There is a supposed poacher named Hans (Otto Jespersen) out hunting bears, according to the news. A group of student reporters, Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud) who is the interviewer, Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen) who runs the camera and Johanna (Johanna Mørck) who does the sound, track this Hans to a campground and want to interview him. He refuses to talk to them though, so they do their best to film his vehicle and all the deep scratches on it. They plant a bug on his camper and decide to follow him, since he wouldn't speak to them. Granted, this doesn't seem very bright to me. Given the deep scratches on his truck, he's headed somewhere dangerous. They have to follow him across more than one ferry and into another county. They try to ambush him and force him into an interview on a ferry, but he's still not going to talk to them. It's not like they're very good at reporting either, or at least they're not very experienced at this point, so I can't imagine that he would give them the time of day. About the time they follow him into the woods with only a camera and a boom mic, I'm really starting to feel like this is a Norwegian version of The Blair Witch.
When they finally catch up to Hans, he's running towards them yelling "TROLL!!" Thomas was scratched or bitten once, but Hans patches him up with a bit of gauze and some duct tape. I guess duct tape really can fix anything. Hans gives them a lift back to their car and they find the car crushed, purely mangled! Hans is nice enough to give them a ride back to the city and even answer some of their questions. He agrees to let them film whatever it is that he kills, but they have to do exactly as he says at all times. First thing they have to do is go bathe well in the creek and then cover themselves with troll stench. Once they finally do it, he takes them into the woods. His weapon is a huge, high-powered UV light mounted on top of his car since UV turns trolls to stone. The group doesn't believe in the trolls though, still thinking that it was a bear that scratched Thomas. They're making fun of him after he walks away and tells them that he's going to flush out a troll and send it their way. Of course, when the "wrong" troll comes running out and Hans tells them to run as they run by, they start to realize that this isn't a game. They can see the trolls with the night vision on the camera, so they know that Hans hasn't been lying to them. After Hans turns the first troll to stone, he breaks up all the pieces so that all that is left is some gravel. Now that the kids believe, they're ready to seriously document Hans' expeditions.
Apparently, this is all a government cover-up and they stage the bears and blame the mysterious happenings on bears and the poacher. Hans is sick of his job though, so he's telling his story to this crew in hopes that when it all comes out and others know, then things will change for him. There are two main groups of trolls and several sub-groups. You have to know how to handle each of them. Hans even has to fill out paperwork on each troll he kills. Hans is the only trollhunter in Norway. The mountain trolls and the woodland trolls have battle areas. This isn't just about the hunting. There is a team trying to figure out what is wrong with the trolls, if they are sick or not, and how they can keep them inside their territory so that they can protect them rather than kill them. I must say that these students are determined to document the process at any cost.
When I first started the movie, I was really worried that it was going to be a Blair Witch rip-off, but I can assure you that it is nothing of the sort! TrollHunter is a perfect mix between a documentary and a horror movie. There is a very natural and perfect progression from the unbelieving students to the loyal followers of Hans. The only thing that I wish they had done is put in less special features. While that might sound odd, the deleted scenes and outtakes could still be explained as "original" footage, but the "Visual Effects" and "Behind the Scenes" really ruined the belief that his could be real footage and although you realize that it's not likely, especially if you look up the actors on IMDB, it's still so well done that there is a true suspension of disbelief and you can believe that it is real, until you watch those special features. Of course, given the beautiful quality of the images on Blu-ray of the Norwegian countryside, especially the lakes and such, or the amazing surround sound where you really feel like the trolls are after you, if you did stop to think, you would realize that it was just a film because a single camera and mic wouldn't produce such perfect quality, but you really can watch it without being convinced that it is a fake documentary. The number one thing I've learned from TrollHunter is that if you're a Christian, you can't become a troll hunter! I really enjoyed TrollHunter a lot more than I thought I would after the first few minutes. You should check it out!
