Movies about the trolls. From the horror of the 90's to the projects in the genre of mokyumentari

Trolls, according to the legends of German-Scandinavian mythology, are morose, mostly evil giants, living in the bowels of the mountains. It was believed that they are endowed with colossal physical strength and a repulsive, terrifying appearance. As a rule, these mythical creatures tried to harm a person, trampled crops, abducted livestock, destroyed bridges and roads. Later sources liken trolls to other demonic creatures, even gnomes. It's no wonder that the cinematographers did not ignore such colorful characters. Films about trolls occupy a separate niche in the history of the world film industry.

Fans of "natural" monsters

The films about the trolls are mostly pretty notable horror of the mid-90's. During this period, animated models of diverse monsters gradually came out of circulation, they were replaced by unpretentious computer models. But most of the directors remained adherents of "natural monsters" - actors dressed in appropriate costumes. A vivid example of such a picture is the directorial debut of the Englishman Paul Matthews in the horror film "Sinister Force." The plot of the picture tells about the excesses of a gigantic troll, constantly terrorizing uninvited guests of its dwelling-cave. In the Matthews project, the troll is a chicly decorated costume, and the role of the monster was played by actor Peter Tractlone. The film is recommended for viewing to nostalgic fans of "natural" monsters. The only moment for which film critics scolded the film is the sagging storyline closer to the middle of the narrative.

Dilogy

Films about trolls often have sequels. So the famous film produced jointly by Italy and the US, directed by John Carl Buchler, "Troll" in 1985, five years after the release of a new sequel, "Troll-2."

The original film of 1985 is recognized as one of the best representatives of the rarely cultivated subgenre "fantasy horror." Unsurpassed master for creating eerie creatures Buchler embodied in his project a large number of mythical creatures, characterized by a special quality of performance, detailed facial expressions and realistic appearance. All the inhabitants of the magical world turned out to be extremely realistic, believable, as if alive. Horror can boast an abundance of bright, colorful characters: from the main characters to episodic roles. Creating a kind of thriller about the fantasy universe of mythological antagonists, the director focused on the colorful filing of each character and visual series. The director managed to pay attention to each character - magical creatures and dying one by one from the hands of the cruel king-troll to people.

Troll-2

In 1990, the Italian director Claudio Fragasso, a person who is significant in low-budget cinema, with the support of the producer Joe D'Amato himself, a man with the title of the main plagiarist of Italian cinema, created a sequel to the successful tape of John Carl Buchler. The category "films about trolls" was replenished not by the most successful sample. The film has a nice visually played series, a set of standard frightening elements, however, according to critics, the movie did not escape a decent amount of absurdity. The picture is unconceivably simple in the script, lamentably low-budget. Trolls and other monsters are presented in the form of distinct rubber masks that do not differ in plausibility and mobility. The plot line is too predictable: the family comes to a provincial town and faces a number of problems. Aggression of local old-timers is not the main trouble, unlike the invasion of evil monsters. In general, Claudio Fragasso came out a curious trash-joke, based on a specific fairy tale, though not as magical as in the original film.

In the genre of "pseudosuff"

Not all the best films about trolls were shot in the 80-90s of the last century. Proof of this can serve as a script writer and director, Norwegian Andre Ovredal in the genre of mock-ups "Hunters on trolls." The tape pleased the viewer with the fresh and not affected emotional feelings of the characters, gave the beholder a thrilling impression of feelings. Art-house pseudo-documment is devoted entirely to the most popular characters in the movie trolls. Ovredal took a very exciting and instructive tour of the world of Scandinavian mythical creatures, designed for reporter material. Because of this, it appears that the viewer is watching a sensational and exciting investigation, rather than contemplating the meaningless running around the fields and forests for the heroes.

Leprechaun

In the 80-90s of the XX century in Hollywood, except for high-budget blockbusters, projects of unknown directors with a modest budget were also filmed - films about gnomes and trolls. Naturally, such pictures turned out weaker in terms of the presence of impressive special effects and the presence of "stars" in the actor's ensemble. The 1992 film "Leprechaun" is the best example of a low-budget but quite interesting and high-quality comedy horror film, which in childhood frightened the same way as "Nightmares on Elm Street" or "Friday, 13". The plot introduces the viewer to the elderly man Dan O'Grady, who stole a bag of gold from the little evil leprechaun Leprechaun. A cruel creature moves from its native Ireland to O'Grady's mansion and settles its inhabitants. However, the dwarf himself is trapped, where he remains for many years, until one day he is accidentally released by a teenage company.

In this project, director and screenwriter Mark Jones debuted Jennifer Aniston, which at this time is a star of the first magnitude. And the film itself spawned 4 more parts-the continuation of the story of the malevolent gnome.

The global scale

The unprecedented demand and popularity of the fantasy fantasy in the two thousandths has truly gained ground in the film industry. Significant influence on the formation of fantasy in contemporary cinema was the work of RJ Tolkien. The writer created an amazing universe of gnomes, orcs, hobbits, trolls and other magical creatures. Now these images are used as cliches by various directors of our time. Each screen version of the literary works can be included in the category "films about trolls and goblins": "The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King", "The Lord of the Rings: Brotherhood of the Ring", "The Lord of the Rings: Two Fortresses" and all episodes of the epic about the adventures of the Hobbit.

Also noteworthy

The following films are not a complete list of the category "films about trolls." The following can be added to the list:

• "Abode of evil creatures."
• "Tenth Kingdom".
• "Adventures in the Land of the Dwarves".
• "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone."
• "Hellboy II: The Golden Army".
• Mini-series "Color of Magic".
• The Spiderwick Chronicles.
• "The Journey of the Unicorn".
• "The Rolly and the Forest Spirit."

Plus a number of animated films: "Troll in the Central Park" (1994), the epic of the times of the USSR "Moomin-troll and others."