Ever Seen It: Troll 2

Yes, I watched Troll 2. Yes, it was pretty bad. Yes, you should watch it for free on Hulu. And no, you should not expect a polished piece of cinematic history that will inspire independent filmmaking and youngster film students for generations. But you should expect hoards of deliciously bad special effects, misplaced sound, and quite possibly the worst attempt at making a creature this side of The Killer Shrews.

For those of you who don’t know, Troll 2 is an unrelated plagiarism of an entirely different film and makes no explicit or even implicit reference to the namesake Troll film that, unlike number 2, actually contains a troll. This film is a perfect example of attempting to capitalize on something that had only minor success hoping that it fares better than absolutely no success. But we are smarter than this and in only one viewing, or even a montage, this piece of trash is instantly dethroned as nothing more than cheap, very cheap, entertainment. I suppose the poster could have hinted to that fact. The film is helmed by Italian schlockster Claudio Fragasso under the pseudonym Drake Floyd clearly suggesting that the film might not be such a proud achievement and its tagline, One Was Not Enough, strikes a comically ironic note.

The only redeeming factor, besides the endless amounts of green goo and human plants, comes in the form of Michael Stephenson. As the young Joshua he is the only one savvy to the goblin agenda cleverly disguised within the town Nilbog. Aided by apparitions of his dead grandfather and using his natural ability to scream he and his bad acting family defeat the plastic faced midgets to hilarious result. Stephenson has since directed a documentary about the cult phenomenon of the film. Tis a great example of how the Internet can, like nothing else, making something so bad into something so revered.

Do not forget, I beg you, Troll 2 is a bad movie. No, it’s not up there with Plan 9 From Outer Space but considering they probably put more effort into it than Ed Wood it’s not surprising. Lest I forget, the acting in this movie is horrendous and plays like a Troma film sucked dry of any drop of talent. Of course, credit where credit is due, they think they are acting well. And while it doesn't help that their scripted actions involved no improvisational freedom, much of what happens makes no sense. Let’s only hope that the pending Troll remake bears no resemblance to its unrelated follower.