between farmers and predators eating their livestock and the farmers' limited ability to react without breaking Norwegian wild life regulations.[17] Similarly there are conflicts that arise when new power lines need to be passed through the landscape.[18]

With several of the cast being comedians that are fairly well-known to the Norwegian audience, including Otto Jespersen playing Hans, it also sets the tone of the film for many. Robert Stoltenberg playing the Polish bear hunter makes that scene less serious, and plays on xenophobic stereotypes that most Norwegian immigrants are from Poland,[19] often speak mediocre Norwegian or English, do what they are told without asking questions[20] and often do the work Norwegians won't do themselves.[21]

Prior to the theatrical release of Trollhunter, producers John M. Jacobsen and Sveinung Golimo had been given requests for the film to be remade. As a result, both had travelled to the United States to meet with stakeholders.[37] When the film opened in the United States the following year, Deadline Hollywood announced that director Chris Columbus' company, 1492 Pictures, along with CJ Entertainment & Media, had acquired rights to remake the film.[38] Neil Marshall was to direct the remake.[39] As of November 2016, however, the remake has been cancelled.[40][41]

• Rees, Ellen (January 2011). "Trolls, Monster Masts and National Neurosis: André Øvrelid's The Troll Hunter". Scandinavica 50.2: 52–62.

• Official website
• Trollhunter at IMDb
• Trollhunter at Rotten Tomatoes
• Trollhunter at Box Office Mojo
• Trolljegeren at Filmweb.no (in Norwegian)

• Radish, Christina. "André Øvredal Exclusive Interview: Troll Hunter", Collider.com, 2 May 2011. Archived 1 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine.