WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.879 They're kind of like investigating this cave 00:00:01.879 --> 00:00:04.099 a little bit. And then this family of trolls 00:00:04.099 --> 00:00:06.679 like comes back and they have to hide from them. 00:00:06.879 --> 00:00:09.080 And it's actually a pretty suspenseful moment, 00:00:09.140 --> 00:00:11.460 but it's also like a moment of humor because 00:00:11.460 --> 00:00:14.080 then I think one of the trolls farts and like 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:16.899 all the characters is like nearly throwing up 00:00:16.899 --> 00:00:18.679 and they're like right behind this troll and 00:00:18.679 --> 00:00:21.100 like trying to stay hidden. So that was kind 00:00:21.100 --> 00:00:23.820 of a nice moment of gross out, but still funny 00:00:23.820 --> 00:00:43.859 humor. Camp Kaiju Monster Movie Podcast. We are 00:00:43.859 --> 00:00:46.719 your hosts, Vincent Hannum. And Matt Levine. 00:00:46.820 --> 00:00:49.219 And we're talking about all of our favorite monster 00:00:49.219 --> 00:00:52.200 movies, the good, the bad, and the downright 00:00:52.200 --> 00:00:55.179 campy, and asking if they stand the test of time. 00:00:55.840 --> 00:00:58.840 Traditional kaiju, creature features, space invaders, 00:00:58.920 --> 00:01:01.280 the supernatural, and everything in between. 00:01:01.560 --> 00:01:05.319 All strange beasts welcome here. Camp Kaiju is 00:01:05.319 --> 00:01:07.819 brought to you by Zach Linder and the Zach Pack, 00:01:07.939 --> 00:01:10.480 powered by Coldwell Banker Realty. Whether you're 00:01:10.480 --> 00:01:12.540 looking for your dream home, a savvy investment 00:01:12.540 --> 00:01:15.599 property, or expert guidance in home rehab and 00:01:15.599 --> 00:01:18.599 flipping, the Zach Pack has you covered. Check 00:01:18.599 --> 00:01:20.319 the link in the show notes for more information. 00:02:37.259 --> 00:02:39.439 How are you doing? I'm pretty good. How are you, 00:02:39.460 --> 00:02:43.960 Vincent? Not bad. I am excited to talk about 00:02:43.960 --> 00:02:48.139 this Norwegian kaiju film called Troll Hunter. 00:02:48.960 --> 00:02:51.479 Yeah, it's been on my radar ever since it first 00:02:51.479 --> 00:02:53.860 came out about 16 years ago, but I just haven't 00:02:53.860 --> 00:02:57.300 caught up with it until now. Matt, I want to 00:02:57.300 --> 00:02:59.139 know what's going on with creature features, 00:02:59.219 --> 00:03:02.699 if you're at liberty to say. If not, I can cut 00:03:02.699 --> 00:03:05.240 all this out, but friend to friend, I want to 00:03:05.240 --> 00:03:07.080 know what's going on. Yeah, for sure. I think 00:03:07.080 --> 00:03:10.139 the thing that you can air, you can publicize 00:03:10.139 --> 00:03:13.360 if you want, is that the first screening in our 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:16.180 Creature Features series at the Heights most 00:03:16.180 --> 00:03:19.620 likely will be Piranha in early May. So it still 00:03:19.620 --> 00:03:22.319 won't be for a little while. You know, the nature 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:25.139 of theatrical exhibition is we do our schedule 00:03:25.139 --> 00:03:26.939 months out in advance and you have to get the 00:03:26.939 --> 00:03:29.539 rights in either a phone print or a DCP, so it 00:03:29.539 --> 00:03:31.719 still won't be for a while. But yeah, Piranha 00:03:31.719 --> 00:03:33.939 should be playing at the Heights in early May. 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:36.020 The rest of the things I'm about to say, you 00:03:36.020 --> 00:03:38.199 probably should not put on the episode yet. But 00:03:38.199 --> 00:03:45.819 most likely, but nothing is finalized yet. They're 00:03:45.819 --> 00:03:47.879 trying to get Piranha scheduled. So that one 00:03:47.879 --> 00:03:51.199 is like fairly set in stone, I would say. That 00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:55.500 is so unbelievably cool. I'm so excited. Yeah, 00:03:55.620 --> 00:03:58.580 it'll be a lot of fun. Yeah. This is at the Heights 00:03:58.580 --> 00:04:03.479 Theater, everybody in Minneapolis. And stay tuned. 00:04:04.110 --> 00:04:07.669 Camp Kaiju could be representing some classic 00:04:07.669 --> 00:04:11.090 creature features. Yeah, yeah. And again, Piranha 00:04:11.090 --> 00:04:12.870 is probably the only one we can say for sure 00:04:12.870 --> 00:04:14.430 right now, but hopefully we'll have some other 00:04:14.430 --> 00:04:16.910 titles and showtimes in the near future. Definitely. 00:04:17.350 --> 00:04:20.610 Well, just a couple other quick nuts and bolts, 00:04:20.670 --> 00:04:24.009 everybody. Thank you for hanging out with us, 00:04:24.050 --> 00:04:26.250 friends. Please rate and review this show and 00:04:26.250 --> 00:04:29.209 follow us on Patreon .com slash Camp Kaiju for 00:04:29.209 --> 00:04:31.370 additional videos, reviews, merchandise, and 00:04:31.370 --> 00:04:34.339 more. Other ways you can get in touch. are through 00:04:34.339 --> 00:04:37.680 our email at CampKaiju at gmail .com, CampKaijuPodcast 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:40.699 .com, Instagram, and our voicemail number, 612 00:04:40.699 --> 00:04:45.160 -470 -2612. A special thank you to our current 00:04:45.160 --> 00:04:48.500 Patreon members. You know who you are. We love 00:04:48.500 --> 00:04:52.000 you and thank you. Jason, Chris, Sean, Peggy, 00:04:52.060 --> 00:04:56.800 our anonymous patron, Don, Steffi, and Jim Chaney. 00:04:56.980 --> 00:05:00.879 Thank you for all your support. Thank you. Well, 00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:04.680 everybody, some people have died recently, and 00:05:04.680 --> 00:05:09.259 we haven't given them their due. Only one of 00:05:09.259 --> 00:05:11.199 these people died recently, Catherine O 'Hara. 00:05:11.899 --> 00:05:14.980 Rest in peace. Yeah, I can't believe we haven't 00:05:14.980 --> 00:05:17.459 talked about her. Yeah, I mean, amazing comedic 00:05:17.459 --> 00:05:19.699 actress. You know, she was in some monster movies. 00:05:19.920 --> 00:05:21.420 Beetlejuice, I think you could say, is a monster 00:05:21.420 --> 00:05:24.360 movie. And, of course, so many great comedies 00:05:24.360 --> 00:05:27.100 as well. She's a legend. Rest in peace. Honestly. 00:05:27.819 --> 00:05:31.360 And then not recently, but in the past year, 00:05:31.579 --> 00:05:35.699 you remember who Jimmy Hunt is? I don't. I don't 00:05:35.699 --> 00:05:37.759 recognize that name, but you have a note here 00:05:37.759 --> 00:05:40.240 that he was in Invaders from Mars. He was the 00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:43.680 boy. Okay. The lead role. I was wondering if 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:45.660 that was the case. Do you know if he had like 00:05:45.660 --> 00:05:49.160 a long acting career after that? I don't think 00:05:49.160 --> 00:05:51.180 he did. I think Invaders from Mars was still 00:05:51.180 --> 00:05:54.800 his best known work, but he died only two months 00:05:54.800 --> 00:05:59.519 after we recorded that episode. So, you know, 00:05:59.579 --> 00:06:03.399 rest in peace, Jimmy Hunt. Yeah, I feel bad, 00:06:03.399 --> 00:06:05.699 though. I mean, I was not aware of that. I did 00:06:05.699 --> 00:06:07.779 not make that connection. But I like invaders 00:06:07.779 --> 00:06:09.779 from Mars a lot. And I think, you know, he gives 00:06:09.779 --> 00:06:13.139 a good child performance. So rest in peace, Jimmy 00:06:13.139 --> 00:06:17.079 Hunt. Definitely. And not dead. Very important. 00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:20.259 Bruce Campbell does have cancer, but he is still 00:06:20.259 --> 00:06:24.540 alive. That's just some monster movie news that 00:06:24.540 --> 00:06:27.449 I just felt like. Hey, Bruce, if you're out there, 00:06:27.569 --> 00:06:33.490 stay strong. You are a legend. Yes, yeah. Hopefully 00:06:33.490 --> 00:06:36.370 he is staying strong. I'm sure so many fans throughout 00:06:36.370 --> 00:06:39.189 the world are thinking about him. I mean, I feel 00:06:39.189 --> 00:06:41.089 like there have been a lot recently. Of course, 00:06:41.089 --> 00:06:43.709 there are always a lot of celebrities and important 00:06:43.709 --> 00:06:47.050 figures who we lose. It's seemingly too early, 00:06:47.129 --> 00:06:50.290 but Robert Duvall also we lost recently. Jesse 00:06:50.290 --> 00:06:53.449 Jackson, not from film, but James Van Der Beek. 00:06:53.569 --> 00:06:57.259 So yeah, a lot of people. I know. It was like 00:06:57.259 --> 00:07:03.860 a wave. But we can talk about this month in monster 00:07:03.860 --> 00:07:07.180 movie history. Well, because I was just talking 00:07:07.180 --> 00:07:11.500 about Mr. Bruce Campbell, I'm going to shout 00:07:11.500 --> 00:07:16.720 out Evil Dead 2, released in March of 1987. I 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:21.259 think that movie is a horror comedy classic. 00:07:23.810 --> 00:07:26.850 We have not covered an evil dead, a Sam Raimi 00:07:26.850 --> 00:07:29.610 or a Bruce Campbell film on this podcast, but 00:07:29.610 --> 00:07:31.569 we did do an evil dead, but not one of the classic 00:07:31.569 --> 00:07:36.709 ones. My point is long overdue, but what are 00:07:36.709 --> 00:07:39.410 you going to do? So evil dead to check it out. 00:07:39.430 --> 00:07:42.389 If you haven't. My favorite Evil Dead movie. 00:07:42.810 --> 00:07:44.550 Like you just said, one of my favorite horror 00:07:44.550 --> 00:07:47.449 comedies of all time. The style in that movie, 00:07:47.610 --> 00:07:50.810 like it's just turned up to 11 the entire time, 00:07:50.850 --> 00:07:53.470 like for an hour and a half. Love that movie. 00:07:53.550 --> 00:07:57.230 Sam Raimi, like, you know, at least in that era, 00:07:57.269 --> 00:07:59.089 he's made some good movies since then too. But 00:07:59.089 --> 00:08:01.350 like in the 80s, just like incredible. I love 00:08:01.350 --> 00:08:04.740 it. So that's a good choice. I think the one 00:08:04.740 --> 00:08:06.519 that I'm going to shout out, I might have talked 00:08:06.519 --> 00:08:09.600 about it on the podcast before, but I'm going 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:12.939 to say Leviathan from 1989. Really great monster 00:08:12.939 --> 00:08:16.379 movie directed by George P. Cosmatos, who also 00:08:16.379 --> 00:08:20.220 directed Tombstone, First Blood Part Two. Whether 00:08:20.220 --> 00:08:22.560 or not those are good or bad things, that's up 00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:25.560 to you. He also directed Of Unknown Origin, which 00:08:25.560 --> 00:08:27.980 we have covered in the podcast before. That's 00:08:27.980 --> 00:08:30.430 right. But Leviathan, a really fun monster movie. 00:08:30.569 --> 00:08:33.529 Peter Weller is in that one. I hope to actually 00:08:33.529 --> 00:08:35.350 do an episode on that someday because that's 00:08:35.350 --> 00:08:38.529 a very underrated 80s horror monster movie. I 00:08:38.529 --> 00:08:42.009 think there is a lot to love and a lot to pick 00:08:42.009 --> 00:08:45.029 apart. Yeah. I don't think it's ever bad, bad. 00:08:45.230 --> 00:08:47.649 I think it's unintentional. I think it's so bad 00:08:47.649 --> 00:08:51.269 it's good at parts. Yeah, I think that's true. 00:08:51.350 --> 00:08:54.370 But the practical effects are really mind -blowing. 00:08:54.370 --> 00:08:57.299 They're great. Yeah. Stan Winston, I think. I 00:08:57.299 --> 00:09:00.779 believe so. Yeah. Yeah. No, it's one I would 00:09:00.779 --> 00:09:03.019 recommend to people because it's just a blast. 00:09:03.379 --> 00:09:08.259 Yeah, totally. New and upcoming releases. Have 00:09:08.259 --> 00:09:11.379 you heard of this movie called Iron Lung? Yeah, 00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:13.200 I actually saw a little bit of it because we 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:15.220 played it at the Heights for like two days. It 00:09:15.220 --> 00:09:17.759 was a very brief run that we had there. So I 00:09:17.759 --> 00:09:21.399 saw a little bit of it. Okay. Maybe you know 00:09:21.399 --> 00:09:24.990 more about it than I do. I just it's like space 00:09:24.990 --> 00:09:28.649 adventure. Maybe there's a planet with an ocean 00:09:28.649 --> 00:09:32.370 of blood and there's a submersible. Honestly, 00:09:32.429 --> 00:09:34.690 I didn't do too much digging into it, but that 00:09:34.690 --> 00:09:38.850 alone hooked me. Yeah, well, that might be the 00:09:38.850 --> 00:09:40.889 extent of the plot. Like from from what I've 00:09:40.889 --> 00:09:43.750 read and what I could tell, it's very not plot 00:09:43.750 --> 00:09:45.830 driven and it's very much about like atmosphere 00:09:45.830 --> 00:09:49.740 and like really. abstract visuals. And I tend 00:09:49.740 --> 00:09:51.980 to like that sort of thing. It's based on a video 00:09:51.980 --> 00:09:54.019 game. I've never played the video game before, 00:09:54.139 --> 00:09:56.279 but yeah, it looked cool. I don't know if it 00:09:56.279 --> 00:09:58.419 all holds together as a movie, but definitely 00:09:58.419 --> 00:10:01.179 some incredible visuals. Cool. I think it has 00:10:01.179 --> 00:10:04.220 the record for the most special, the most fake 00:10:04.220 --> 00:10:07.399 blood used in a movie now. I did read that. Yeah. 00:10:07.500 --> 00:10:10.120 And from the brief scene that I saw, I can understand 00:10:10.120 --> 00:10:12.940 why. There are like pools of blood, like human 00:10:12.940 --> 00:10:15.879 beings just dripping in fake blood, presumably 00:10:15.879 --> 00:10:20.139 fake blood. Yeah. You never can tell. True. Maybe 00:10:20.139 --> 00:10:23.799 they went for 100 % realism. I hope not. But 00:10:23.799 --> 00:10:26.559 maybe. They went to the blood bank. We'll get 00:10:26.559 --> 00:10:29.080 to Trollhunters soon, folks, I promise. But I 00:10:29.080 --> 00:10:31.940 want to correct it. I'm going to go back and 00:10:31.940 --> 00:10:36.259 re -review a movie from this current season. 00:10:37.019 --> 00:10:39.440 It's the first time I've done it, but I figured 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:42.639 it keeps gnawing at me, so I have to listen to 00:10:42.639 --> 00:10:49.490 that. I feel, in hindsight, I was... I was unjustifiably 00:10:49.490 --> 00:10:55.450 hard on Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2. I said 00:10:55.450 --> 00:10:58.190 it has some fun moments, but does not stand the 00:10:58.190 --> 00:11:01.210 test of time. It's been two months, and I'm like, 00:11:01.269 --> 00:11:04.590 no, it does stand the test of time, despite some 00:11:04.590 --> 00:11:09.909 stilted elements. So I'm officially bumping up 00:11:09.909 --> 00:11:12.389 my rating for that movie. I'm really happy to 00:11:12.389 --> 00:11:14.570 hear that. I like that movie a lot. But what's 00:11:14.570 --> 00:11:17.269 coming up? on Camp Kaiju Monster Movie Podcast. 00:11:18.110 --> 00:11:20.750 On our next episode, we are going to be talking 00:11:20.750 --> 00:11:24.149 about At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul. That's 00:11:24.149 --> 00:11:26.950 a Brazilian horror movie from the late 60s. Frank 00:11:26.950 --> 00:11:29.210 Olson is going to be joining us on that episode. 00:11:29.470 --> 00:11:31.690 I haven't seen that movie in a long time. There's 00:11:31.690 --> 00:11:35.529 a famous horror character named Coffin Joe who 00:11:35.529 --> 00:11:37.610 was introduced in that movie and then reappeared 00:11:37.610 --> 00:11:39.289 in a lot of Brazilian horror movies after that. 00:11:39.509 --> 00:11:42.559 So yeah, excited to revisit that one. Yeah, you 00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:45.879 had me at Coffin Joe. Yeah, great name. And Frank 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:49.860 Olson. Yes, can't wait. And then following At 00:11:49.860 --> 00:11:52.759 Midnight I'll Take Your Soul, we are going to 00:11:52.759 --> 00:11:57.200 talk about the 1957 stop -motion giant monster 00:11:57.200 --> 00:12:00.960 movie called The Black Scorpion. And these effects 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:03.179 are brought to you not by Ray Harryhausen, but 00:12:03.179 --> 00:12:07.799 his mentor, Willis O 'Brien, most known for... 00:12:08.139 --> 00:12:11.279 King Kong. So this is, so King Kong was 1933. 00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:15.039 Black Scorpion is 1957. Willis O 'Brien died 00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:22.080 in 61, 62. So a late work from a master of his 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:25.139 craft. So I'm excited to watch that movie and 00:12:25.139 --> 00:12:27.259 to show that one to you and all you listening. 00:12:28.580 --> 00:12:32.309 I'm really excited for that. yeah, I have nothing 00:12:32.309 --> 00:12:34.990 more to say about it, but you know, like Willis 00:12:34.990 --> 00:12:37.210 O 'Brien, one of the best. And like, I love that 00:12:37.210 --> 00:12:40.149 period of monster movies. I know I was, you know, 00:12:40.149 --> 00:12:42.309 pretty hard on it. It came from beneath the sea, 00:12:42.370 --> 00:12:44.730 but I love them. I love invaders from Mars. So 00:12:44.730 --> 00:12:47.929 yeah, looking forward to that one. Oh yeah. So 00:12:47.929 --> 00:12:53.009 I think the time has come to, to, to get your 00:12:53.009 --> 00:12:58.789 UV light gun to get, to rub some troll piss all 00:12:58.789 --> 00:13:04.740 over your body. Let's go hunting trolls. Yeah. 00:13:04.879 --> 00:13:09.279 Yeah. It looked kind of fun. I would do it. What's 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:11.559 your personal history with this movie? Pretty 00:13:11.559 --> 00:13:13.820 much none. Like I know when it came out again 00:13:13.820 --> 00:13:17.649 in 2010, I. You know, I had heard of it because 00:13:17.649 --> 00:13:19.429 it got good reviews and it was a low budget, 00:13:19.529 --> 00:13:22.350 like fake found footage, a mockumentary horror 00:13:22.350 --> 00:13:24.789 movie with obviously the title Troll Hunter. 00:13:25.210 --> 00:13:27.370 So I was intrigued by it. But, you know, there 00:13:27.370 --> 00:13:29.029 were just always like other movies that kind 00:13:29.029 --> 00:13:30.950 of took precedence for me. So I haven't seen 00:13:30.950 --> 00:13:35.350 it until today. Nice. I was in college in 2010. 00:13:35.809 --> 00:13:40.629 I know I saw it around that time. I didn't I 00:13:40.629 --> 00:13:42.730 don't remember. There was so much of this movie 00:13:42.730 --> 00:13:45.779 I didn't remember upon revisiting. But I always 00:13:45.779 --> 00:13:50.659 knew I liked it, and it was a really fun rewatch. 00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:54.659 So I'm excited to dig into it. Yeah, and excited 00:13:54.659 --> 00:13:56.899 to hear what you think, too. Because this movie 00:13:56.899 --> 00:14:00.559 is a little different in its visual form and 00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:04.740 aesthetic. Yeah. So, yeah, the whole time I was 00:14:04.740 --> 00:14:06.659 like, man, what's Matt going to think of this 00:14:06.659 --> 00:14:09.620 one? Yeah, I'm excited to hear what you think 00:14:09.620 --> 00:14:12.200 as well. And I think the only other fake found 00:14:12.200 --> 00:14:13.960 footage movie that we've talked about so far 00:14:13.960 --> 00:14:17.860 is Cloverfield, right? Yeah. Yeah. Maybe there 00:14:17.860 --> 00:14:21.039 will be some similar talking points that we talked 00:14:21.039 --> 00:14:23.279 about with that movie. That's right. Yeah. Good 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:28.159 point. That was 2008. So maybe there was, I don't 00:14:28.159 --> 00:14:30.759 know, was Paranormal Activity around that time? 00:14:30.899 --> 00:14:34.019 That's not a mockumentary, but it's a found footage 00:14:34.019 --> 00:14:36.799 type of movie too. Yeah. And I think you're right. 00:14:36.860 --> 00:14:38.899 I think that was around that time. There's another 00:14:38.899 --> 00:14:41.879 movie called Wreck, R -E -C. that I think was 00:14:41.879 --> 00:14:44.139 maybe around that time, maybe a little bit later. 00:14:44.240 --> 00:14:49.320 So that probably was the peak of that mockumentary 00:14:49.320 --> 00:14:52.360 approach. That style, I feel like, lends itself 00:14:52.360 --> 00:14:55.960 easily to social media viral marketing online, 00:14:56.139 --> 00:15:00.220 which I know Cloverfield did intentionally tap 00:15:00.220 --> 00:15:03.620 into. YouTube was new. All this stuff was new 00:15:03.620 --> 00:15:06.159 on the internet. Maybe the one that started it 00:15:06.159 --> 00:15:08.639 all, the Blair Witch Project, like did a similar 00:15:08.639 --> 00:15:11.600 thing 10 years earlier, you know, in 1999. I've 00:15:11.600 --> 00:15:14.120 never seen it. Oh, it's great. I haven't seen 00:15:14.120 --> 00:15:15.820 it in a long time, but I have seen it a couple 00:15:15.820 --> 00:15:17.559 of times and it holds up. It's still pretty scary, 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:21.240 I would say. Yeah? Yeah. Nice. Okay. I've seen 00:15:21.240 --> 00:15:23.659 so many horror movies that there's still a few. 00:15:23.740 --> 00:15:26.860 I feel like there's the ones that I think will 00:15:26.860 --> 00:15:29.799 scare me. They do stand out. Like the Blair Witch. 00:15:29.899 --> 00:15:34.360 I'm like, ah, that's going to scare me. I will 00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:36.639 see. Maybe it won't, but it really sneaks up 00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:39.259 on you. And I won't give away any spoilers, but 00:15:39.259 --> 00:15:41.720 the last image of that movie is like one for 00:15:41.720 --> 00:15:46.220 the ages. Approximately seven hours ago, something 00:15:46.220 --> 00:15:52.559 attacked the city. On January 18th. It's alive! 00:15:52.980 --> 00:15:55.539 It's huge! What is this? Is it coming this way? 00:15:55.710 --> 00:15:58.590 Experience the event that will change everything. 00:15:58.929 --> 00:16:00.730 We get the hell out of Manhattan. Through the 00:16:00.730 --> 00:16:03.129 eyes of those. Did you see it? Who are there. 00:16:04.509 --> 00:16:09.149 What was that? Run! Still filming? Yeah. People 00:16:09.149 --> 00:16:11.070 are going to want to know how it all went down. 00:16:11.629 --> 00:16:14.889 Cloverfield. Rated PG -13. This is my home, which 00:16:14.889 --> 00:16:16.950 I am leaving the comforts of for the weekend 00:16:16.950 --> 00:16:22.389 to explore the Bear Witch. I can see you. I'm 00:16:22.389 --> 00:16:23.830 really excited about this. Thank you for the 00:16:23.830 --> 00:16:26.409 opportunity. I'm very glad. This area's been 00:16:26.409 --> 00:16:30.110 haunted by that old woman for years. I don't 00:16:30.110 --> 00:16:31.250 know why you have to have every conversation 00:16:31.250 --> 00:16:32.690 on video. Because we're making a documentary. 00:16:33.029 --> 00:16:35.190 Not about us getting lost. We're making a documentary 00:16:35.190 --> 00:16:38.669 about a witch. I don't. We're lost? Admit that 00:16:38.669 --> 00:16:42.070 first. No, I know we're not lost. It's an old 00:16:42.070 --> 00:16:44.250 place. But how do we know it was people? Well, 00:16:44.289 --> 00:16:45.690 even if it wasn't, I'm not going to play with 00:16:45.690 --> 00:16:48.230 that either. And it's all because of me that 00:16:48.230 --> 00:16:54.970 we're here now. Hungry and cold. And I did just 00:16:54.970 --> 00:16:59.830 apologize to Mike's mom and Josh's mom and my 00:16:59.830 --> 00:17:15.509 mom. Tell me where you are, Josh! Four years 00:17:15.509 --> 00:17:19.430 ago, in this quiet forest, in this cozy cabin, 00:17:19.690 --> 00:17:23.960 something happened. Something so frightening. 00:17:25.559 --> 00:17:30.720 Something so deadly. We prayed it would never 00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:35.980 happen again. Now, from the creator of Evil Dead, 00:17:36.180 --> 00:17:41.220 comes Evil Dead 2, Dead by Dawn. Now playing 00:17:41.220 --> 00:17:43.559 at a theater near you. Consult local listings. 00:17:44.460 --> 00:17:46.519 We'll keep talking about that. We'll keep talking 00:17:46.519 --> 00:17:49.750 about other found footage, monster movies. But 00:17:49.750 --> 00:17:52.269 first, we got to talk about some of the crew 00:17:52.269 --> 00:17:55.690 and some of the cast of Trollhunter. And my goodness 00:17:55.690 --> 00:17:58.789 gracious, apologies for the mispronunciations 00:17:58.789 --> 00:18:02.410 with these names. And Matt, we do have listeners 00:18:02.410 --> 00:18:06.809 in Norway. So thank you. I wish I knew how to 00:18:06.809 --> 00:18:09.910 say thank you in Norwegian. But don't hate us 00:18:09.910 --> 00:18:12.690 for mispronouncing the language of your country. 00:18:13.170 --> 00:18:16.549 We'll do our best. All right. So you go first. 00:18:17.420 --> 00:18:21.799 Okay. So the writer and director of Trollhunter 00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:26.380 is André Ouvredal. This was a relatively early 00:18:26.380 --> 00:18:29.140 film for him. I think it was his second feature, 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:31.559 if I remember right. So some other movies that 00:18:31.559 --> 00:18:35.160 he made include The Autopsy of Jane Doe from 00:18:35.160 --> 00:18:38.200 2016, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark from 00:18:38.200 --> 00:18:41.740 2019, and The Last Voyage of the Demeter. from 00:18:41.740 --> 00:18:44.759 2023. I have to admit, I haven't seen any of 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:47.380 those. I've seen bits and pieces of scary stories 00:18:47.380 --> 00:18:48.920 to tell in the dark, but not the whole thing. 00:18:49.420 --> 00:18:52.599 I didn't realize he was attached to that or The 00:18:52.599 --> 00:18:55.460 Last Voyage of the Demeter, which I remember 00:18:55.460 --> 00:18:59.859 was kind of a big deal in universal horror circles, 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:03.380 because it's a reimagining of a chapter of Dracula. 00:19:04.220 --> 00:19:06.339 Yeah, I had high hopes for Demeter. I thought 00:19:06.339 --> 00:19:08.319 it was a pretty good trailer when that came out, 00:19:08.359 --> 00:19:10.460 but I never saw it. Like you said, it didn't 00:19:10.460 --> 00:19:12.680 get very good reviews, but time to revisit it 00:19:12.680 --> 00:19:14.400 maybe, or visit it for the first time, I should 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:18.859 say. Right. Cinematography in Trollhunter is 00:19:18.859 --> 00:19:24.579 by Halvard Rein, and the film is edited by her, 00:19:24.740 --> 00:19:29.220 Erik Eriksson. And I think thank you in Norwegian 00:19:29.220 --> 00:19:36.390 is touch. Touch. Nice. That's good to know. Yeah. 00:19:36.569 --> 00:19:38.910 Correct me if I'm wrong. Norwegians out there. 00:19:40.589 --> 00:19:43.130 Sounds good to me. It sounds correct as far as 00:19:43.130 --> 00:19:45.829 I know. But yeah, touch to all of our Norwegian 00:19:45.829 --> 00:19:52.250 listeners. Sorry, I'm playing back the Google 00:19:52.250 --> 00:19:57.309 translator. All right, we're moving on. The cast 00:19:57.309 --> 00:20:01.109 of Trollhunter is headed up by Otto Jespersen. 00:20:01.819 --> 00:20:05.759 who plays Hans, the titular troll hunter. This 00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:09.799 guy, the character, Hans, is a rugged, no -nonsense 00:20:09.799 --> 00:20:13.440 survivalist and veteran who is now contracted 00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:15.420 by the government, the Norwegian government, 00:20:15.559 --> 00:20:18.480 to hunt trolls who have wandered off their perimeters. 00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:22.559 Jespersen, the actor, is a well -known comedian 00:20:22.559 --> 00:20:25.920 and television personality in Norway. However, 00:20:26.259 --> 00:20:29.519 he's a bit of a firebrand. His comedy lends itself 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:32.829 to the controversial. Lots of anti -establishment 00:20:32.829 --> 00:20:35.569 type stuff. Like I read, he's well known for 00:20:35.569 --> 00:20:38.809 burning an American flag during the Iraq war. 00:20:39.210 --> 00:20:45.289 And some questionable anti -Semitic, anti -Jewish 00:20:45.289 --> 00:20:48.849 jokes and humor that I personally don't find 00:20:48.849 --> 00:20:53.990 funny. But that's his brand. And I'm certainly 00:20:53.990 --> 00:20:57.549 not here to defend any of that. Just want to 00:20:57.549 --> 00:21:01.150 put that out there. Put it all out there. Yeah, 00:21:01.170 --> 00:21:02.789 I did a little more research on that because 00:21:02.789 --> 00:21:04.490 I read that in your notes and I was like, oh, 00:21:04.549 --> 00:21:06.470 is it maybe like it was a lot of controversy 00:21:06.470 --> 00:21:08.309 for nothing. But then I read more about what 00:21:08.309 --> 00:21:09.990 he did and said, and it's like, oh, that is pretty 00:21:09.990 --> 00:21:12.349 bad. Like, you know, we don't need to talk about 00:21:12.349 --> 00:21:14.769 all that here. But but his, you know, like his 00:21:14.769 --> 00:21:17.470 appearance in the movie and especially if audiences 00:21:17.470 --> 00:21:20.390 do know him as this kind of, you know, comedian, 00:21:20.589 --> 00:21:23.009 which I didn't know him as before I watched the 00:21:23.009 --> 00:21:25.750 movie. But but it does lend the character a certain 00:21:25.750 --> 00:21:29.029 sense of like. you know, dry wit or whatever, 00:21:29.170 --> 00:21:30.809 and that probably helps the reception in the 00:21:30.809 --> 00:21:34.289 movie a little bit. I agree. I do think his performance 00:21:34.289 --> 00:21:38.869 is very good at selling the character and selling 00:21:38.869 --> 00:21:42.029 the premise. So, yeah, I might talk more about 00:21:42.029 --> 00:21:47.910 the anti -religious stuff in this movie, but, 00:21:47.910 --> 00:21:50.809 you know, being Jewish is more than just a religion, 00:21:50.849 --> 00:21:55.180 too. It's an ethnicity, so... Yeah. You know, 00:21:55.180 --> 00:21:57.279 it gets real dicey real quick when you're when 00:21:57.279 --> 00:22:01.380 you're making such jokes. Yeah, absolutely. The 00:22:01.380 --> 00:22:05.680 the other main cast surrounding Hans, the troll 00:22:05.680 --> 00:22:10.599 hunter, is a group of student filmmakers. They 00:22:10.599 --> 00:22:14.599 are making this documentary. They've come across 00:22:14.599 --> 00:22:18.700 a kooky character, the Hans character and his 00:22:18.700 --> 00:22:22.400 his obsession with troll hunting and the students. 00:22:23.130 --> 00:22:26.250 Absolutely do not believe this at first. But 00:22:26.250 --> 00:22:28.769 they think following him around would make a 00:22:28.769 --> 00:22:33.069 great documentary. We have Thomas Ulf Larson 00:22:33.069 --> 00:22:36.829 as Kala, the cameraman of the documentary. It's 00:22:36.829 --> 00:22:39.529 later revealed that Thomas is a Christian, or 00:22:39.529 --> 00:22:41.410 actually Kala, the character, is a Christian. 00:22:41.549 --> 00:22:44.630 And he consequently meets his demise at the hands 00:22:44.630 --> 00:22:48.789 of the Mountain Kings. The folklore, the background 00:22:48.789 --> 00:22:52.569 of this is that trolls... supposedly can detect 00:22:52.569 --> 00:22:55.009 Christian blood. They can sniff out Christian 00:22:55.009 --> 00:22:58.630 blood. The character of Kala hides the fact that 00:22:58.630 --> 00:23:01.390 he is a devout Christian, and it does not end 00:23:01.390 --> 00:23:03.849 well for him. So that character is played by 00:23:03.849 --> 00:23:07.930 Tomas Alf Larson. We also have Johanna Murk as 00:23:07.930 --> 00:23:10.230 Johanna, the sound person of the documentary. 00:23:10.710 --> 00:23:13.430 And then probably the main character of the trio 00:23:13.430 --> 00:23:16.930 of students, we have Glenn Erland Tosterud as 00:23:16.930 --> 00:23:20.259 Thomas, or Tomas maybe. the director of the documentary, 00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:25.099 who is clawed, C -L -A -W -E -D, by an early 00:23:25.099 --> 00:23:30.339 troll attack and later develops rabies. Yeah, 00:23:30.420 --> 00:23:34.740 I mean, he was clawed. He was clawed. And also 00:23:34.740 --> 00:23:37.359 Tomas. I guess it's funny when you say it out 00:23:37.359 --> 00:23:39.779 loud. Yeah, it's funny in my head, and I was 00:23:39.779 --> 00:23:41.299 like, I'm probably the only person who finds 00:23:41.299 --> 00:23:45.140 this funny, but that's where my mind goes. And 00:23:45.140 --> 00:23:50.039 then another comedian, well -known. for all you 00:23:50.039 --> 00:23:53.599 Norwegians out there, is Hans Morten Hansen, 00:23:53.599 --> 00:23:57.759 who plays Finn. And Finn is a government person. 00:23:57.859 --> 00:24:01.039 He's the governmental head of TSS, the Troll 00:24:01.039 --> 00:24:05.380 Security Service. And fun note, Hansen, the actor, 00:24:05.539 --> 00:24:08.980 in 2010 established the world record for longest 00:24:08.980 --> 00:24:12.960 stand -up performance. Hmm. I read that some 00:24:12.960 --> 00:24:15.000 other supporting characters were also played 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:16.920 by comedians, like the head of the power plant. 00:24:17.549 --> 00:24:20.289 is also a Norwegian comedian. And I don't really 00:24:20.289 --> 00:24:22.630 know a lot of the details about that, but, you 00:24:22.630 --> 00:24:25.230 know, I can just imagine as a Norwegian audience 00:24:25.230 --> 00:24:27.789 member seeing this movie, it's probably a pretty 00:24:27.789 --> 00:24:30.210 big clue that it's meant to be taken partly as 00:24:30.210 --> 00:24:33.529 a comedy, you know? Yes, and the Polish bear 00:24:33.529 --> 00:24:37.930 hunter is also apparently a well -known Norwegian 00:24:37.930 --> 00:24:41.849 comedian. Yeah, yep, I read that as well. Yeah, 00:24:41.910 --> 00:24:44.970 which is, you know, kind of, it says a lot. And, 00:24:44.970 --> 00:24:47.940 you know, many... Like many American audience 00:24:47.940 --> 00:24:49.779 members like myself probably wouldn't pick up 00:24:49.779 --> 00:24:53.579 on that. Yeah. Mockumentaries make me think of 00:24:53.579 --> 00:24:56.819 Catherine O 'Hara, who was in many from Christopher 00:24:56.819 --> 00:25:00.799 Guest's movies like Best in Show, Waiting for 00:25:00.799 --> 00:25:04.680 Guffman, A Mighty Wind. Those movies have like 00:25:04.680 --> 00:25:07.559 blink and you miss it cameos from a lot of comedians. 00:25:08.599 --> 00:25:11.759 So just making connections. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. 00:25:12.490 --> 00:25:14.470 that's a good connection and though i mean like 00:25:14.470 --> 00:25:17.069 uh best in show is amazing i really love that 00:25:17.069 --> 00:25:19.609 movie she's so good in that i just watched it 00:25:19.609 --> 00:25:22.809 ellen and i revisited it i think the night katherine 00:25:22.809 --> 00:25:26.970 o 'hara died my god i was i was in stitches i 00:25:26.970 --> 00:25:30.369 was just laughing cackling with joy at so much 00:25:30.369 --> 00:25:34.519 of it yeah And I also think like those movies 00:25:34.519 --> 00:25:36.759 still have like some tenderness for a lot of 00:25:36.759 --> 00:25:38.359 those characters. You know, it's not just like 00:25:38.359 --> 00:25:41.380 total ridicule or like looking down on the characters, 00:25:41.480 --> 00:25:42.920 which is kind of a tough balance to pull off 00:25:42.920 --> 00:25:45.660 sometimes. Yeah. All right. Before it becomes 00:25:45.660 --> 00:25:50.140 a bested show podcast, the production backstory 00:25:50.140 --> 00:25:54.220 of Troll Hunter. Now, the director, Andre Uverdahl, 00:25:54.359 --> 00:25:57.160 wanted to make, quote, a big Hollywood style 00:25:57.160 --> 00:26:01.039 movie about Norwegian culture. I got that from 00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:04.119 Gizmodo. There's a. Really cool article about 00:26:04.119 --> 00:26:07.279 the science of Troll Hunter. It's an interview 00:26:07.279 --> 00:26:09.539 with the director. I'll link that in the show 00:26:09.539 --> 00:26:12.420 notes. So I got a lot of information from that 00:26:12.420 --> 00:26:15.819 and another interview from 2011 from a website 00:26:15.819 --> 00:26:20.819 called HeyUGuys. Anyways, Andre Overdahl made 00:26:20.819 --> 00:26:23.380 a movie. He wanted to feature trolls from the 00:26:23.380 --> 00:26:26.220 stories and fairy tales of his youth. He spun 00:26:26.220 --> 00:26:30.119 this idea into a premise about a disgruntled 00:26:30.119 --> 00:26:34.309 troll hunter. And as he goes on to say, Uvardal, 00:26:34.450 --> 00:26:59.950 he says, My biggest takeaway from that is... 00:27:00.380 --> 00:27:05.460 Here's a man, the director, steeped in the historical 00:27:05.460 --> 00:27:09.640 culture of his country, of traditional storytelling. 00:27:11.180 --> 00:27:15.059 Well, traditions. And I love that idea. I'm going 00:27:15.059 --> 00:27:18.380 to bring this into the modern world. We're not 00:27:18.380 --> 00:27:20.759 going to sit around a campfire and tell troll 00:27:20.759 --> 00:27:23.599 stories, but we are going to sit around this 00:27:23.599 --> 00:27:27.759 medium of film and tell you a troll story. I 00:27:27.759 --> 00:27:31.569 just love that idea. Yeah, I love that too. It 00:27:31.569 --> 00:27:33.509 makes me think about some of my favorite Japanese 00:27:33.509 --> 00:27:35.890 new wave horror movies. I know I talk a lot about 00:27:35.890 --> 00:27:37.930 Japanese movies on here, but, you know, movies 00:27:37.930 --> 00:27:41.329 like Kwaidan and Onibaba and Jigoku, where it 00:27:41.329 --> 00:27:44.190 is taking like kind of historical folklore and 00:27:44.190 --> 00:27:47.190 traditions. And many of those are set in the 00:27:47.190 --> 00:27:49.130 past, so they're not really updated to like modern 00:27:49.130 --> 00:27:52.250 times in those cases. But I love it when you 00:27:52.250 --> 00:27:55.529 have like a distinct, like national view of like 00:27:55.529 --> 00:27:58.369 a cultural past, a cultural heritage, and then 00:27:58.369 --> 00:28:00.740 that's turned into like... A new kind of horror 00:28:00.740 --> 00:28:03.700 movie. I love that sort of thing. Yeah. Filming 00:28:03.700 --> 00:28:05.980 for Trollhunter took place in Western Norway, 00:28:06.140 --> 00:28:08.779 but the production was kept under wraps almost 00:28:08.779 --> 00:28:13.160 up until the release. But the title Trollhunter 00:28:13.160 --> 00:28:15.539 always remained, and this seemed a little tongue 00:28:15.539 --> 00:28:18.319 -in -cheek to me. Andre Uverdahl didn't believe 00:28:18.319 --> 00:28:20.579 that audiences and critics would take that title 00:28:20.579 --> 00:28:24.700 so literally, and apparently he was right. Critics 00:28:24.700 --> 00:28:26.299 were like, okay, there's this movie coming out 00:28:26.299 --> 00:28:30.779 called Trollhunter. There's no way. nobody just 00:28:30.779 --> 00:28:33.279 nobody connected the dots that it would literally 00:28:33.279 --> 00:28:38.720 be about a man hunting trolls yeah it's right 00:28:38.720 --> 00:28:42.299 there in the title yeah in a way like i kind 00:28:42.299 --> 00:28:44.440 of feel like it might have been cool if that 00:28:44.440 --> 00:28:47.559 wasn't the title because you know the movie starts 00:28:47.559 --> 00:28:51.140 with like on -screen titles where it's like this 00:28:51.140 --> 00:28:54.720 footage was like recovered by a norwegian like, 00:28:54.720 --> 00:28:57.099 film studio or maybe TV station, and it's like, 00:28:57.240 --> 00:28:59.599 you know, it's all true to life. Like, we don't 00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:01.579 know where this footage came from. So, like, 00:29:01.599 --> 00:29:04.000 if the title is Troll Hunter, you know it's going 00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:05.740 to be about hunting trolls, or at least you should 00:29:05.740 --> 00:29:07.759 probably know that, especially after reading 00:29:07.759 --> 00:29:09.619 reviews and stuff like that. But, like, if maybe 00:29:09.619 --> 00:29:12.240 the title was a little bit more cryptic, it might 00:29:12.240 --> 00:29:14.160 have been kind of a cool reveal the first time 00:29:14.160 --> 00:29:17.059 a troll is actually on screen, but that's all 00:29:17.059 --> 00:29:18.559 right. That's a different, you know, I'm just 00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:20.839 imagining what could have been. So there is another 00:29:20.839 --> 00:29:23.839 Gizmodo piece that's focused. The science of 00:29:23.839 --> 00:29:26.180 the trolls is the name of the article. And I 00:29:26.180 --> 00:29:27.980 feel like that title is also meant a little bit 00:29:27.980 --> 00:29:30.559 tongue in cheek, the science of the trolls, but 00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:32.740 that goes a little bit more into the depictions 00:29:32.740 --> 00:29:35.640 of the trolls in the movie. Most of them were 00:29:35.640 --> 00:29:38.900 based on historical drawings and paintings. There 00:29:38.900 --> 00:29:41.720 are common troll descriptions from Norwegian 00:29:41.720 --> 00:29:44.940 folklore, which were used in the film that include 00:29:44.940 --> 00:29:48.559 trolls, having a tail, multiple heads. The ability 00:29:48.559 --> 00:29:50.519 to smell a Christian's blood, like we were talking 00:29:50.519 --> 00:29:53.680 about before. Eating rocks, but loving meat, 00:29:53.799 --> 00:29:57.220 and sometimes being man -eaters. The trolls in 00:29:57.220 --> 00:29:59.559 Norwegian folklore are also described as big, 00:29:59.640 --> 00:30:02.500 old, and strong, but also slow and dim -witted. 00:30:03.059 --> 00:30:06.140 Turning to stone when exposed to sunlight. And 00:30:06.140 --> 00:30:08.819 that last plot point is actually a pretty major 00:30:08.819 --> 00:30:11.720 part in the film, as Hans uses UV light to kill 00:30:11.720 --> 00:30:14.019 the trolls, either by turning them to stone, 00:30:14.039 --> 00:30:17.099 or in some cases, just making them explode, which 00:30:17.099 --> 00:30:20.339 is... One of the more fun, you know, gory parts 00:30:20.339 --> 00:30:23.319 of the movie. You even have, like, you know, 00:30:23.319 --> 00:30:25.319 a troll hiding underneath a bridge, which maybe 00:30:25.319 --> 00:30:27.259 that element is, like, well -known to pretty 00:30:27.259 --> 00:30:30.019 much any viewer, I would say. And then the last 00:30:30.019 --> 00:30:31.920 little bit here, the depiction of the trolls 00:30:31.920 --> 00:30:34.779 from Troll Hunter is also based on some popular 00:30:34.779 --> 00:30:37.599 stories, like the boy who had an eating match 00:30:37.599 --> 00:30:40.579 with a troll and the three billy goats gruff, 00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:43.539 which has also become popular outside of Norway 00:30:43.539 --> 00:30:48.779 as well. It's one of my favorite stories. And 00:30:48.779 --> 00:30:52.539 I don't read it too much anymore to my kiddo, 00:30:52.539 --> 00:30:55.400 but she still has it. And she's gone through 00:30:55.400 --> 00:30:58.220 a phase where she was requesting it. So, yeah, 00:30:58.279 --> 00:31:01.759 I was being very familiar with that story. I 00:31:01.759 --> 00:31:07.140 really found it delightful when Hans, the troll 00:31:07.140 --> 00:31:10.099 hunter, brought three goats out onto a bridge 00:31:10.099 --> 00:31:16.740 to lure the troll. Yeah, that's a good scene. 00:31:16.940 --> 00:31:19.660 And like Hans is like, he's wearing kind of like 00:31:19.660 --> 00:31:21.839 a suit of armor that seems to be like cobbled 00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:23.920 together from like scraps of metal, basically. 00:31:24.220 --> 00:31:26.140 That whole scene is pretty funny. I like that 00:31:26.140 --> 00:31:30.740 one. How did he survive the hit he took? Yeah, 00:31:30.759 --> 00:31:33.619 I mean, you know, most of the CGI or most of 00:31:33.619 --> 00:31:35.779 the visual effects, some of them anyway, are 00:31:35.779 --> 00:31:37.940 like pretty decent in this movie. At that moment, 00:31:37.980 --> 00:31:40.079 I was like, oh, that's I feel like you can see 00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:43.579 the low budget in that scene, you know? Yeah, 00:31:43.579 --> 00:31:47.220 I mean, we'll definitely talk about the CGI for 00:31:47.220 --> 00:31:49.500 sure later on. I'd love to hear more about your 00:31:49.500 --> 00:31:52.720 thoughts on that. Yeah, definitely. But speaking 00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:56.079 of the troll under the bridge, that's known as 00:31:56.079 --> 00:32:01.579 a Ringelfinch. That is one of a few different 00:32:01.579 --> 00:32:05.119 species, quote unquote, depicted in this movie. 00:32:05.339 --> 00:32:08.180 And it's an element of the movie I do also really 00:32:08.180 --> 00:32:13.259 find joy in, just like sciencing. putting science 00:32:13.259 --> 00:32:16.500 to these mythological creatures. So we have the 00:32:16.500 --> 00:32:22.359 Ringlefinch. We have the Tursulad, which is the 00:32:22.359 --> 00:32:24.519 giant three -headed troll that lives in the forest. 00:32:24.859 --> 00:32:28.019 We have mountain kings who live together like 00:32:28.019 --> 00:32:31.380 in a pack in the caves of the mountains. And 00:32:31.380 --> 00:32:33.960 then we have the Jotnar, which is the largest 00:32:33.960 --> 00:32:37.400 of the trolls standing over 200 feet tall. This 00:32:37.400 --> 00:32:40.519 is the troll from the poster. It's the troll. 00:32:41.200 --> 00:32:45.519 at the climax of the film. Big mamma jamma. I 00:32:45.519 --> 00:32:47.579 didn't realize until today that the famous classical 00:32:47.579 --> 00:32:50.579 piece in the Hall of the Mountain King is a reference 00:32:50.579 --> 00:32:53.319 to a troll. Because that's by a Norwegian composer. 00:32:53.740 --> 00:32:56.480 And it's, you know, Mountain Kings. That's the 00:32:56.480 --> 00:32:58.940 name of one of the troll species in folklore. 00:32:59.079 --> 00:33:01.559 And that's what that title refers to. Never knew 00:33:01.559 --> 00:33:04.819 that until today. Yeah. Amazing. The cultural 00:33:04.819 --> 00:33:09.559 osmosis. It's real. Yeah. I love just all the 00:33:09.559 --> 00:33:13.039 unexpected connections we make, you know? It's 00:33:13.039 --> 00:33:19.079 like we're Norwegian. Well, at least I feel like 00:33:19.079 --> 00:33:21.299 I'm getting my first taste of Norwegian culture. 00:33:21.339 --> 00:33:23.400 Not my first taste, but I'm starting to dive 00:33:23.400 --> 00:33:26.960 in a little bit more, you know? No, I kid, I 00:33:26.960 --> 00:33:30.480 kid. I have been to Iceland, which is not Norway, 00:33:30.619 --> 00:33:33.519 but it is a Scandinavian country. So they were, 00:33:33.680 --> 00:33:37.190 and I only say that because... In Trollhunter, 00:33:37.289 --> 00:33:40.309 there are many shots of the Norwegian landscape. 00:33:40.829 --> 00:33:45.490 Beautiful fields and fjords and mountains and 00:33:45.490 --> 00:33:49.890 forests. And it did the Icelandic landscape, 00:33:50.130 --> 00:33:53.730 which I have seen, it just kind of had some similarities 00:33:53.730 --> 00:33:58.369 to that. That just like very northern, Andra 00:33:58.369 --> 00:34:01.619 -type feel. Yeah, same. I've also been to Iceland 00:34:01.619 --> 00:34:03.339 and that's the only Scandinavian country that 00:34:03.339 --> 00:34:05.940 I've been to. And the countryside is beautiful 00:34:05.940 --> 00:34:08.420 in a very like austere way. You know, it's kind 00:34:08.420 --> 00:34:12.619 of harsh, but just like very, yeah, it's very 00:34:12.619 --> 00:34:15.219 beautiful. Kind of like primal. I feel like Iceland 00:34:15.219 --> 00:34:17.119 is the only place I've been on the planet where 00:34:17.119 --> 00:34:19.360 I'm like, I was like, I feel like I could be 00:34:19.360 --> 00:34:21.519 on a different planet right now, you know? Yes. 00:34:22.099 --> 00:34:25.360 Austere is a great word to describe it. And do 00:34:25.360 --> 00:34:28.360 you remember? Like, as I was walking around just 00:34:28.360 --> 00:34:31.579 Reykjavik, the capital city. Oh, no, my friend 00:34:31.579 --> 00:34:33.900 did take me on a drive out into the country a 00:34:33.900 --> 00:34:36.920 little bit. But I could smell the sulfur. Mm 00:34:36.920 --> 00:34:41.960 -hmm. Just from the volcano, the volcanism. Is 00:34:41.960 --> 00:34:45.239 that the right word? Yeah, I think so. The volcanic 00:34:45.239 --> 00:34:50.000 activity on the island. Yeah, totally. I went 00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:52.400 to Hot Springs there too, and you could definitely 00:34:52.400 --> 00:34:54.699 smell the sulfur there. It's like, you know, 00:34:54.699 --> 00:34:57.159 the fissures in the earth are like right there 00:34:57.159 --> 00:35:02.559 practically. Yeah, very otherworldly. Yeah, and 00:35:02.559 --> 00:35:05.340 yeah, Norway in this movie is, I was reminded 00:35:05.340 --> 00:35:08.360 of that as well. Oh, I'd love to visit. Yeah, 00:35:08.380 --> 00:35:13.659 same. Well, this movie, Trollhunter, was released 00:35:13.659 --> 00:35:17.750 in October 2010. Good reviews, all in general, 00:35:17.849 --> 00:35:20.289 with particular praise for Jesperson's performance 00:35:20.289 --> 00:35:28.750 as Hans, and the special effects in relativity 00:35:28.750 --> 00:35:32.969 to its small budget drew praise from critics. 00:35:33.329 --> 00:35:35.989 The mockumentary found footage was favorably 00:35:35.989 --> 00:35:38.690 compared to the Blair Witch Project, but the 00:35:38.690 --> 00:35:41.789 style did have its detractors. Admittedly, I 00:35:41.789 --> 00:35:45.099 did not include specific reviews. But just in 00:35:45.099 --> 00:35:48.420 general, what I was gleaning was more of a cup 00:35:48.420 --> 00:35:52.199 of tea type of situation where the reviewer seemed 00:35:52.199 --> 00:35:56.940 to be knocking the style in general without specific 00:35:56.940 --> 00:36:00.519 criticism. Yeah, that's mostly what I read as 00:36:00.519 --> 00:36:02.699 well. But, you know, like you said, I mean, most 00:36:02.699 --> 00:36:05.099 of the reviews that I read were positive and 00:36:05.099 --> 00:36:08.579 seemed to be kind of surprised at how effective 00:36:08.579 --> 00:36:11.179 the movie is at pulling off its conceit, you 00:36:11.179 --> 00:36:14.179 know? Yeah, surprised. Surprised that they could 00:36:14.179 --> 00:36:19.440 execute this level of CGI with their budget, 00:36:19.559 --> 00:36:23.599 which makes me think of Godzilla Minus One. Small 00:36:23.599 --> 00:36:29.280 budget, great CGI that even won an Oscar. And 00:36:29.280 --> 00:36:34.000 then we get movies from the churn mill of Hollywood 00:36:34.000 --> 00:36:37.239 that cost hundreds of millions of dollars with 00:36:37.239 --> 00:36:41.280 really terrible CGI. Worse than in Troll Hunter. 00:36:42.099 --> 00:36:44.820 Yeah, totally. Yeah. And I think, you know, ultimately 00:36:44.820 --> 00:36:47.460 it comes down to the storytelling, right? I feel 00:36:47.460 --> 00:36:52.199 like the Hollywood movies with bad CGI are also 00:36:52.199 --> 00:36:55.840 filled with like cliche, stereotype, maybe not 00:36:55.840 --> 00:36:58.840 stereotypes, but like cliche and like lazy storytelling, 00:36:59.199 --> 00:37:01.480 familiar story beats, that kind of thing. And 00:37:01.480 --> 00:37:04.199 I think if you have a fresh take, and I'm, you 00:37:04.199 --> 00:37:07.000 know, I have some criticisms of this movie too, 00:37:07.119 --> 00:37:09.239 but if you have a fresh take like Trollhunter, 00:37:09.300 --> 00:37:12.880 I think the, you know. The special effects kind 00:37:12.880 --> 00:37:14.800 of go along with that. It's part of the storytelling, 00:37:14.880 --> 00:37:18.659 and I think it just seems more effective, surprising, 00:37:18.840 --> 00:37:21.500 unexpected, if the storytelling in general is 00:37:21.500 --> 00:37:24.199 kind of a fresh take, you know? And I was also 00:37:24.199 --> 00:37:27.739 thinking, it was not lost on me that many of 00:37:27.739 --> 00:37:32.119 the trolls, when they're on screen, it's the 00:37:32.119 --> 00:37:34.500 lighting is low because they're at night, they're 00:37:34.500 --> 00:37:37.340 in a cave, we're looking at the trolls through 00:37:37.340 --> 00:37:41.320 a night vision camera. You know, which is smart 00:37:41.320 --> 00:37:45.179 because you're using the lighting to hide what 00:37:45.179 --> 00:37:48.900 is arguably not great CGI. So you can hide some 00:37:48.900 --> 00:37:52.619 of the, maybe some of the wires, so to speak, 00:37:52.780 --> 00:37:55.780 in the lighting. It's an old trick, but it works. 00:37:57.049 --> 00:37:59.469 Yeah, it's smart, but also maybe a little disappointing. 00:37:59.590 --> 00:38:01.590 Like in the scene with the troll beneath the 00:38:01.590 --> 00:38:03.730 bridge, you barely see that troll. You know, 00:38:03.750 --> 00:38:06.090 it's like off screen most of the time. And like 00:38:06.090 --> 00:38:07.789 you said, with the night vision and the cave, 00:38:07.989 --> 00:38:10.409 it's also very hard to see them. My favorite 00:38:10.409 --> 00:38:13.449 instance of CGI and special effects in general 00:38:13.449 --> 00:38:15.630 is the end of the movie where it's like this 00:38:15.630 --> 00:38:18.590 great snowy, wintry landscape. And I feel like 00:38:18.590 --> 00:38:20.289 you do finally get a pretty good look at the 00:38:20.289 --> 00:38:22.010 troll in that scene. There's this great, very 00:38:22.010 --> 00:38:24.389 exciting moment. I'm getting ahead of ourselves 00:38:24.389 --> 00:38:26.590 a little bit, but like, you know, the, there's 00:38:26.590 --> 00:38:28.730 this truck driving and it's like driving in between 00:38:28.730 --> 00:38:31.010 like the huge feet and the tail of this troll. 00:38:31.210 --> 00:38:33.650 And that's the best CGI and the best special 00:38:33.650 --> 00:38:35.789 effects in the movie. And not coincidentally, 00:38:35.789 --> 00:38:37.630 it's when you can see it the best when it's not 00:38:37.630 --> 00:38:39.510 like hidden in low light and night vision and 00:38:39.510 --> 00:38:43.309 all that. Yeah. Yeah. Pros and cons. You're not 00:38:43.309 --> 00:38:46.230 wrong. And in my, of course. Yeah. No, I felt 00:38:46.230 --> 00:38:48.949 like I wanted more of that Ringle Finch, the 00:38:48.949 --> 00:38:53.099 troll bridge. Yeah. The bridge troll. Sorry. 00:38:54.500 --> 00:38:56.440 Yeah. That scene reminded me of Jurassic Park 00:38:56.440 --> 00:38:59.440 too, where they like lure the, is it the T -Rex 00:38:59.440 --> 00:39:02.380 with the goat? Yeah. Classic. Can you just see 00:39:02.380 --> 00:39:07.300 the hand? Yes. In Trollhunter, right? Yeah. But 00:39:07.300 --> 00:39:09.179 there's that one shot in Jurassic Park of the 00:39:09.179 --> 00:39:15.079 T -Rex claw just kind of falling off the fence. 00:39:15.619 --> 00:39:19.380 Yeah, you're right. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. You know, 00:39:19.400 --> 00:39:21.480 I wouldn't be surprised if Uber Doll was inspired 00:39:21.480 --> 00:39:23.840 by Jurassic Park. Classic monster movie, obviously. 00:39:23.860 --> 00:39:27.599 Who isn't these days? Exactly, yeah. We're still 00:39:27.599 --> 00:39:35.039 in that movie's shadow. Yep. Well, we'll talk 00:39:35.039 --> 00:39:36.579 about all that and more. We are going to get 00:39:36.579 --> 00:39:39.679 to our sponsor break here and a big old bag of 00:39:39.679 --> 00:39:43.369 meanies mailbox. So Camp Kaiju is brought to 00:39:43.369 --> 00:39:45.469 you by Zach Linder and the Zach Pack, powered 00:39:45.469 --> 00:39:48.070 by Coldwell Banker Realty. Whether you're looking 00:39:48.070 --> 00:39:50.230 for your dream home, a savvy investment property, 00:39:50.550 --> 00:39:52.809 or expert guidance in home rehab and flipping, 00:39:53.130 --> 00:39:55.530 the Zach Pack has you covered. Check the link 00:39:55.530 --> 00:39:58.989 in the show notes for more information. Matt, 00:39:59.090 --> 00:40:03.050 we've got three bits of mail here. Okay, cool. 00:40:04.070 --> 00:40:06.489 So Aminia's Mailbox is brought to you by Patreon. 00:40:06.829 --> 00:40:09.449 If you become a patron, then your comments are 00:40:09.449 --> 00:40:14.409 tops. Sean Childers, frequent guest star on the 00:40:14.409 --> 00:40:17.090 show, left a comment on our Blackula episode. 00:40:17.510 --> 00:40:20.750 Sean wrote, really good app. Always glad to hear 00:40:20.750 --> 00:40:23.429 Sean Pryor on here. Haven't seen the movie before, 00:40:23.550 --> 00:40:27.079 but now I'm interested in doing so. Thank you, 00:40:27.099 --> 00:40:29.760 Sean. And thank you, Sean. It was amazing to 00:40:29.760 --> 00:40:33.880 have Sean Pryor on the show. His love for Blackula, 00:40:33.960 --> 00:40:38.159 with some slight qualms and reservations, was 00:40:38.159 --> 00:40:41.500 fully felt during that recording. Yeah, a lot 00:40:41.500 --> 00:40:43.380 of fun to talk about that movie. Definitely worth 00:40:43.380 --> 00:40:47.079 watching. I feel like everybody knows the title, 00:40:47.159 --> 00:40:49.079 but it's worth watching for more than that. It's 00:40:49.079 --> 00:40:52.000 more than just the clever punny title, which 00:40:52.000 --> 00:40:54.860 actually takes on some... Some criticism, some 00:40:54.860 --> 00:40:56.820 kind of inherent commentary in the movie, you 00:40:56.820 --> 00:40:59.679 know? Yeah. The title of Blackula. And speaking 00:40:59.679 --> 00:41:03.500 of Blackula, another Patreon member of ours, 00:41:03.579 --> 00:41:07.900 superfan Don, he wrote in on our Patreon and 00:41:07.900 --> 00:41:11.300 a great story. I'm just going to read it here. 00:41:11.480 --> 00:41:14.360 He says, great episode, guys. I'm like Vincent 00:41:14.360 --> 00:41:16.659 and Matt. I'd heard of Blackula, but didn't really 00:41:16.659 --> 00:41:19.460 think I would like it. I now say I was pleasantly 00:41:19.460 --> 00:41:22.639 surprised with it. Yes, it's 70s through and 00:41:22.639 --> 00:41:24.920 through, but some very solid performances. I 00:41:24.920 --> 00:41:26.900 recognized some of the actors and the story was 00:41:26.900 --> 00:41:30.380 compelling. One detail caught my eye. When Dr. 00:41:30.559 --> 00:41:33.320 Thomas went up a set of stairs to get to the 00:41:33.320 --> 00:41:35.960 morgue, no one in their right mind would put 00:41:35.960 --> 00:41:38.980 a morgue above the ground floor. You don't want 00:41:38.980 --> 00:41:45.500 to try to carry a body on a set of stairs. Wait, 00:41:45.639 --> 00:41:49.260 maybe I should clarify something. I'm a medical 00:41:49.260 --> 00:41:52.059 laboratory professional. At one of the hospitals 00:41:52.059 --> 00:41:54.340 I worked at, the lab was in charge of releasing 00:41:54.340 --> 00:41:56.880 bodies from the morgue to the funeral directors. 00:41:57.239 --> 00:42:00.119 I regularly had to check the papers and help 00:42:00.119 --> 00:42:03.380 them get the body into the hearse. So I know 00:42:03.380 --> 00:42:06.239 what it's like to move a body. Their idea of 00:42:06.239 --> 00:42:10.039 a lab was a bit disappointing. Some beakers, 00:42:10.139 --> 00:42:12.659 tubing, and a microscope. And don't forget some 00:42:12.659 --> 00:42:16.800 bottles labeled poison. Despite the slurs of 00:42:16.800 --> 00:42:23.840 dated language, it's an enjoyable film. Thank 00:42:23.840 --> 00:42:28.039 you, Don. What a story. Yeah, what an experience. 00:42:28.900 --> 00:42:32.380 Thank you for sharing that with us. Yeah, thank 00:42:32.380 --> 00:42:35.340 you. When watching Blackula, I was like, I don't 00:42:35.340 --> 00:42:38.119 think they would have the morgue above ground 00:42:38.119 --> 00:42:39.900 level. I also thought that was kind of weird, 00:42:39.940 --> 00:42:41.699 but I didn't base that on any kind of scientific 00:42:41.699 --> 00:42:44.400 knowledge. So it's good to know that Don backs 00:42:44.400 --> 00:42:49.670 me up on that. Yeah, I guess so. with the um 00:42:49.670 --> 00:42:51.750 you know the background to speak to that from 00:42:51.750 --> 00:42:54.969 experience i mean yeah i must have been paying 00:42:54.969 --> 00:42:57.769 more attention to that one guy's hook for a hand 00:42:57.769 --> 00:43:02.329 uh i i missed the flight upstairs aspect yeah 00:43:02.329 --> 00:43:06.409 yeah because the coroner is played by that's 00:43:06.409 --> 00:43:07.710 the guy you're talking about i think right with 00:43:07.710 --> 00:43:11.309 the hook for a hand yeah yeah played by Elisha 00:43:11.309 --> 00:43:13.630 Cook, a very famous figure from horror movie 00:43:13.630 --> 00:43:16.849 history. He's also in Messiah of Evil. He's in 00:43:16.849 --> 00:43:18.989 Touch of Evil, the Orson Welles movie, I believe. 00:43:19.449 --> 00:43:22.210 Don't quote me on that. 80 % sure. But yeah, 00:43:22.230 --> 00:43:23.769 it was great. It was very cool to see him in 00:43:23.769 --> 00:43:27.269 Blackula. Yeah. How do you feel about another 00:43:27.269 --> 00:43:32.429 70s iconic film called Trilogy of Terror? Well, 00:43:32.610 --> 00:43:37.389 Patreon member Peggy, who is my mom, and just 00:43:37.389 --> 00:43:41.340 giving some love to my mom, She shouts out the 00:43:41.340 --> 00:43:44.539 classic 70s TV movie, Trilogy of Terror, which 00:43:44.539 --> 00:43:47.679 stars Karen Black. She says, one of the best 00:43:47.679 --> 00:43:50.860 TV movies of the week. The 70s had a lot of creepy 00:43:50.860 --> 00:43:55.300 stuff on TV. To which I say, yeah, TV movies 00:43:55.300 --> 00:43:59.199 and horror TV specials were a thing. I was not 00:43:59.199 --> 00:44:02.420 alive then, but I know the reputation, and I 00:44:02.420 --> 00:44:05.079 have seen Trilogy of Terror, and it's a lot of 00:44:05.079 --> 00:44:08.090 fun. Yeah, I agree. I haven't seen it since I 00:44:08.090 --> 00:44:10.289 was a kid, though. And I also watched it on TV, 00:44:10.409 --> 00:44:14.010 not in the 70s, but I watched it as a kid on 00:44:14.010 --> 00:44:17.610 TV, and it is scary. And yeah, Trilogy of Terror 00:44:17.610 --> 00:44:19.369 is great. I would love to rewatch that. It's 00:44:19.369 --> 00:44:22.269 been a long time. John Carpenter has a TV movie 00:44:22.269 --> 00:44:24.789 from the 70s also. Now, of course, I can't remember 00:44:24.789 --> 00:44:27.489 what it's called, but it's, I think, right before 00:44:27.489 --> 00:44:29.730 he made Halloween, if I remember correctly, from 00:44:29.730 --> 00:44:32.880 like 77. Sorry, you can keep going. I just am 00:44:32.880 --> 00:44:34.820 bothered that I can't remember the name of this 00:44:34.820 --> 00:44:40.519 movie. Well, our last one for tonight is from 00:44:40.519 --> 00:44:50.079 YouTube. A new listener, Tabaristabs2929. Anyways, 00:44:50.400 --> 00:44:54.500 Tabaristabs, thank you. They say simply, King 00:44:54.500 --> 00:44:58.380 Kong lives is cinema. And that's in response 00:44:58.380 --> 00:45:01.480 to our recent episode with author Tom Shubilla 00:45:01.480 --> 00:45:04.079 when he was on to talk about King Kong versus 00:45:04.079 --> 00:45:07.119 Godzilla. So we do have some fans out there of 00:45:07.119 --> 00:45:10.619 King Kong Lives. I gave it a higher rating than 00:45:10.619 --> 00:45:15.579 you did, I'm pretty sure. Yeah, I will stick 00:45:15.579 --> 00:45:19.800 up for that movie a little bit. It's not the 00:45:19.800 --> 00:45:23.219 worst movie we've talked about. No. It has some 00:45:23.219 --> 00:45:26.139 fun elements, for sure. It ain't the best, but 00:45:26.139 --> 00:45:30.070 it's not the worst. Yeah, yeah. I mean, for me, 00:45:30.090 --> 00:45:32.710 Killdozer is still the worst, but you know, maybe 00:45:32.710 --> 00:45:34.710 something else will take that claim to fame someday. 00:45:34.869 --> 00:45:37.670 You did really hate something recently we listened 00:45:37.670 --> 00:45:42.650 to that wasn't just Killdozer. Now I can't remember. 00:45:43.469 --> 00:45:46.570 Huh. Oh, I don't think you hated Jaws 2, but 00:45:46.570 --> 00:45:49.349 you weren't a fan of Jaws 2. That's true. Yeah, 00:45:49.409 --> 00:45:53.250 I prefer Jaws 4 to Jaws 2, honestly. Oh. Yeah. 00:45:53.329 --> 00:45:56.429 Well, Jaws 4 is more fun, you could say. Exactly. 00:45:56.780 --> 00:46:00.139 But no, I mean, King Kong lives like it's campy, 00:46:00.159 --> 00:46:03.860 has a lot of fun elements. Worth watching. It 00:46:03.860 --> 00:46:05.900 is cinematic. It is a movie. I'll give it that. 00:46:09.119 --> 00:46:11.539 I did also want to mention that the John Carpenter 00:46:11.539 --> 00:46:13.960 TV movie I was thinking of is called Someone's 00:46:13.960 --> 00:46:17.300 Watching Me from 1978, starring Lauren Hutton. 