Troll / Troll 2 (Double Feature Blu-ray / Movie Review)

PRODUCT INFORMATION

DISCS: 2* (1 Blu-ray, 1 DVD) *First 5000*
RUN-TIME: 82 min, 95 min
ASPECT RATIO: 1.85:1
RESOLUTION: 1080p
AUDIO: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (Troll), DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (Troll 2)

SUBTITLES: English
REGION: A
RATING: PG-13
PRODUCTION DATE: 1986, 1990
RELEASE DATE: Nov 17, 2015

PLOT SUMMARY

Be Afraid… Be Twice As Afraid!

TROLL 
Lock the doors and pull out the weed-wacker for this house party of horror! One family is about to find out there’s no place like home when a troublesome troll starts taking over their building, transforming each apartment into an overgrown garden of ancient evil and turning tenants into a horde of hairy hobgoblins!

Michael Moriarty and Julia Louis-Dreyfus star in this super-slimy scare-fest that’s “a special-effects pig-out” (Daily News)!

TROLL 2 
Those greedy goblins are back and hungrier than ever in this gourmet gross-out! Disguised as friendly country folk, a pugnacious posse of people-eating trolls lures visitors to their town. But a family of four is about to discover this place is a real tourist trap… and now, the no-good gnomes must be destroyed before the family gets flambéed… and the world becomes a buffet in this feeding frenzy of fear!

Also included: BEST WORST MOVIE (DVD, 1.78:1, 93 min.) – An affectionate and intoxicatingly fun tribute to the single greatest bad movie ever made and the people responsible for unleashing it upon the world. In 1989, a group of unknown Utah actors starred in what would be crowned the worst movie of all time: Troll 2! 
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1) / Dolby Digital 5.1 / 2010 / Color / 93 minutes

MOVIE

TROLL

Now, I can’t just talk about Troll 2 all day. I need to, at least a bit, talk about the first movie on the disc, Troll. It’s another in the line of creature flicks from Charles Band’s company, Empire Pictures, directed by special FX guru John Carl Buechler, and came out just a few years after Ghoulies. The movie is pretty much a rip off of the aforementioned flick, having some of the same crew attached. The premise of the flick is about a boy named Harry Potter, who meets a mystical woman who shows him a world of magic, involving witches, trolls, and fairies. No, seriously, the kid’s name is Harry Potter, Junior to be exact, and what I said above is no lie. Now, I’m not saying J.K. Rowling watched Troll before and maybe subconsciously used some of the elements in this movie for her books. Wait, that’s exactly what I’m saying. I may not be able to prove it, but I will someday, oh I will. Muhahahahaha.

Anyway, the flick has a family moving into an apartment building, which just happens to have a troll living in the basement. Why? I don’t know. Wendy Anne Potter (Harry Potter Jr.’s sister), who looks exactly like Carol Anne from Poltergeist, gets kidnapped by the troll and the troll impersonates Wendy. The troll then gets to work on turning the inhabitants of the apartment building into little creatures and fairies. He needs to complete this in a couple of days so that the fairy world can break through into our own world. Harry Potter Jr. seeks the help of a wise old woman who lives upstairs and who happens to be a witch, to work to save her sister and the world. Lots of weird stuff happens and not much of it makes much sense. Cue the end credits. 

Troll is not a lousy movie, but it’s basically a worse version of the movies I’ve mentioned several times before, Ghoulies. The troll’s little creatures don’t do much and the characters in the flick are basically cardboard cutouts. I don’t hate Troll, but I rather the flick had been more of a creepy horror film, instead of the weird comedy/kid flick we got.

TROLL 2

Okay, enough of that movie, let’s discuss the one we all came to see, Troll 2. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, you are in for something that is beyond words. Written and directed by Claudio Fragasso (Beyond Darkness), who hardly spoke English and demanded they speak what he wrote, which results in a Mother speaking to her child about their recently passed Grandfather and saying ‘You much banish him from your mind’, Troll 2 delivers comedy gold and the actors, god bless them, act their hearts out, even if they can’t act to begin with.

