Elements of the Unknown and the Unexpected in the Film Trollhunter - Movie Review Example

Elements of the unknown and the unexpected in the film Trollhunter The film Troll hunter is about university college students who are out shooting a documentary about a suspected bear poacher in the forests of Norway. There are a lot of unknown elements the students experience in their adventure and a lot of discoveries when they encounter other local hunters. They find some odd looking bear tracks which they dismiss the possibility that they could have been faked and decide to pursue in a bid to secure an interview with Hans – the suspected bear poacher. Hans leads them into the forest and at night they see mysterious flashing lights and hear roars. Their cameraman, Thomas, is attacked and bitten by a large animal in the course of this experience as Hans comes back screaming ‘Troll!’ Mysteries continue as they escape in the cameraman’s Land Rover only to find their vehicle turned over and the tyres ripped off. This is when some revelations come out as Han admits that he trolls as opposed to hunting bears. The students still agree to accompany him and film his hunt under the condition that he instructs them on every step they take and that none of them believes in God or Jesus. Trolls are supernatural beings, residing in caves, mountains or rocks inside the forests as acknowledged by mythology and Scandinavian folklore. The students are made to disguise themselves in troll scent and in their hunt; Hans uses a weapon that is strange enough to scare them. The weapon emits some powerful UV-rays that simulates sunlight and hence turns trolls into stone to the amazement of the students. This hunt gets further mysterious as some of the trolls do not just turn into stone but explode. Bradshaw (1) writes that at some point of the film, it comes out that trolls cannot be seen from satellite photos due to their camouflage with the environment as opposed to their size; some stand as tall as 50 feet. It is still a myth in the film that they possess so much calcium that they cannot stand vitamin D from the sun which is supposedly causing their death through instant calcification. Elements of unknown are evident in every part of the film as new discoveries are uncovered when Han flushes out a three headed troll and destroys it. As the filming goes on, Finn of the Troll Security Agency shows up and angrily tells the students that they will not be allowed to keep their tapes which disappoint them; they appear with a team to deposit a bear carcass and plant fake bear tracks in the forest for the purpose of misleading bear hunters. As the discoveries go on, it comes to the attention of the students that Hans has agenda which entails keeping the trolls a secret and has their lives revolve around the caves. It is his responsibility to keep them away from the populated areas and go as far as killing any that comes close to the populated areas. This is because the trolls have been on the rampage in leaving their territories as they act aggressively. Hans takes it upon his responsibility to get to the bottom of this by researching on them using a troll blood sample. According to Ebert (5), trolls are very ugly creatures except to other trolls and come in varieties; there are mountain trolls as well as forest trolls. Another hunt that the students accompany Hans in involves dangerous acts such as using live goats as bait to hunt trolls on a bridge. This hunt is successful as the group manages to get a blood sample from a troll, the blood is taken to a veterinarian for analysis but it is not until a few days that the results are expected back. In another escapade where trees have been inexplicably uprooted from a farm, the crew finds troll tracks leading to an abandoned mine and upon following it they encounter a troll habitat. Unexpectedly the troll returns and the group is trapped inside only to discover that in their company is a Christian known as kale. Trolls smell the scent of Christianity and upon the troll discovering the presence of the crew, they all run towards the entrance but unfortunately Kale is killed. The situation is tense as an unexpected discovery coming to light that trolls hide from sunlight and this is why the other team were able to escape to safety. The replacement for the cameraman is a Muslim woman known as Malica as the group try to get away with the troll ability to detect Christianity. They are uncertain about how the trolls will react to this as further they head to troll territory to try and get the troll issue under control in the area. The group discovers a mountain troll in form of a giant going up to 200 metres tall which is dubbed a Jontar, as on the other hand, Thomas who was bitten by a troll falls ill as further the results of the blood samples come back testing positive for rabies. This is a sign that the bite had infected him and hence they have to get him the necessary treatment. Efforts are directed at attempts to kill the Jontar while the government comes in to confiscate the tape made by the students in order to keep secret the existence of trolls in Norway. Hans manages to kill the giant troll as he launches a rocket-like projectile that turns the giant into stone to the amazement and joy of the crew. Thomas flees with the camera and collapses in the film at a road side when the tape cuts out as a truck is seen stopping next to the camera and it is assumed that the footage ended up in the hands of the truck driver. An epilogue tells the audience that none of the students were heard from again and the film ends with the Norwegian prime minister acknowledging the presence of trolls though not much of it is made from his statement. Works Cited Bradshaw, P. 2011, “The Guardian: Troll Hunter Review.” nd. Web. April 25, 2014 < http://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/sep/08/troll-hunter-film-review> Ebert, R. 2011, “Troll hunter movie review.” nd. Web. April 25, 2014 Read More