00:46:17.400 --> 00:46:20.860 Very, very good. Okay. I hadn't heard of it. 00:46:20.960 --> 00:46:22.920 Nice. Kind of a mistake on Rear Window. Highly 00:46:22.920 --> 00:46:26.360 recommended. Okay. Nice. That man is so prolific. 00:46:27.239 --> 00:46:29.960 Indeed. Well, you know who else is prolific? 00:46:30.780 --> 00:46:35.199 Mr. Peter Lorre. He's not here right now. He 00:46:35.199 --> 00:46:37.500 said he was going to make an appearance, but, 00:46:37.519 --> 00:46:41.880 you know, he's earned the right to be a little 00:46:41.880 --> 00:46:44.119 flaky, and I don't blame him. He's been through 00:46:44.119 --> 00:46:49.699 enough with us two yanking him about. That is 00:46:49.699 --> 00:46:54.039 true. Yeah, I mean, I'm surprised he still shows 00:46:54.039 --> 00:46:56.440 up for his Poverty Row Picture Show segments. 00:46:56.780 --> 00:46:59.579 Hey, he's ever the professional. He shows up, 00:46:59.579 --> 00:47:01.380 he does his job. He doesn't have to love it, 00:47:01.420 --> 00:47:06.179 but he does his job. Much like a lot of the movies 00:47:06.179 --> 00:47:08.039 he probably appeared in. I feel like he probably 00:47:08.039 --> 00:47:12.199 didn't have 100 % passion for all of the seemingly 00:47:12.199 --> 00:47:14.460 hundreds of movies that he was in, but he still 00:47:14.460 --> 00:47:17.780 shows up like a true professional. And that's 00:47:17.780 --> 00:47:21.079 why we're still talking about him. Yep. He was 00:47:21.079 --> 00:47:24.079 not in this poverty row picture called Strangler 00:47:24.079 --> 00:47:26.639 of the Swamp, but he's going to talk about it. 00:47:26.820 --> 00:47:30.800 And our letterbox tagline is he was hanged for 00:47:30.800 --> 00:47:35.199 a crime he didn't commit. And now he's the presumably 00:47:35.199 --> 00:47:38.619 the tagline leads into the title Strangler of 00:47:38.619 --> 00:47:41.280 the Swamp. Like if you saw it on a poster. Yeah, 00:47:41.320 --> 00:47:45.219 I love it. Now he's the what? He's the what? 00:47:45.780 --> 00:47:50.510 The. The letterbox synopsis reads, a number of 00:47:50.510 --> 00:47:54.170 swamp land men have died by strangulation, and 00:47:54.170 --> 00:47:56.349 the inhabitants believe that an innocent man 00:47:56.349 --> 00:47:58.809 they hanged is seeking revenge on all of the 00:47:58.809 --> 00:48:01.170 male descendants of those responsible for his 00:48:01.170 --> 00:48:04.550 death. Maria, granddaughter of the innocent ferryman, 00:48:04.670 --> 00:48:08.429 decides to operate the ferry service. Chris Sanders, 00:48:08.750 --> 00:48:10.710 a son of one of the men who did the hanging, 00:48:10.809 --> 00:48:14.579 and Maria fall in love. The Strangler seizes 00:48:14.579 --> 00:48:18.579 Chris, and Maria offers her life if Chris is 00:48:18.579 --> 00:48:22.820 spared. Oh, man. It's an interesting synopsis. 00:48:22.820 --> 00:48:26.280 I don't know who any of those people are. Right. 00:48:26.440 --> 00:48:29.699 You know? It's a very thorough synopsis, and 00:48:29.699 --> 00:48:32.059 I can only imagine this movie is like 65 minutes 00:48:32.059 --> 00:48:34.099 long, you know? That must be like the entire 00:48:34.099 --> 00:48:38.599 thing. Yeah, if that. Right. Well, at least they 00:48:38.599 --> 00:48:40.340 don't give away the ending. Peter will have to 00:48:40.340 --> 00:48:42.619 hopefully not give it away, but tell us more 00:48:42.619 --> 00:48:56.079 about it. Welcome to the Poverty Row Studios 00:48:56.079 --> 00:48:59.139 on the other side of Hollywood. Yes, where the 00:48:59.139 --> 00:49:01.840 stars were dimmer, but the red carpets dripped 00:49:01.840 --> 00:49:05.159 with blood. Together we will watch the best of 00:49:05.159 --> 00:49:08.079 the worst. Movies known for their limited budgets, 00:49:08.480 --> 00:49:11.900 outlandish concepts, and questionable performances, 00:49:12.300 --> 00:49:15.300 but with enough haunted houses, zombies, apemen, 00:49:15.460 --> 00:49:18.320 and devil bats to keep you up at night, this 00:49:18.320 --> 00:49:21.639 is the Poverty World Pictures Show, and I dare 00:49:21.639 --> 00:49:29.340 you to sleep through these nightmares. I am your 00:49:29.340 --> 00:49:32.440 host, Peter Lorre. You may know me from such 00:49:32.440 --> 00:49:36.360 venerable pictures as... Island of doomed men. 00:49:36.639 --> 00:49:41.320 And think fast, Mr. Moto. Well, perhaps venerable 00:49:41.320 --> 00:49:44.480 isn't quite the word. But ah, you know what? 00:49:44.639 --> 00:49:47.420 I never made a movie as stinky as Strangler in 00:49:47.420 --> 00:49:52.440 the Swamp. Oh, why did I offend your sensibilities? 00:49:52.820 --> 00:49:57.599 Your, your, your ironclad positivity? Hey, I 00:49:57.599 --> 00:49:59.880 dare you to sleep through these nightmares. And 00:49:59.880 --> 00:50:03.300 this picture from PRC certainly challenges the 00:50:03.300 --> 00:50:06.340 eyelids. The Strangler in the Swamp is about 00:50:06.340 --> 00:50:09.960 a group of men who frame one another for their 00:50:09.960 --> 00:50:14.159 backwoods Cajun community for murder. The unlucky 00:50:14.159 --> 00:50:17.340 bastard was hanged for the crime and now he returns 00:50:17.340 --> 00:50:21.940 as a vengeful swampy specter. He haunts and hunts 00:50:21.940 --> 00:50:25.860 those who did him dirty. Now The Strangler in 00:50:25.860 --> 00:50:28.760 the Swamp was released on New Year's Day in 1946. 00:50:30.059 --> 00:50:33.159 Ring a ding, baby. The war was over and apparently 00:50:33.159 --> 00:50:36.460 our appetite for murky swamps of murder. This 00:50:36.460 --> 00:50:39.760 movie did not do well is what I am saying. Nonetheless, 00:50:40.179 --> 00:50:43.239 Strangler in the Swamp does possess a cult status 00:50:43.239 --> 00:50:45.659 among the couple of folks who really dig into 00:50:45.659 --> 00:50:49.079 this stuff. Now, to be fair, the film does boast 00:50:49.079 --> 00:50:52.539 an impressively swampy set. I mean, there is 00:50:52.539 --> 00:50:56.760 enough fog here used to put the wolfman to shame. 00:50:57.320 --> 00:51:00.440 Now, I know, I know that... I was reaching for 00:51:00.440 --> 00:51:04.920 a joke, but I missed. Get it? I really missed 00:51:04.920 --> 00:51:10.760 my chance for a fog joke. Some interesting bits 00:51:10.760 --> 00:51:13.900 of trivia while I'm on a roll. About the Strangler 00:51:13.900 --> 00:51:17.619 in the Swamp, it stars Rosemary LaPlanche, who 00:51:17.619 --> 00:51:21.860 was Miss America in 1941. Did you know her special 00:51:21.860 --> 00:51:26.139 talent was pretending she could act? Oh no, did 00:51:26.139 --> 00:51:30.480 I? Did I offend the Rosemary LaPlanche fan club? 00:51:33.400 --> 00:51:37.340 Oh, Lenore, I did not mean to be so salty. I 00:51:37.340 --> 00:51:40.679 sincerely apologize to the spirit of Rosemary 00:51:40.679 --> 00:51:44.360 LaPlanche. I, more than anyone, understand the 00:51:44.360 --> 00:51:48.380 feeling of rolling over in one's grave. Wait. 00:51:48.599 --> 00:51:53.500 Wait a minute. Why are you cawing? Lenore! Lenore, 00:51:53.539 --> 00:51:57.880 is that you? But, but, but, how could this be? 00:51:57.980 --> 00:52:01.320 How could you be turning back into a raven? I 00:52:01.320 --> 00:52:04.280 worked so hard last season to turn you into the 00:52:04.280 --> 00:52:10.039 woman you are. Yes, yes, I will. I will think 00:52:10.039 --> 00:52:14.320 about how to reverse this tragedy. Perhaps, perhaps 00:52:14.320 --> 00:52:17.420 the answer lies in our next film. Listeners, 00:52:17.420 --> 00:52:19.480 next time on the Poverty World Picture Show, 00:52:19.519 --> 00:52:22.679 we will be watching a film called The Face of 00:52:22.679 --> 00:52:27.380 Marble. From 1946 now. Now, Lenore. Sit still, 00:52:27.460 --> 00:52:43.699 Lenore. Do I make you nervous, Doctor? Karen 00:52:43.699 --> 00:52:46.760 Black, a major star, creates a television first. 00:52:47.099 --> 00:52:50.000 There's a golden chain wrapped around it to keep 00:52:50.000 --> 00:52:51.840 the spirit from making the doll come to life. 00:53:11.019 --> 00:53:14.940 It's a piece of skin, like leather. From all 00:53:14.940 --> 00:53:17.139 corners of the earth, they gather to study the 00:53:17.139 --> 00:53:20.590 mystifying frozen fossil. A reptilian tail that 00:53:20.590 --> 00:53:27.050 crows into a giant of terror. It's alive! It's 00:53:27.050 --> 00:53:30.750 loose! You have been invited here to see for 00:53:30.750 --> 00:53:34.610 yourselves one of the most amazing events in 00:53:34.610 --> 00:53:48.840 the annals of scientific history. Reptilicus, 00:53:49.099 --> 00:53:52.219 a monstrous, massive beast whose astounding appearance 00:53:52.219 --> 00:53:57.880 causes panic. Reptilicus, I'm watching the city. 00:53:58.079 --> 00:54:02.260 Repeat, Reptilicus, I'm watching the city. This 00:54:02.260 --> 00:54:19.849 is Grayson. All units. an annihilating mastodon 00:54:19.849 --> 00:54:23.269 immune to all known weapons of warfare, creating 00:54:23.269 --> 00:54:26.150 chaos such as mankind has never before known. 00:54:58.390 --> 00:55:01.889 So thematically speaking, I think there actually 00:55:01.889 --> 00:55:06.090 is a lot to read into this film. That's not just 00:55:06.090 --> 00:55:09.469 us searching for things to talk about. I'll pull 00:55:09.469 --> 00:55:14.269 one more quote from the director from this Gizmodo 00:55:14.269 --> 00:55:18.530 article. And this speaks to the director's thematic 00:55:18.530 --> 00:55:21.230 goals. So he did have a very specific goal in 00:55:21.230 --> 00:55:25.449 mind about wildlife conservation. And he goes 00:55:25.449 --> 00:55:28.500 on to say, The only topic I baked into this film 00:55:28.500 --> 00:55:31.360 is related to how we treat our wildlife, how 00:55:31.360 --> 00:55:34.079 we treat our treasures in a way. That is there 00:55:34.079 --> 00:55:36.320 in the film for me, buried under the action. 00:55:36.539 --> 00:55:38.800 They are advanced animals. They have a human 00:55:38.800 --> 00:55:41.440 side to them. They are defenseless. All they 00:55:41.440 --> 00:55:43.579 care about is getting food, getting shelter, 00:55:43.780 --> 00:55:46.139 the things that animals and we care about as 00:55:46.139 --> 00:55:48.639 basic needs. They're not there to kill. They're 00:55:48.639 --> 00:55:51.869 defending themselves mostly. I like that. Yeah, 00:55:51.969 --> 00:55:53.829 I do think that comes through in the movie for 00:55:53.829 --> 00:55:55.610 sure. There's a supporting character who's a 00:55:55.610 --> 00:55:59.510 veterinarian and Hans works with her to, you 00:55:59.510 --> 00:56:02.769 know, study why the trolls seem to be ill, seem 00:56:02.769 --> 00:56:06.130 to be behaving erratically. I like that element. 00:56:06.170 --> 00:56:09.349 I think Hans talks about the government. You 00:56:09.349 --> 00:56:10.949 know, he doesn't like his job anymore. That's 00:56:10.949 --> 00:56:12.710 why he's working with these students. He feels 00:56:12.710 --> 00:56:15.050 like he's exploited by the government. It's thankless 00:56:15.050 --> 00:56:18.250 work, like killing these creatures that... haven't 00:56:18.250 --> 00:56:20.409 really mistreated anybody, so I like that element 00:56:20.409 --> 00:56:22.710 of it. I feel like the movie could have gone 00:56:22.710 --> 00:56:24.710 a little bit more in that direction because the 00:56:24.710 --> 00:56:28.429 climax, I do think we're supposed to be happy 00:56:28.429 --> 00:56:31.590 that he shoots a missile at this enormous... 00:56:32.199 --> 00:56:34.880 200 -foot -tall troll, and then it, like, crumbles 00:56:34.880 --> 00:56:37.460 into stone, and it's kind of a victorious moment. 00:56:37.619 --> 00:56:39.320 So, like, maybe there's a little bit of, like, 00:56:39.420 --> 00:56:41.579 it seems a little contradictory there, you know? 00:56:41.940 --> 00:56:44.840 But the subtext is there. Or maybe not subtext, 00:56:44.940 --> 00:56:46.880 because it's pretty prominent, but that theme 00:56:46.880 --> 00:56:49.360 is there for sure. Taking the words right out 00:56:49.360 --> 00:56:53.139 of my mouth. I feel like this quote is very interesting 00:56:53.139 --> 00:56:57.440 to me, because that is the director saying, this 00:56:57.440 --> 00:57:04.090 is my intent. And... Watching the movie, I didn't 00:57:04.090 --> 00:57:07.650 get that. I got celebration when trolls were 00:57:07.650 --> 00:57:11.989 destroyed and blown up. Like they were fist pumping 00:57:11.989 --> 00:57:14.949 awesome moments. And they were. I love those 00:57:14.949 --> 00:57:21.250 moments. Yeah. So then when the character Hans, 00:57:21.349 --> 00:57:25.449 he has a bit of a monologue about how as a government 00:57:25.449 --> 00:57:29.349 official, he was ordered to massacre troll kids 00:57:29.349 --> 00:57:33.639 and troll women. And that speech felt a little 00:57:33.639 --> 00:57:37.320 disheartening. There was dissonance there. It 00:57:37.320 --> 00:57:41.539 didn't match the overall tone of the film. Yeah, 00:57:41.559 --> 00:57:43.460 I agree. And I think one of the main problems 00:57:43.460 --> 00:57:46.159 in the movie is that narratively it is a little 00:57:46.159 --> 00:57:49.059 bit sloppy. And you could, I guess, pin that 00:57:49.059 --> 00:57:51.780 on the mockumentary found footage approach. But 00:57:51.780 --> 00:57:54.380 that's probably not a sufficient explanation, 00:57:54.599 --> 00:57:58.260 I don't think. You know, rabies also comes into 00:57:58.260 --> 00:58:01.400 the film towards the end because Tomas. seems 00:58:01.400 --> 00:58:03.599 to be infected by rabies. But then the movie 00:58:03.599 --> 00:58:05.159 doesn't really do anything with that. I kind 00:58:05.159 --> 00:58:08.099 of just assumed that like somehow Hans was going 00:58:08.099 --> 00:58:12.380 to like, you know, inject a cure into this enormous 00:58:12.380 --> 00:58:14.900 troll and like cure it of rabies and it would 00:58:14.900 --> 00:58:17.260 kind of like frolic back to the mountains or 00:58:17.260 --> 00:58:19.079 whatever, which maybe would be a little bit naive, 00:58:19.119 --> 00:58:21.719 like too much of a happy ending. But like, you 00:58:21.719 --> 00:58:23.480 know, the movie just does nothing with the whole 00:58:23.480 --> 00:58:26.039 rabies element and the fact that like all these 00:58:26.039 --> 00:58:30.030 trolls seem to be. impacted by this disease and 00:58:30.030 --> 00:58:31.630 then he just kills it at the end it's like oh 00:58:31.630 --> 00:58:33.849 okay i guess that's taken care of right yeah 00:58:33.849 --> 00:58:38.469 so narratively i would say hans does not have 00:58:38.469 --> 00:58:42.409 a catharsis hans is the same character he was 00:58:42.409 --> 00:58:46.969 at the beginning now that works because the character 00:58:46.969 --> 00:58:52.590 is so endearing but i think to your point to 00:58:52.590 --> 00:58:56.980 make it a stronger to drive home the themes a 00:58:56.980 --> 00:58:58.980 little bit more strongly through the character 00:58:58.980 --> 00:59:01.000 of Hans, you would have liked to have seen a 00:59:01.000 --> 00:59:06.280 character arc, a different man than he was at 00:59:06.280 --> 00:59:09.320 the beginning by maybe saving the troll instead 00:59:09.320 --> 00:59:13.500 of destroying it. Exactly. Because if he does 00:59:13.500 --> 00:59:16.260 hate his job so much and he's so tormented by 00:59:16.260 --> 00:59:18.400 it, I feel like there should be some catharsis 00:59:18.400 --> 00:59:19.679 at the end of the movie, like you were saying, 00:59:19.800 --> 00:59:22.440 but we don't really get that, you know? And I 00:59:22.440 --> 00:59:24.099 think there are other ways that things are a 00:59:24.099 --> 00:59:26.340 little bit sloppy as well. There's a seismologist 00:59:26.340 --> 00:59:28.940 who's introduced in the last five or maybe ten 00:59:28.940 --> 00:59:31.460 minutes of the movie, and he's totally irrelevant. 