The movie is about a family visiting the country town of Nilbog to live the simple life. However, the family doesn’t know that this town is run by a bunch of trolls, oops, goblins and wants to feast on them. The only way to do that is by feeding them some green coloured food or drink and letting them turn into some sort of sludgy pool of slime. The kid, Joshua (Michael Stephenson), is helped out by his dead Grandfather, Grandpa Seth in fighting the goblins, but he isn’t able to save everyone, as his sister’s (Connie Young in what I can only assume is her first foray into acting) boyfriend’s friends get tricked into eating or drinking the contaminated stuff, be it from a smoldering glass of broth to heal their wounds, or by sharing a cob of corn with a sexy goblin chick, whilst popcorn pops into frame. (Yeah, I don’t really understand that scene either, but damn, that goblin chick is sexy.) I could go into more detail as to what happens in this movie, but to be perfectly honest with you, I wouldn’t even know where to being. Just remember. A double-decker baloney sandwich could very well save your life someday.

Troll 2 makes no sense and I love it. The film is atrocious and probably deserves its abhorrence, but for some odd reason, it just works. I’ve seen the movie several times already, but each time I watch it, I can’t help but laugh and smile and just have a great time. It’s definitely a movie to share with friends and family, be it as a gift or a torture device. Also, as you can see from the lovely talk about the “plot” above, the movie has nothing to do with the first Troll film and it doesn’t actually even have trolls in it. The only reason they used the name Troll in the title was to capitalize on the very small success the first Troll had. Would the movie have done better if it was called Goblins? I’m thinking they could have called this movie Gone with the Wind 2 and it still would have been a turd, a lovely happy turd mind you, but still a turd nonetheless. 

BLU-RAY

Scream Factory has done a great job which this double feature release. Both the video and audio on Troll and Troll 2 is wonderful, with no apparent issues present. These were two low budget flicks, but with the lovely presentation this disc brings, you will be pleased to see how nice they sound and look.

The special features for the first movie Troll is a 50-minute interview with several of the crew who worked behind the scenes. You have Charles Band, director John Carl Buechler and plenty of other people that worked on the special effects and visual effects talking about the flick. It’s really informative and gives you a better appreciation of all the hard work that went into making this movie. Rounding out the rest of the features for the first movie is a trailer and a still gallery.

Troll 2 features a trailer and new commentary from actors George Hardy and Deborah Reed on the disc, but it’s the included Best Worst Movie documentary where all the good stuff is. I didn’t find time to check out the disc, so I can’t go into any sort of detail about it, but from the little I’ve seen of it, it’s definitely a love letter to all the fans of the best worst movie ever Troll 2. Remember, after the first 5000 have sold, the disc will no longer be included, so make sure you order a copy so you don’t miss out on it.

BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

TROLL

• NEW The Making of TROLL Featuring Interviews With Director John Carl Buechler, Producer Charles Band, Writer Ed Naha, Composer Richard Band, Special Effects Artists John Vulich And Gino Crognale, Visual Effects Artists Jim Aupperle, James Belhovek, Linda Drake And Kevin Kutchaver
• Theatrical Trailer
• Behind The Scenes Still Gallery

TROLL 2

• NEW Audio Commentary With Actors George Hardy And Deborah Reed
• Theatrical Trailer

Product Note
TROLL and TROLL 2 are only on the Blu-ray disc of this Blu-ray/DVD pack. Best Worst Movie is included in the first 5,000 pressings.

VERDICT

You definitely need to be a fan of terrible movies in order to like this Double Feature Blu-ray, but I also think you need to see Troll 2 at least once in your life. You can take or leave the first Troll, but the “sequel” is where the fun is at. The inclusion of the documentary Best Worst Movie is a nice addition, but the real fun of owning this disc comes from showing the movie to friends and family and seeing the looks on their faces as they realize the madness you have brought into their home will never be able to leave. Buy it for that alone! 

RATING

If I had an infinite number of zombie brains I would use it, but alas, four will have to do.