Cannibal Troll

When most of us think about trolls, we might think about ugly looking creatures from Scandinavian folklore. They were giant, monstrous beings, sometimes possessing magic powers. Trolls lived in castles and haunted the surrounding districts after dark. I rememeber as a little boy reading story books about trolls, and i especially remember some creepy looking images. I even had nightmares about seeing trolls in the forest, as if they were actually waiting out there. I remember when i was in the forest with my friends playing, i would look around just in case they would be out there. My image of trolls changed of course, as i started to see other versions of trolls in cartoon shows, and in animated films as well. And my image of trolls would forever change becuase of one film, that is probably known as one of the great classics of the 90´s, but not for beeing good. And that is of course the 1990 cult film Troll 2, a very bizarre horror comedy that definetely is a must see. Even if the creatures themselves are known as goblins in the film, you could say thay they have a similar look to trolls ( however, in this film the practical make up effects are really bad, wich makes this film even more fun ). This film tells the story of parents Michael Waits ( George Hardy ) and Diana Waits ( Margo Prey ), take their kids Joshua Waits ( Michael Paul Stephenson ), and Holly Waits ( Connie Young ) to the countryside, as their father Michael always dreamed about being a farmer. So they travel to the rural farming community of Nilbog. What they don´t know, is that Nilbog is the kingdom of goblins. Troll 2 have some of the most insane horror comedy scenes ever made, with some really crazy ideas thrown together. And i think this is why this is such a cult classic, because you can´t find anything similar to this film, it definetely is original in many different ways. Pick up the Blu Ray of Troll - The Complete Collection, and see both films, including some nice special features. Speaking of trolls, i have heard about a low budget independent horror film called Cannibal Troll, and of course i needed to check it out. A cannibal troll in the forest sounds like my kind of film, question is, is this even better than i expected, or is Cannibal Troll a film you should not waste your precious time on?

A group of female friends go out to camp in the countryside, to enjoy themselves and to get away from ordinary day life. But what they don´t know, is that in this forest, lives a cannibal troll ( Zuza Tehanu ), who is looking for fresh victims. 

I really hoped that this film would be fun, and there are a couple of good ideas with Cannibal Troll. Unfortunatley, this film have some major issues that we need to discuss. First of all the teeth of the Cannibal Troll, they are sticking out in all directions. It looks so silly, that you can´t take this troll seriously. The mask itself is not all bad, but the teeth is so badly done, that someone should have said:- This is never going to work, since this is a troll who is a cannibal. Another detail that does not work is the house of the troll. It is a cozy cabin with nice lamps, lovely furniture, and i wonder if this house was meant to look scary. It definetely does not feel like the home of a cannibal troll, you would probably let him live in a cave, where he feeds on human flesh. Maybe this troll is really good at fixing cozy homes, but it just does not match well with the character. I do feel that the idea behind the cannibal troll is a good idea, so if they only would have done this character in a much more effective way, this film could have worked. What about the female cast? I don´t really have much to complain about, most of the characters are ok ( considering all the problems that this film is clearly struggling with ). I have to mention actress Megan Purvis in this film, who i recently reviewed in her film Medusa. Nice to see her in this film as well, i only wish she would have a stronger character. So does this film work as a horror film? No, this is not a scary film, or a horror film that you can take seriously in any way. The main issue is that you don´t really feel like this is a troll who really is a cannibal, since you don´t really see any real effective cannibal scenes at all. If they really wanted to sell the idea of this troll being a cannibal, they should have went for it with some effective practical effects, where you actually see the troll eating human body parts. There are just a few scenes where we do have a little bit of fun, when the troll attacks with shooting arrows. Not a bad idea, but should have been done more effectively. Directors Scott Jeffrey and Rebecca Matthews have made a low budget horror film that could have been fun, but with some major mistakes such as the troll teeth, and the troll home that does not really match with the character, they could have done a lot more to make this film work. Cannibal Troll is a film that may easily be forgotten, since this film struggles with some big issues. Too bad, i was hoping i would enjoy this film, turns out this is not what i expected.

Rating: DD