00:59:31.699 --> 00:59:33.420 He does not need to be there. He does nothing 00:59:33.420 --> 00:59:37.460 at all to advance the plot. He barely even has 00:59:37.460 --> 00:59:40.420 any dialogue. And there's also a cameraman character 00:59:40.420 --> 00:59:43.030 who was killed by one of the trolls. So then 00:59:43.030 --> 00:59:45.829 we get a second camera person, a woman who is 00:59:45.829 --> 00:59:47.750 a Muslim. And I thought that was kind of an interesting 00:59:47.750 --> 00:59:50.449 new theme that was added because then it's like, 00:59:50.550 --> 00:59:53.130 oh, did the trolls, is it only like Christian 00:59:53.130 --> 00:59:56.030 blood that they smell? Or is it like faith in 00:59:56.030 --> 00:59:58.869 God, faith in religion? That's kind of what triggers 00:59:58.869 --> 01:00:00.949 them a little bit. And then the movie doesn't 01:00:00.949 --> 01:00:03.329 do anything with that either. So it's like, you 01:00:03.329 --> 01:00:04.809 know, I feel like you're kind of making up the 01:00:04.809 --> 01:00:06.849 story as you go along and you're using the found 01:00:06.849 --> 01:00:08.789 footage premise as like a way to excuse that, 01:00:08.869 --> 01:00:11.670 you know? Okay, there's a lot here. The ending. 01:00:12.440 --> 01:00:15.539 The ending in general, there were some there 01:00:15.539 --> 01:00:18.920 were some rushed components. I agree in the storytelling, 01:00:19.219 --> 01:00:21.840 like like the end of Monty Python and the Holy 01:00:21.840 --> 01:00:25.920 Grail, where even that ending kind of has like 01:00:25.920 --> 01:00:28.559 a found footage feel like the camera and then 01:00:28.559 --> 01:00:31.260 the police show up and kind of felt like that. 01:00:31.320 --> 01:00:33.579 Like, oh, now the government's here and we're 01:00:33.579 --> 01:00:37.260 all just going to run, run away, run away. Yeah. 01:00:39.019 --> 01:00:41.199 I love the Holy Grail comparison. That's great. 01:00:41.579 --> 01:00:44.920 It just came to me. But putting a pin in that, 01:00:45.000 --> 01:00:48.800 I just want to circle back to Hans. There is 01:00:48.800 --> 01:00:52.539 a reading, I think, this is just me thinking 01:00:52.539 --> 01:00:56.340 out loud. So the character does destroy the Jotnar, 01:00:56.519 --> 01:00:59.940 but then he does just walk off into the wilderness 01:00:59.940 --> 01:01:03.539 with just a backpack. It doesn't look like he 01:01:03.539 --> 01:01:06.940 is equipped or prepared for the weather conditions. 01:01:07.679 --> 01:01:09.880 and the terrain that he's venturing off into. 01:01:10.179 --> 01:01:15.159 So I did actually read a downbeat, nihilistic 01:01:15.159 --> 01:01:19.539 reading into that. Does he plan to return? Maybe 01:01:19.539 --> 01:01:23.179 not. And maybe he's just come to that kind of 01:01:23.179 --> 01:01:28.420 terms with his fate. Interesting. I like that 01:01:28.420 --> 01:01:30.760 reading. I think maybe there's also the possibility 01:01:30.760 --> 01:01:34.199 that... I feel like the movie implies that he 01:01:34.199 --> 01:01:37.119 and Hilda, the veterinarian, have a certain chemistry. 01:01:37.679 --> 01:01:40.579 They hug. It's like a prolonged hug. And every 01:01:40.579 --> 01:01:42.719 time they talk on the phone, it seems pretty 01:01:42.719 --> 01:01:46.760 sincere. So I think maybe the more positive interpretation 01:01:46.760 --> 01:01:49.960 is that maybe Hans is going to be with her. But 01:01:49.960 --> 01:01:52.739 yeah, if he's walking through the tundra without 01:01:52.739 --> 01:01:56.619 a coat, that seems unlikely. But it really does 01:01:56.619 --> 01:01:59.000 leave it wide open, the fate of his character. 01:01:59.800 --> 01:02:02.659 Right, right. If I'm being generous, that was 01:02:02.659 --> 01:02:07.400 the choice. And yet, if the director literally 01:02:07.400 --> 01:02:12.159 says, my theme is wildlife conservation, I would 01:02:12.159 --> 01:02:14.179 have liked to have seen some conserving of the 01:02:14.179 --> 01:02:20.360 wildlife. Yes. Right. That would have driven 01:02:20.360 --> 01:02:23.079 home the point, for sure. Just at the end. Blow 01:02:23.079 --> 01:02:26.039 them all up the rest of the runtime. But at the 01:02:26.039 --> 01:02:31.429 end, save one troll. Yeah. Yeah, like if anything, 01:02:31.570 --> 01:02:33.590 I feel like the kind of critique of the government 01:02:33.590 --> 01:02:37.289 being, you know, what's the word? Operating behind 01:02:37.289 --> 01:02:40.170 the scenes like covertly and like lying to its 01:02:40.170 --> 01:02:43.610 citizenry and like, you know, because they claim 01:02:43.610 --> 01:02:45.869 that the troll attacks are actually bear attacks. 01:02:46.369 --> 01:02:48.829 And this government bureaucrat is kind of like 01:02:48.829 --> 01:02:51.010 lying to the public and sort of keeping this 01:02:51.010 --> 01:02:54.269 conspiracy or not, not conspiracy. He's keeping 01:02:54.269 --> 01:02:59.159 this. charade alive do you say charade or charade 01:02:59.159 --> 01:03:03.079 in that instance i in that context i think you 01:03:03.079 --> 01:03:06.780 could say charade okay felt a little pretentious 01:03:06.780 --> 01:03:08.619 but also more fitting for the moment you know 01:03:08.619 --> 01:03:11.280 you know you could be pretentious on this show 01:03:11.280 --> 01:03:15.260 the question suddenly occurred to me and i yeah 01:03:16.059 --> 01:03:18.860 Anyway, I'm going off on a tangent now. So like 01:03:18.860 --> 01:03:20.960 the, you know, the anti -government critique, 01:03:20.960 --> 01:03:22.860 I feel like that's a little bit more prominent 01:03:22.860 --> 01:03:24.780 in the movie because that's actually how Trollhunter 01:03:24.780 --> 01:03:27.460 ends. There's like fake news footage with the 01:03:27.460 --> 01:03:30.039 prime minister that's like doctored to make it 01:03:30.039 --> 01:03:32.159 seem like he admits to trolls being in Norway. 01:03:32.500 --> 01:03:35.400 So that element is there more than the wildlife 01:03:35.400 --> 01:03:38.980 conservation, I would say. Yeah, anti -government, 01:03:38.980 --> 01:03:43.369 government conspiracy. So this is... I put a 01:03:43.369 --> 01:03:45.510 pin in this just a few minutes ago. I'm going 01:03:45.510 --> 01:03:48.849 to pull that pin back out with the ending. I 01:03:48.849 --> 01:03:50.469 mean, yeah, we're going to talk about spoilers. 01:03:50.670 --> 01:03:56.389 But in the epilogue of the film over text on 01:03:56.389 --> 01:03:59.010 the screen, it's revealed that these student 01:03:59.010 --> 01:04:01.349 filmmakers we've been following are never heard 01:04:01.349 --> 01:04:04.190 from again. They're never seen. They just disappear. 01:04:05.449 --> 01:04:09.150 And I, again, that dissonance because I'm being 01:04:09.150 --> 01:04:15.940 confronted by. a read that these kids were eliminated 01:04:15.940 --> 01:04:19.599 by the government or something. Something terrible 01:04:19.599 --> 01:04:23.679 happened to them, which did not fit the tone 01:04:23.679 --> 01:04:27.500 of the rest of the film. More specifically, those 01:04:27.500 --> 01:04:30.300 kinds of stakes, those kinds of life and death 01:04:30.300 --> 01:04:33.440 stakes, to me, were not present throughout the 01:04:33.440 --> 01:04:36.559 film. You had Finn, the government bureaucrat, 01:04:36.639 --> 01:04:39.139 just showing up and saying, hey, I'll take your 01:04:39.139 --> 01:04:42.900 camera. He never once said, hey, we could kill 01:04:42.900 --> 01:04:48.079 you. Right. And then he did. And so that epilogue 01:04:48.079 --> 01:04:52.110 really threw me for a loop. Same. Yeah, it's 01:04:52.110 --> 01:04:53.550 it doesn't really make a lot of sense because 01:04:53.550 --> 01:04:56.070 Finn says those things. He's like, if you think 01:04:56.070 --> 01:04:57.590 I'm going to let you walk out of here with those 01:04:57.590 --> 01:04:59.590 tapes, you're dead. You're wrong. He doesn't 01:04:59.590 --> 01:05:00.949 say you're dead wrong. He says you're wrong. 01:05:01.110 --> 01:05:02.989 But then he just leaves and he like lets them 01:05:02.989 --> 01:05:04.630 walk away with the tapes. So it's like, well, 01:05:04.690 --> 01:05:06.989 you're not only are you like a shady government 01:05:06.989 --> 01:05:09.150 bureaucrat, you're also very bad at that, man. 01:05:09.429 --> 01:05:12.210 But then, yeah, like everybody, like all the 01:05:12.210 --> 01:05:14.769 teenagers die at the end. Those titles say that 01:05:14.769 --> 01:05:17.110 like the corpse of the cameraman is never found 01:05:17.110 --> 01:05:19.329 in that cave where he was killed. So apparently. 01:05:20.119 --> 01:05:21.920 The government went in there to like recover 01:05:21.920 --> 01:05:25.139 his corpse and keep that under wraps. But yeah, 01:05:25.219 --> 01:05:30.039 I mean, to your point that like, you know, having 01:05:30.039 --> 01:05:33.280 that, but also like these fun, silly moments 01:05:33.280 --> 01:05:35.820 where like trolls blow up and we get like slime 01:05:35.820 --> 01:05:38.320 and blood and like troll piss all over you. It 01:05:38.320 --> 01:05:40.360 just doesn't really like coalesce very well, 01:05:40.400 --> 01:05:43.980 you know? Yeah. So I think there was an opportunity 01:05:43.980 --> 01:05:47.679 to heighten the stakes throughout the film just 01:05:47.679 --> 01:05:50.349 a little bit. Yeah, to make that ending ring 01:05:50.349 --> 01:05:55.269 true. Oh, but then I was thinking about it. The 01:05:55.269 --> 01:05:57.329 epilogue doesn't say I don't think it says that 01:05:57.329 --> 01:06:01.429 the that the young filmmakers died or were killed. 01:06:01.550 --> 01:06:04.429 I think that's like the first reading, the obvious 01:06:04.429 --> 01:06:09.250 reading. But then I thought, well, Hans, the 01:06:09.250 --> 01:06:12.289 troll hunter, he says he's the only one and he 01:06:12.289 --> 01:06:14.469 has to be replaced at some point, you would think. 01:06:15.309 --> 01:06:19.039 So. If I was the government agent, I would say 01:06:19.039 --> 01:06:21.920 to these young filmmakers who now know the secret, 01:06:22.059 --> 01:06:25.599 I'd say, look, we could kill you or you could 01:06:25.599 --> 01:06:29.199 become the new troll hunters. So I think that's 01:06:29.199 --> 01:06:33.440 a plausible, more hopeful ending. It's all conjecture, 01:06:33.500 --> 01:06:36.159 but that's how I choose to read it. It's more 01:06:36.159 --> 01:06:40.769 interesting to me. I like that reading. I honestly 01:06:40.769 --> 01:06:42.610 feel like you're putting more thought into it 01:06:42.610 --> 01:06:45.050 than the filmmakers did. Because we don't even 01:06:45.050 --> 01:06:47.690 know what happened with Tomas' rabies. Was he 01:06:47.690 --> 01:06:49.610 cured of rabies? Presumably at some point he 01:06:49.610 --> 01:06:53.510 was. And earlier in the movie it talks about 01:06:53.510 --> 01:06:55.690 how Hans was a member of the military. He was 01:06:55.690 --> 01:06:57.949 a member of the Navy, so he's a veteran. And 01:06:57.949 --> 01:07:00.110 presumably that's kind of what led to him taking 01:07:00.110 --> 01:07:03.230 on this role with the government. But if he doesn't 01:07:03.230 --> 01:07:05.349 do it anymore, then what does the government 01:07:05.349 --> 01:07:08.150 do? I mean, I do like your reading, but like, 01:07:08.440 --> 01:07:10.460 It seems more likely that they would like turn 01:07:10.460 --> 01:07:12.619 to like a soldier or like some other government 01:07:12.619 --> 01:07:16.280 bureaucrat to like, you know, not risk that being 01:07:16.280 --> 01:07:20.699 exposed to the public. So who knows? But I don't 01:07:20.699 --> 01:07:23.780 think the movie really has thought that through. 01:07:23.880 --> 01:07:26.119 Like, I don't think it really has any indication 01:07:26.119 --> 01:07:28.599 of what happens after the end, you know? No. 01:07:28.599 --> 01:07:31.840 Yeah, right, right. And that's why, I mean, the 01:07:31.840 --> 01:07:38.340 movie, you could call it a comedy, right? And 01:07:38.340 --> 01:07:41.059 I'm watching it not as a Norwegian, so I don't 01:07:41.059 --> 01:07:44.780 know these comedians at all. So to me, they are 01:07:44.780 --> 01:07:48.980 very dramatic actors. But the wry sense of humor 01:07:48.980 --> 01:07:52.420 did come through. I still knew, oh, this has 01:07:52.420 --> 01:07:55.320 a sense of humor, even when they're being serious. 01:07:56.539 --> 01:08:01.460 So if it is a comedy, I don't know, not to knock 01:08:01.460 --> 01:08:04.000 comedy, but yeah, maybe we're not going to think 01:08:04.000 --> 01:08:08.039 about those kinds of... particulars in terms 01:08:08.039 --> 01:08:12.639 of stakes and tragedy and whatnot. Right. And, 01:08:12.719 --> 01:08:15.320 you know, I admire it when comedic movies do 01:08:15.320 --> 01:08:18.579 have like darker themes and like maybe have like 01:08:18.579 --> 01:08:21.619 things going on thematically that like are not 01:08:21.619 --> 01:08:23.920 right there on the surface. Like I really like 01:08:23.920 --> 01:08:26.359 it when comedies do that. But in this case, it 01:08:26.359 --> 01:08:29.039 doesn't really seem like I just feel like you 01:08:29.039 --> 01:08:30.760 need to balance that tone a little bit better 01:08:30.760 --> 01:08:35.180 than this movie is able to do. Yeah. Yeah. Certainly 01:08:35.180 --> 01:08:37.869 that ending. The Monty Python ending, we'll call 01:08:37.869 --> 01:08:42.689 it. Yeah. It's too bad because up until then, 01:08:42.729 --> 01:08:44.010 the ending is my favorite part of the movie. 01:08:44.770 --> 01:08:48.729 Yeah, yeah. The sweeping vistas of the tundra 01:08:48.729 --> 01:08:53.630 and the giant troll. And then, but like juxtaposed 01:08:53.630 --> 01:08:56.130 in the foreground, like at the troll's feet in 01:08:56.130 --> 01:08:59.510 these like really wide shots, you see the figure 01:08:59.510 --> 01:09:02.649 of Hans or you see his Jeep. And just like the 01:09:02.649 --> 01:09:06.159 sense of scale is really impressive to me. Yeah, 01:09:06.220 --> 01:09:10.399 same. Like visually and just, you know, dramatically, 01:09:10.560 --> 01:09:12.699 the ending is the most effective part of that 01:09:12.699 --> 01:09:15.039 movie. And so the last five minutes when it kind 01:09:15.039 --> 01:09:17.300 of drops the ball a little bit. Yeah, they're 01:09:17.300 --> 01:09:22.180 like, we got to wrap this up. Yeah, indeed. Other 01:09:22.180 --> 01:09:28.060 I do find the the Christian aspect interesting. 