Tags
Best Worst Movie, Claudio Fragasso, Darren Ewing, Documentary, George Hardy, Jason Steadman, Jason Wright, Michael Stephenson, Movie, Troll 2
doesn't look so bad from this perspective...
Unrated, but I’d say at least PG-13 for a few F-bombs
George Hardy, Michael Stephenson, Darren Ewing, Jason Steadman, Jason Wright, Claudio Fragasso
Claudio: Being considered the worst movie is almost as much a compliment as being considered the best. It means I’ve made an impression.
A documentary about the cult phenomenon that is Troll 2.
Ah, Troll 2…
I must have seen it not too long after it was released (straight to video and cable), but I don’t remember my exact first exposure to it. I just remember thinking something like, “what…the heck…is this…?”
It’s not an easy movie to describe, this Troll 2. It pretty much needs to be seen to be fully grasped. Oh, and it has absolutely no connection to the movie Troll, other than the title. The creatures in it aren’t even called trolls. They’re referred to as goblins.
But that’s the least problematic thing in a movie that has become known as one of the worst ever made. Its cult status has grown over the years, to the point that people have big parties and showings where costumes are worn and scenes from the movie are acted out.
This movie documents that phenomenon. And it is kind of strange to see…
Yet, I do understand the fascination with the movie. I like entertainingly bad movies, and I’ve seen Troll 2 several times. I’m not sure I’d want to dress up as characters and act out scenes, but attending a showing of it with an appreciative audience might be fun.
It’s certainly fun for George Hardy, the lead actor in Troll 2 and the main focus of this documentary. He’s a beloved dentist in Alabama now, but he’s still a ball of energy that comes alive even more when he’s in front of his adoring fans. He and the other actors that are tracked down from the movie are all kind of pleasantly surprised by their stardom amongst these fans. Though, after a while, we do see them grow a bit tired of it all.
One who is not so amused is the director of Troll 2, Claudio Fragasso. At first, he doesn’t understand that the new popularity of the movie isn’t because it’s so great, and watching that rude awakening is kind of uncomfortable.
In fact, there’s quite a few uncomfortable scenes to watch in this documentary. More than one cast member from Troll 2 seems to be a little off their rocker, and seeing them interviewed helps you understand one more reason that that movie is so insane to watch.
I’d say that most people could find something interesting in this documentary, but it will be most enjoyable to those who are fans of Troll 2, or bad movies in general. You get to see a bit of a look behind the scenes at exactly why the movie turned out so bizarrely and how it affected the people involved. Though, similar to how sudden stardom starts to wear thin for George and the other actors, the documentary wears thin a little at the end. Not terribly, but just enough to make me realize that my enthusiasm for Troll 2 was running out and I was ready to move on to something else.
Still, it’s a mostly funny, sometimes sad, sometimes weird, often fascinating look at what it took to make something truly, memorably awful.
Now I’m off to go work on a documentary of my own, Worst Worst Movie (The story of Manos: The Hands of Fate).
You can’t piss on hospitality! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OiD6IlBmtk)
10 – 1.6 for running out of steam a bit in the last 1/4 of the movie – .5 for being just a bit too uncomfortable to watch at times = 7.9
The Robot Who Likes Pretty Things 