MovieChat Forums > Troll (1986) Discussion > Really enjoyed this film!

Really enjoyed this film!

posted 9 years ago by BrickNash
2 replies | jump to latest

When I was about 10 or 11 my older cousin took me to the video shop and let me get out two films. The first was Legend and Troll was the other one.

I recall actually enjoying both films immensely and I've seen the classic Legend many times but I decided to revisit Troll for the first time in about 28 years.

My expectations were quite low but I was very pleasantly surprised. I like contained films and this film had a contained set of the building and created a nice little setting for the film.

I honestly found it very charming and it even made me jump at one point. The Troll costume and design was excellent and (with a little stretch of the imagination) I liked the concept of the Troll and witch living in this little building as well as the Fairy Universe.

The acting was mostly awful, especially Anne Lockhart who was borderline atrocious. I never remember her being this bad in Battlestar Galactica but she was extremely hammy here. Strange then that her mother June was amazingly charismatic and full of personality in the film playing the older version of the same character and special mention must go to Phil Foncacaro in his duel roles as Malcolm and The Troll.

It's nice to see a little person actor actually get the chance to act on screen without makeup and honestly, besides June Lockhart he was the best thing in the film. It's sad his character never quite got a resolution but I like to think he just went and lived forever in the Fairy universe.

It's not a perfect film and there's tons of cheesy moments which focus a bit too much on the normal people but I found it strangely captivating and I'd actually have liked to have seen more of the Troll and his lore.

I think it'd be a good pseudo-horror film for older kids who are around the age I was when I first saw it (8-12) as there's no real swearing and no gore anywhere bar a few bizarre and slimy puppets.

Very good, I'll probably watch it again at some point which is more than I can say for most modern films.

[–] Hillius 8 years ago

Couldn't help but respond to your posting. It appears we had very similar childhoods, I was around the same age when I saw both films as well and really enjoyed both.

Apparently Troll came on TV pretty soon after being released and I was to young to really tell if an actor had talent (or not) but I thought the story was intriguing, it had Noah Hathaway from Never Ending Story ( a much earlier favorite) and I thought the Troll "song" was kind of catchy in a way. I liked how the rooms transformed and eventually ivy started growing on the outside of the building too. I think my favorite part though was when Malcolm was reading The Faerie Queen poem at dinner. I haven't seen it in years and I think I'll have to add it to my list.

Legend however has remained a favorite throughout the years. I like to see Tom Cruise before his fame arrived as Jack, Lilly was simply gorgeous but the Gump was my favorite guy. He was little and vicious. What really got me however was the soundtrack by Tangerine Dream. That intro still remains a favorite piece of music to this day. I think I saw this a little young however as it scared the dickens out of me the first time. Especially the witch in the swamp! It would be years before I discovered who Tim Curry was as an actor (IMDB didn't exist back then) and after seeing him in some comedy film I was amazed he pulled of that role. The only thing I didn't like about Legend was the closing song. It just didn't seem to fit with the rest.

“The critic has to educate the public; the artist has to educate the critic.”

[–] TDeMona 8 years ago

I just saw this for the first time yesterday. I'm just shy of 30.

And I still enjoyed the film. True, I only bought it because it comes together with it's much more notorious sequel (in name only), but I really liked this first one as a movie. Cool, cheap but awesome goblin creatures, wacky characters and a slight "...what the hell?" -kinda feel.

--- Amal shufar, at rrug ---