01:09:28.119 --> 01:09:31.779 And obviously this is beyond just the movie Troll 01:09:31.779 --> 01:09:35.899 Hunter, but it's it's an element of. troll folklore 01:09:35.899 --> 01:09:39.439 but this is the director again he says quote 01:09:39.439 --> 01:09:42.119 when they the trolls smell christian blood they 01:09:42.119 --> 01:09:44.079 get very aggressive it's like holding a red cape 01:09:44.079 --> 01:09:46.699 in front of an ox it's that kind of thing that 01:09:46.699 --> 01:09:48.659 is also related to the stories because it was 01:09:48.659 --> 01:09:50.760 the christians that destroyed the trolls power 01:09:50.760 --> 01:09:53.380 so to speak when the country was christian in 01:09:53.380 --> 01:09:55.920 the 13th century the trolls lost all their power 01:09:55.920 --> 01:09:58.399 over the population because they weren't worshiping 01:09:58.399 --> 01:10:01.539 or afraid of them anymore they stopped the people 01:10:01.539 --> 01:10:04.149 stopped believing in them And then they started 01:10:04.149 --> 01:10:06.489 hiding out in the forest to avoid humans and 01:10:06.489 --> 01:10:12.229 being killed. So, yeah, I really admire, like, 01:10:12.350 --> 01:10:15.470 that's just a really interesting perspective 01:10:15.470 --> 01:10:19.350 on, yeah, we know trolls aren't real, but at 01:10:19.350 --> 01:10:21.710 a certain point in history, they were real, quote 01:10:21.710 --> 01:10:26.109 unquote. And through the dominating forces of 01:10:26.109 --> 01:10:29.810 organized religion, the culture shifted. And 01:10:29.810 --> 01:10:32.810 you think about that now with... colonialism 01:10:32.810 --> 01:10:35.010 is a is a strong word for what i'm talking about 01:10:35.010 --> 01:10:38.850 but but a hegemony to bring that word back to 01:10:38.850 --> 01:10:43.609 to cultures i mean you do you lose native religions 01:10:43.609 --> 01:10:47.569 you lose native languages you lose native cultural 01:10:47.569 --> 01:10:52.869 touchstones through another's religion or another's 01:10:52.869 --> 01:10:56.750 media i mean you could extrapolate as much as 01:10:56.750 --> 01:10:59.840 you want yeah I'm glad you brought that up. And 01:10:59.840 --> 01:11:01.920 it is really fascinating because it kind of speaks 01:11:01.920 --> 01:11:05.239 to like the relationship between myth and history, 01:11:05.359 --> 01:11:07.960 you know, like because mythology for so long 01:11:07.960 --> 01:11:09.760 was a way for human beings to understand the 01:11:09.760 --> 01:11:13.460 world. And like oftentimes it was through figures 01:11:13.460 --> 01:11:18.479 like trolls or ogres, like, you know, gods and 01:11:18.479 --> 01:11:21.359 demons and like very ancient religions. But then, 01:11:21.359 --> 01:11:24.069 yeah, like Christianity. Islam, Judaism, like 01:11:24.069 --> 01:11:26.750 the kind of main major organized religions that 01:11:26.750 --> 01:11:30.329 we think of did kind of replace those elements 01:11:30.329 --> 01:11:33.270 of myth and folklore. And you wonder what was 01:11:33.270 --> 01:11:35.869 lost in that process, you know? And like, I feel 01:11:35.869 --> 01:11:37.869 like maybe that's why a lot of monsters still 01:11:37.869 --> 01:11:40.689 do have such mythical power because they go back 01:11:40.689 --> 01:11:43.310 to like ancient times when human beings were 01:11:43.310 --> 01:11:45.529 just trying to understand the world. And maybe 01:11:45.529 --> 01:11:49.170 like, that's, that's why, I don't know, monsters 01:11:49.170 --> 01:11:52.359 like trolls. still have like this element of 01:11:52.359 --> 01:11:54.899 like what if they do exist because like thousands 01:11:54.899 --> 01:11:57.619 and thousands of years ago people thought they 01:11:57.619 --> 01:11:59.619 did you know i don't know if that's historically 01:11:59.619 --> 01:12:01.479 super accurate but like you know what point i'm 01:12:01.479 --> 01:12:04.359 trying to get across yeah yeah yeah so i like 01:12:04.359 --> 01:12:06.319 i like that part of it and i like that quote 01:12:06.319 --> 01:12:09.199 from the director again the movie might have 01:12:09.199 --> 01:12:11.279 done a little bit more to suggest that you know 01:12:11.279 --> 01:12:14.800 and it seems like maybe a little bit like Sorry 01:12:14.800 --> 01:12:16.939 to use the word sloppy again, but introducing 01:12:16.939 --> 01:12:19.880 a Muslim character and asking that question, 01:12:20.020 --> 01:12:22.079 but then not really doing anything with that. 01:12:22.279 --> 01:12:24.460 It's like, oh, you set up a really interesting 01:12:24.460 --> 01:12:26.760 tension there, and then you kind of just abandon 01:12:26.760 --> 01:12:32.159 that. Yeah, I think that was one of the best 01:12:32.159 --> 01:12:36.800 jokes of the movie when Hans is asked, do trolls, 01:12:36.840 --> 01:12:41.800 can they smell a Muslim's blood? And just deadpan, 01:12:41.819 --> 01:12:44.100 perfect delivery. He says, honestly, I don't 01:12:44.100 --> 01:12:48.479 know. Yeah. Let's find out. Let's find out. We 01:12:48.479 --> 01:12:52.260 never do find out. Right. If the movie had 15 01:12:52.260 --> 01:12:54.300 more minutes, maybe we could have found out. 01:12:54.859 --> 01:12:57.680 But again, to your point, it wasn't interested 01:12:57.680 --> 01:13:01.039 in that. To my point, it was a comedy. Yeah. 01:13:01.079 --> 01:13:03.359 Which made the joke and move on. Yeah. But, you 01:13:03.359 --> 01:13:07.060 know, you do wonder if there was a missed opportunity 01:13:07.060 --> 01:13:11.029 there for some. it for a for a richer conversation 01:13:11.029 --> 01:13:14.829 right and you know like maybe it just started 01:13:14.829 --> 01:13:16.810 as like it's an element of folklore so let's 01:13:16.810 --> 01:13:18.289 throw it in there maybe they weren't really trying 01:13:18.289 --> 01:13:20.609 to make a big comment on that but it's yeah it 01:13:20.609 --> 01:13:23.750 could have been i don't know exactly how they 01:13:23.750 --> 01:13:25.109 would have done it but like just a little bit 01:13:25.109 --> 01:13:26.649 more in that direction might have been interesting 01:13:26.649 --> 01:13:32.590 yeah i agree yeah so so anyway yeah i i really 01:13:32.590 --> 01:13:35.960 appreciate the historical context behind Or the 01:13:35.960 --> 01:13:42.000 take on why trolls are against Christians because 01:13:42.000 --> 01:13:45.119 of those reasons we just talked about. Yeah. 01:13:46.439 --> 01:13:50.100 Interesting. I love that. I love history and 01:13:50.100 --> 01:13:54.779 I love fairy tales and traditional folklore. 01:13:55.439 --> 01:13:59.020 And I think a movie like Troll Hunter, here we 01:13:59.020 --> 01:14:02.119 are having this conversation. So I love that 01:14:02.119 --> 01:14:05.960 value in updating. Modernizing traditional folklore. 01:14:06.319 --> 01:14:09.500 I'm trying to think, you know, I don't know. 01:14:09.520 --> 01:14:12.100 It's kind of kind of hard to think of other examples, 01:14:12.119 --> 01:14:14.659 to be honest, of like really ancient folklore 01:14:14.659 --> 01:14:17.560 updated to like a modern setting. I'm trying 01:14:17.560 --> 01:14:20.359 and I can't really think of too many. I agree. 01:14:20.520 --> 01:14:25.239 Or to this quality of filmmaking. I feel like 01:14:25.239 --> 01:14:28.920 there's bargain bin horror movies that repurpose 01:14:28.920 --> 01:14:33.319 traditional things. Yeah. You know, I guess I'm 01:14:33.319 --> 01:14:35.699 thinking of a couple horror movies that are set 01:14:35.699 --> 01:14:39.239 in modern times that, like, rework Native American 01:14:39.239 --> 01:14:42.020 folklore a little bit. Like, Antlers, the movie 01:14:42.020 --> 01:14:44.560 from a couple years ago, does that. I mean, Wendigo, 01:14:44.840 --> 01:14:47.619 a Larry Fessenden movie, does that as well from 01:14:47.619 --> 01:14:51.399 maybe, like, 20 years ago. But, like, I would 01:14:51.399 --> 01:14:54.300 have to rewatch both those movies, not to get 01:14:54.300 --> 01:14:56.100 too much into identity politics. They're both 01:14:56.100 --> 01:14:58.180 by non -Native filmmakers, so I just wonder if 01:14:58.180 --> 01:14:59.880 that's really the best way to update that folklore. 01:15:01.560 --> 01:15:04.899 But, you know, it's interesting to like consider 01:15:04.899 --> 01:15:08.479 that maybe. Yeah, some of these some of these 01:15:08.479 --> 01:15:10.960 like ancient ways to like look at the world are 01:15:10.960 --> 01:15:13.060 still around in some like metaphorical way, you 01:15:13.060 --> 01:15:16.539 know? Yeah, I was just thinking about I have 01:15:16.539 --> 01:15:19.600 not seen those movies. I've heard of them. Now 01:15:19.600 --> 01:15:21.640 they're on my list. But sorry, I was just thinking 01:15:21.640 --> 01:15:24.279 about there's a there's a Cinderella type movie 01:15:24.279 --> 01:15:28.100 that came out recently. I think it's it's makeup 01:15:28.100 --> 01:15:32.949 effects or is getting award buzz. Hmm. Is it 01:15:32.949 --> 01:15:35.430 the ugly stepsister by any chance? Yeah. Yeah. 01:15:35.649 --> 01:15:38.890 Which is set in like the, you know, several centuries 01:15:38.890 --> 01:15:41.289 ago. So now like updated to modern times, but, 01:15:41.289 --> 01:15:43.789 but it is like a very feminist, very like body 01:15:43.789 --> 01:15:45.970 horror in your face, kind of retelling of that. 01:15:46.229 --> 01:15:48.210 Maybe, you know, like maybe sinners does that 01:15:48.210 --> 01:15:51.090 a little bit. Like I really love sinners. And 01:15:51.090 --> 01:15:53.170 I think that is an attempt to like, like, of 01:15:53.170 --> 01:15:55.170 course it takes the vampire mythology, but I 01:15:55.170 --> 01:15:58.090 think it's kind of. playing with history and 01:15:58.090 --> 01:16:00.329 just it's not updated to like modern times per 01:16:00.329 --> 01:16:02.289 se although there is that kind of like mid -credit 01:16:02.289 --> 01:16:04.630 scene that's set in the 90s which i love but 01:16:04.630 --> 01:16:08.930 yeah that's the closest american film that i 01:16:08.930 --> 01:16:12.069 really loved from 2025 that i can think of that's 01:16:12.069 --> 01:16:15.210 like updating mythology and folklore and like 01:16:15.210 --> 01:16:17.470 a really intentional way you know that's true 01:16:17.470 --> 01:16:20.710 i'll give you that yeah well there's some other 01:16:20.710 --> 01:16:24.250 little themes in in troll hunter there's tension 01:16:24.250 --> 01:16:29.430 between farmers, ranchers, and wildlife conservation, 01:16:29.829 --> 01:16:34.550 which is a theme in any rural area. We also see 01:16:34.550 --> 01:16:39.390 tension with this Polish bear hunter who's providing 01:16:39.390 --> 01:16:44.430 the bears. I did read that Poles make up a large 01:16:44.430 --> 01:16:48.090 immigrant population in Norway and are often 01:16:48.090 --> 01:16:53.229 the butt of jokes and anti -immigrant sentiment. 01:16:54.079 --> 01:16:56.939 So troll hunters poking fun at that a little 01:16:56.939 --> 01:17:01.319 bit in that instance. Yeah. I like that scene. 01:17:01.420 --> 01:17:03.939 I thought that was pretty funny. Yeah. Because 01:17:03.939 --> 01:17:06.579 like the, those characters like taking part in 01:17:06.579 --> 01:17:11.800 this, like ridiculous again, charade. Yeah. Okay. 01:17:11.899 --> 01:17:14.060 I'm going to say charade next time. It doesn't 01:17:14.060 --> 01:17:18.479 feel right either, but you know, the, this, the, 01:17:18.600 --> 01:17:20.659 yeah, the, the Polish people in the movie are 01:17:20.659 --> 01:17:23.899 like finding. dead bears to like put up the scene 01:17:23.899 --> 01:17:27.020 of these troll devastation to yeah to mislead 01:17:27.020 --> 01:17:28.739 the public or whatever so it's like this vast 01:17:28.739 --> 01:17:30.800 government conspiracy and it's totally ridiculous 01:17:30.800 --> 01:17:34.600 you know and they they there's a really funny 01:17:34.600 --> 01:17:38.739 moment someone is questioning the bear like bears 01:17:38.739 --> 01:17:42.340 don't walk like this like walk this funny and 01:17:42.340 --> 01:17:45.399 the guy says well it was a russian bear right 01:17:45.399 --> 01:17:48.960 the russian bears they're a little off or something 01:17:48.960 --> 01:17:54.149 just making fun of the russians That was a good, 01:17:54.149 --> 01:17:56.850 you know, relatively subtle way to like maybe 01:17:56.850 --> 01:18:00.470 comment on Norway's like, I don't know, xenophobia 01:18:00.470 --> 01:18:03.489 is a strong word, but like distrust of outsiders, 01:18:03.810 --> 01:18:06.829 you know? You know, not to go back to the star 01:18:06.829 --> 01:18:11.810 of the film, Yes Person's political views, but 01:18:11.810 --> 01:18:16.970 there is an audience for his humor. Let's put 01:18:16.970 --> 01:18:20.170 it that way. Yeah. Yeah, I think in many countries 01:18:20.170 --> 01:18:21.630 throughout the world right now, including the 01:18:21.630 --> 01:18:23.750 United States, there is a strong, like, right 01:18:23.750 --> 01:18:26.310 -leaning sort of attitude among some people, 01:18:26.350 --> 01:18:30.310 you know? Where it is entrenching, like, nationalistic 01:18:30.310 --> 01:18:32.470 views and distrusting outsiders. That's definitely 01:18:32.470 --> 01:18:35.470 not constrained to Norway, and it's always, sadly, 01:18:35.649 --> 01:18:37.829 like, a relevant theme, you know? It's just all 01:18:37.829 --> 01:18:39.590 hundreds of comedy, and it's like, you know, 01:18:39.609 --> 01:18:41.829 that moment is kind of presented with levity, 01:18:41.890 --> 01:18:44.710 so, like, not, it doesn't hammer the point home 01:18:44.710 --> 01:18:46.949 or anything. But, yeah, it's there, if you want 01:18:46.949 --> 01:18:49.539 to find it there, I think. Yeah. Yeah. Still 01:18:49.539 --> 01:18:51.380 a lot of moments of humor in this movie. A lot 01:18:51.380 --> 01:18:56.939 of moments of camp, of fun. Before we talk about 01:18:56.939 --> 01:19:00.619 our breakdowns, were there any other thematic 01:19:00.619 --> 01:19:03.899 elements you wanted to highlight? Well, this 01:19:03.899 --> 01:19:05.539 kind of goes along with like the tension between 01:19:05.539 --> 01:19:09.460 farmers and like people who work in rural areas 01:19:09.460 --> 01:19:13.079 and like, you know, the more urban areas of Norway 01:19:13.079 --> 01:19:15.420 and like the government itself. But like some 01:19:15.420 --> 01:19:17.819 of the power stuff, like power lines and power 01:19:17.819 --> 01:19:19.479 grids, I thought was kind of interesting because 01:19:19.479 --> 01:19:22.630 like. all these power lines are like meant as 01:19:22.630 --> 01:19:25.369 like a shield to keep out the trolls. But then 01:19:25.369 --> 01:19:27.310 every time they put up new power lines, like 01:19:27.310 --> 01:19:29.609 the citizens kind of complain about it. It's 01:19:29.609 --> 01:19:31.590 like a big expenditure and it's like an eyesore 01:19:31.590 --> 01:19:33.569 in the landscape and all this stuff. And they 01:19:33.569 --> 01:19:36.649 even, it's like a surprisingly prominent part 01:19:36.649 --> 01:19:38.170 of the story, I would say, because they visit 01:19:38.170 --> 01:19:42.829 a power plant and they like ask like why, you 01:19:42.829 --> 01:19:44.829 know, there's been a lot of destruction to these 01:19:44.829 --> 01:19:46.590 like power lines recently. And it turns out to 01:19:46.590 --> 01:19:49.689 be the trolls, of course, but. But yeah, I think 01:19:49.689 --> 01:19:52.590 that element is there, too. You get these, like, 01:19:52.649 --> 01:19:55.470 I don't know, rural communities that, like, don't 01:19:55.470 --> 01:19:59.409 really trust electricity, like, or at least these 01:19:59.409 --> 01:20:02.149 kind of, like, major forms of electricity. But 01:20:02.149 --> 01:20:04.109 it is kind of keeping out the trolls. So I think 01:20:04.109 --> 01:20:06.810 that's kind of, like, symbolic way to, like, 01:20:06.829 --> 01:20:09.369 depict that tension, you know? We see that in 01:20:09.369 --> 01:20:13.270 this country with offshore windmills, but even 01:20:13.270 --> 01:20:17.520 in the Midwest, like, people on the... On the 01:20:17.520 --> 01:20:21.180 plains in beautiful mountain landscapes, they 01:20:21.180 --> 01:20:26.279 see the windmills go up for energy and they call 01:20:26.279 --> 01:20:31.199 it an eyesore on the landscape. Yeah. And maybe 01:20:31.199 --> 01:20:33.500 taking jobs away from like more traditional industries 01:20:33.500 --> 01:20:35.319 like coal and stuff like that, you know, where 01:20:35.319 --> 01:20:37.439 if it's better for the environment and in the 01:20:37.439 --> 01:20:40.199 long run better for human beings, still it's 01:20:40.199 --> 01:20:41.899 like in the short term, it's like taking away 01:20:41.899 --> 01:20:44.460 jobs and security and stuff like that, you know? 01:20:44.739 --> 01:20:47.600 Yeah. So that's all there too. Unexpectedly. 01:20:47.720 --> 01:20:51.939 No, I think there are unexpected real issues 01:20:51.939 --> 01:20:56.619 presented in this film to varying levels of depth. 01:20:57.300 --> 01:21:00.060 But there's still a lot there. Totally agree. 01:21:00.220 --> 01:21:02.539 Yeah, for sure. There's a lot I liked about this 01:21:02.539 --> 01:21:07.500 movie. I thought the found footage, mockumentary 01:21:07.500 --> 01:21:11.300 approach worked for me in this movie. I think 01:21:11.300 --> 01:21:15.020 it was... I think it lended an effective air 01:21:15.020 --> 01:21:18.819 of suspense to a lot of the action. The first 01:21:18.819 --> 01:21:21.500 time we encounter a troll in the dark woods, 01:21:21.739 --> 01:21:24.979 the camera's shaking, you know, and it's just 01:21:24.979 --> 01:21:26.520 something like that where it's not just shaking 01:21:26.520 --> 01:21:29.600 for the sake of it. To me, it was supporting 01:21:29.600 --> 01:21:33.260 the suspense because I can't see anything, just 01:21:33.260 --> 01:21:35.399 like the characters can't see anything. So I'm 01:21:35.399 --> 01:21:39.119 in that relationship with the characters. The 01:21:39.119 --> 01:21:42.680 wry sense of humor, I really loved. The world 01:21:42.680 --> 01:21:45.300 building, I thought, was all very methodical 01:21:45.300 --> 01:21:51.079 and intentional. And things I mentioned before, 01:21:51.159 --> 01:21:53.680 the different kinds of trolls. I like the CGI 01:21:53.680 --> 01:21:56.579 in this movie. It's low budget, but effective 01:21:56.579 --> 01:21:59.659 for all the reasons I've mentioned before. Yeah. 01:22:00.180 --> 01:22:04.689 Nice. I would agree with some of that. I disagree 01:22:04.689 --> 01:22:06.310 with some of it and I'll talk about that in the 01:22:06.310 --> 01:22:08.810 bad category. But yeah, I do like this movie's 01:22:08.810 --> 01:22:11.409 sense of humor. I actually really like Jesperson's 01:22:11.409 --> 01:22:14.369 performance a lot. I think, you know, the character 01:22:14.369 --> 01:22:18.069 of Hans is instrumental in maintaining our interest 01:22:18.069 --> 01:22:20.949 and like keeping us engaged through the movie. 01:22:20.989 --> 01:22:23.689 And I think he's able to do that. And I think 01:22:23.689 --> 01:22:27.109 it gets better as it goes on up until the last 01:22:27.109 --> 01:22:30.430 five minutes. But like the late sequence, like 01:22:30.430 --> 01:22:33.359 on the... You know, you have these great snowy 01:22:33.359 --> 01:22:36.380 landscapes and like, again, you can finally see 01:22:36.380 --> 01:22:39.279 this huge troll like fairly clearly for the first 01:22:39.279 --> 01:22:42.479 time. All that works really well, like such a 01:22:42.479 --> 01:22:45.939 dramatic end to the movie. And then before that, 01:22:46.039 --> 01:22:48.600 you also have the scene in the cave where like 01:22:48.600 --> 01:22:50.880 they're kind of like investigating this cave 01:22:50.880 --> 01:22:53.119 a little bit. And then this family of trolls 01:22:53.119 --> 01:22:55.699 like comes back and they have to hide from them. 01:22:55.819 --> 01:22:58.060 And it's actually a pretty suspenseful moment. 01:22:58.569 --> 01:23:00.449 But it's also like a moment of humor because 01:23:00.449 --> 01:23:03.069 then I think one of the trolls farts and like 01:23:03.069 --> 01:23:05.869 all the characters is like nearly throwing up 01:23:05.869 --> 01:23:07.689 and they're like right behind this troll and 01:23:07.689 --> 01:23:10.109 like trying to stay hidden. So that was kind 01:23:10.109 --> 01:23:12.850 of a nice moment of gross out, but still funny 01:23:12.850 --> 01:23:17.670 humor. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I don't know the 01:23:17.670 --> 01:23:20.609 the senses of humor and like later on some of 01:23:20.609 --> 01:23:24.390 those scenes. Yeah. Do do kind of catch your 01:23:24.390 --> 01:23:27.600 interest. More like strikingly than some of the 01:23:27.600 --> 01:23:30.220 early parts in the movie do, in my opinion. Tell 01:23:30.220 --> 01:23:33.699 me about the form and the aesthetic and why I'm 01:23:33.699 --> 01:23:36.600 wrong. Yeah, so this, you know, this isn't a 01:23:36.600 --> 01:23:41.260 bad category. And this will speak to my subjective 01:23:41.260 --> 01:23:44.140 response. Like you talked before about how the 01:23:44.140 --> 01:23:45.880 negative reviews were like, it's just not my 01:23:45.880 --> 01:23:48.199 cup of tea sort of thing. And that might be true 01:23:48.199 --> 01:23:52.260 of me to a certain extent. But I hate the fake 01:23:52.260 --> 01:23:55.630 found footage. mockumentary approach. I think 01:23:55.630 --> 01:23:58.130 I talked about this with Cloverfield too. I really 01:23:58.130 --> 01:24:01.510 hate it. And I think like, you know, what you 01:24:01.510 --> 01:24:03.649 gain in the element of like, Oh, we have this 01:24:03.649 --> 01:24:07.329 gimmick. Like you, then you lose a lot in terms 01:24:07.329 --> 01:24:10.289 of like shot composition because this approach, 01:24:10.430 --> 01:24:13.069 you know, you don't have to set up a shot. You 01:24:13.069 --> 01:24:14.770 just like point the camera anywhere. You shake 01:24:14.770 --> 01:24:16.649 it all around and you're like, Oh, it's fine 01:24:16.649 --> 01:24:19.079 footage. It doesn't matter. And then, like, it 01:24:19.079 --> 01:24:21.699 also kind of allows you to, like, not really 01:24:21.699 --> 01:24:24.220 edit very carefully. Like, in this movie, it's, 01:24:24.220 --> 01:24:26.539 like, you have some shots that last, like, a 01:24:26.539 --> 01:24:29.760 couple seconds of them, like, driving, and the 01:24:29.760 --> 01:24:31.539 Norwegian landscape is, like, visible through 01:24:31.539 --> 01:24:33.720 the windows, or it's just a shot of them, like, 01:24:33.720 --> 01:24:36.279 walking through a dark forest. And it's, like, 01:24:36.279 --> 01:24:37.819 you don't even have to, like, edit this scene 01:24:37.819 --> 01:24:39.600 very carefully because you're just conveying 01:24:39.600 --> 01:24:42.619 information, you know? It's, like... And, like, 01:24:42.619 --> 01:24:43.920 there's even a title at the beginning of the 01:24:43.920 --> 01:24:46.159 movie that's, like, this is a rough cut of the 01:24:46.159 --> 01:24:49.500 found footage, so it's, like, automatically excusing 01:24:49.500 --> 01:24:51.920 it's bad editing you know like and like usually 01:24:51.920 --> 01:24:55.579 when I see a movie like this or Cloverfield I'm 01:24:55.579 --> 01:24:58.359 like alright I get that it's supposed to be found 01:24:58.359 --> 01:25:00.819 footage or whatever but like first of all I don't 01:25:00.819 --> 01:25:04.510 believe that because I understand this is the 01:25:04.510 --> 01:25:06.750 concept, but like clearly it's not found footage. 01:25:06.770 --> 01:25:09.630 It's trolls. And in Cloverfield, it's like, you 01:25:09.630 --> 01:25:12.689 know, CGI of like this huge monstrous thing. 01:25:12.810 --> 01:25:14.770 So like I just don't buy that it's found footage. 01:25:14.909 --> 01:25:17.710 And maybe you could say that I should have more 01:25:17.710 --> 01:25:19.930 suspension of disbelief. But one of the reasons 01:25:19.930 --> 01:25:24.630 I don't is because like the aesthetic, the visual 01:25:24.630 --> 01:25:28.229 style is like not convincing because you're not 01:25:28.229 --> 01:25:30.819 setting up any compositions. You're not editing 01:25:30.819 --> 01:25:33.239 very carefully. Like I feel like some of the 01:25:33.239 --> 01:25:36.199 shots in Trollhunter, like the Norwegian landscape 01:25:36.199 --> 01:25:38.979 is beautiful, but it's like you could get a similar 01:25:38.979 --> 01:25:40.819 image on your phone just like while you're on 01:25:40.819 --> 01:25:43.619 vacation. You know what I mean? So every time 01:25:43.619 --> 01:25:45.359 I watch a movie like this, I'm like, just set 01:25:45.359 --> 01:25:48.119 up a camera, set up a shot, please. And like 01:25:48.119 --> 01:25:51.199 edit the scene so that like I am affected emotionally 01:25:51.199 --> 01:25:54.250 or viscerally. Because with this kind of approach, 01:25:54.470 --> 01:25:57.130 it's like you can do whatever you want. And like, 01:25:57.149 --> 01:25:59.149 that's your excuse. You don't even have to try 01:25:59.149 --> 01:26:01.529 to affect the audience, you know? So I'm going 01:26:01.529 --> 01:26:03.489 off on a rant a little bit and I apologize, but 01:26:03.489 --> 01:26:06.689 I really do not like this approach. And I feel 01:26:06.689 --> 01:26:10.529 like it loses a lot of like drama and intensity 01:26:10.529 --> 01:26:12.210 by like shooting a movie this way, you know? 01:26:12.850 --> 01:26:16.329 Can I ask what, and I'm just, I'm just asking, 01:26:16.409 --> 01:26:20.630 I'm just, I love this discourse. Are there examples 01:26:20.630 --> 01:26:27.659 in film, monster movies or not where this, this, 01:26:27.840 --> 01:26:32.399 this form works for you. You know, I do like 01:26:32.399 --> 01:26:35.859 the Blair witch project. I think like that movie 01:26:35.859 --> 01:26:39.800 is a lot of stuff happens off screen in that 01:26:39.800 --> 01:26:42.380 movie. And maybe that's why maybe a lot of people 01:26:42.380 --> 01:26:44.079 would criticize it, you know, for being kind 01:26:44.079 --> 01:26:45.840 of boring and you don't see a lot of horror on 01:26:45.840 --> 01:26:48.520 screen. But I think that's why I buy it. Like, 01:26:48.520 --> 01:26:53.319 you know, I, when you, Hear people rattling the 01:26:53.319 --> 01:26:56.159 tent. Not people, you hear something rattling 01:26:56.159 --> 01:26:58.399 the tent. Or at the end of the movie, again, 01:26:58.439 --> 01:26:59.939 I won't give away any spoilers, but it's like 01:26:59.939 --> 01:27:04.640 this myth, this folklore, at the very end of 01:27:04.640 --> 01:27:06.840 the movie, you seem to see it happening right 01:27:06.840 --> 01:27:10.140 in front of you. I buy that it's found footage 01:27:10.140 --> 01:27:13.020 in that movie. But here... you know, it's not 01:27:13.020 --> 01:27:16.199 just like a shaky camera that like convinces 01:27:16.199 --> 01:27:17.619 you that it's found footage or that it's really 01:27:17.619 --> 01:27:20.020 happening. It's also the performances and the 01:27:20.020 --> 01:27:23.399 dialogue and like the visual effects are decent 01:27:23.399 --> 01:27:26.020 in this movie and in Cloverfield, but it's like 01:27:26.020 --> 01:27:30.420 CGI is always going to be, there's like the uncanny 01:27:30.420 --> 01:27:32.239 valley, right? You know, it's not really happening. 01:27:32.579 --> 01:27:34.899 So I think like the only time I would really 01:27:34.899 --> 01:27:37.069 buy it. an approach like this is when you don't 01:27:37.069 --> 01:27:39.109 have CGI and maybe that's like just a little 01:27:39.109 --> 01:27:41.470 bit too black or white, but I honestly think 01:27:41.470 --> 01:27:43.710 that's kind of the case. No, that's a good point 01:27:43.710 --> 01:27:47.050 you raise. I mean, that, that, that, that speaks 01:27:47.050 --> 01:27:51.609 to me, the inherent conflict and juxtaposition 01:27:51.609 --> 01:27:56.470 of found footage, which is, this is real, like 01:27:56.470 --> 01:28:00.970 as real as it can be. And yet you're the subject 01:28:00.970 --> 01:28:07.149 of your real film is. a cgi image which is not 01:28:07.149 --> 01:28:10.890 in camera which is inherently not real so there 01:28:10.890 --> 01:28:16.529 is a total dissonance in that yeah yeah right 01:28:16.529 --> 01:28:19.550 like maybe even if it was like it would be almost 01:28:19.550 --> 01:28:21.890 impossible for like the giant troll at the end 01:28:21.890 --> 01:28:23.930 but if it was animatronics or like a man in a 01:28:23.930 --> 01:28:26.329 suit i might actually buy that more with this 01:28:26.329 --> 01:28:31.949 right right can you talk a little am i am i a 01:28:31.949 --> 01:28:36.079 total Am I totally off base here? Just tell me 01:28:36.079 --> 01:28:41.539 if I'm just ignorant. Is there any sense of cinema 01:28:41.539 --> 01:28:46.680 verite to Trollhunter? I mean, I wouldn't use 01:28:46.680 --> 01:28:48.859 the term cinema verite because I think that does 01:28:48.859 --> 01:28:51.560 speak to like realism. And like, obviously, this 01:28:51.560 --> 01:28:53.479 movie is like not trying to be realistic, you 01:28:53.479 --> 01:28:56.180 know. But I think, you know, I would say that 01:28:56.180 --> 01:29:00.439 like. the concept would work. I think for a lot 01:29:00.439 --> 01:29:02.659 of people it did work. And the concept for Cloverfield 01:29:02.659 --> 01:29:04.800 did work for a lot of people, you know? I wouldn't 01:29:04.800 --> 01:29:06.779 say that it was cinema verite necessarily, but 01:29:06.779 --> 01:29:09.819 I think it was like an interesting tension between 01:29:09.819 --> 01:29:13.180 like, you know, supposedly this is found footage 01:29:13.180 --> 01:29:15.619 that actually happened, but obviously it didn't 01:29:15.619 --> 01:29:17.460 because it's trolls and like huge monsters and 01:29:17.460 --> 01:29:19.680 stuff like that, you know? So I think that element 01:29:19.680 --> 01:29:22.680 is there, you know? Yeah, yeah. I don't know 01:29:22.680 --> 01:29:25.460 if I, is that what you were asking? No, no, I've 01:29:25.460 --> 01:29:29.260 got my critical, brain on right now no in the 01:29:29.260 --> 01:29:32.960 movie it is real you're saying it's not real 01:29:32.960 --> 01:29:34.359 because it's trolls well we know that as the 01:29:34.359 --> 01:29:36.859 audience but in the world of the film it is real 01:29:36.859 --> 01:29:40.260 yeah but that's where I would say that like there 01:29:40.260 --> 01:29:42.500 are other things that like lend to a sense of 01:29:42.500 --> 01:29:44.520 realism and I think like the performances and 01:29:44.520 --> 01:29:47.460 the dialogue and the CGI prevent that from happening 01:29:47.460 --> 01:29:51.640 for me but I you know yeah I mean I think like 01:29:52.430 --> 01:29:54.890 And certainly like the shaky handheld camera 01:29:54.890 --> 01:29:57.810 and like the sort of like jarring like cuts in 01:29:57.810 --> 01:30:00.850 the middle of a scene. Hypothetically, that would 01:30:00.850 --> 01:30:03.750 like create an element or a sense of like, this 01:30:03.750 --> 01:30:06.890 is really happening, you know? Yeah. Thank you. 01:30:07.229 --> 01:30:10.609 Yeah. You know, I like some of the paranormal 01:30:10.609 --> 01:30:12.989 activity movies too. Like, and I think again, 01:30:13.069 --> 01:30:15.130 it's because they like downplay CGI for the most 01:30:15.130 --> 01:30:20.289 part. No, but sometimes as a movie lover, I like 01:30:20.289 --> 01:30:23.350 to get on my soapbox a little bit. I know that 01:30:23.350 --> 01:30:27.029 it's just a fun concept. I understand that. But 01:30:27.029 --> 01:30:29.789 I really don't like the found footage mockumentary 01:30:29.789 --> 01:30:31.569 approach, and I feel like usually it's not very 01:30:31.569 --> 01:30:35.069 effective for me, personally. I would complain 01:30:35.069 --> 01:30:36.729 about some other things in the movie as well. 01:30:36.850 --> 01:30:40.029 I think, again, the story is a little bit sloppy, 01:30:40.250 --> 01:30:42.550 and that's not due to the found footage approach. 01:30:42.609 --> 01:30:45.399 That's just because, like... There, you know, 01:30:45.399 --> 01:30:47.300 again, it goes back to like that seismologist 01:30:47.300 --> 01:30:49.359 that comes in at the very end for no reason, 01:30:49.460 --> 01:30:51.500 the rabies element that they don't do anything 01:30:51.500 --> 01:30:54.220 with at all. So like, I think the story, even 01:30:54.220 --> 01:30:57.159 if it is like found footage could have been built 01:30:57.159 --> 01:31:00.840 more carefully. And then the, the final like 01:31:00.840 --> 01:31:03.199 criticism I'll say in the bad category for me. 01:31:03.789 --> 01:31:06.329 I thought the teenage characters, the students 01:31:06.329 --> 01:31:09.750 were so insufferable. I hated them. Like, and 01:31:09.750 --> 01:31:11.829 if I was Hans, I would be like, no, you can't 01:31:11.829 --> 01:31:14.069 come along. I can't stand you guys. Why do you, 01:31:14.109 --> 01:31:15.890 I don't want to be in your little movie, you 01:31:15.890 --> 01:31:19.010 know? And I like, there are so many parts towards 01:31:19.010 --> 01:31:21.029 the beginning where they're like, oh, trolls 01:31:21.029 --> 01:31:22.829 don't exist. And they're like making fun of it. 01:31:22.949 --> 01:31:25.130 And it's like, all of this is kind of boring 01:31:25.130 --> 01:31:29.010 to me right now. You know, like I, I just look, 01:31:29.069 --> 01:31:30.949 let's just get past this, you know, because they. 01:31:31.640 --> 01:31:34.279 OK, like and now I'm probably over criticizing 01:31:34.279 --> 01:31:36.380 the movie a little bit too much, but I'll just 01:31:36.380 --> 01:31:38.420 leave it at that. I found those characters very 01:31:38.420 --> 01:31:41.939 obnoxious. No, I mean, yeah, you're not going 01:31:41.939 --> 01:31:44.819 to get pushback from me on that. I felt like 01:31:44.819 --> 01:31:47.920 the movie could have gotten on with it a little 01:31:47.920 --> 01:31:50.779 bit sooner. I mean that and that. I mean, I'll 01:31:50.779 --> 01:31:53.899 admit like the the found footage shaky cam stuff 01:31:53.899 --> 01:31:58.439 in this movie didn't bother me. But there were 01:31:58.439 --> 01:32:02.079 there are long stretches of just. driving and, 01:32:02.159 --> 01:32:05.640 and landscape shots, which I found very beautiful. 01:32:05.920 --> 01:32:08.619 So like, I didn't mind that, but I can still 01:32:08.619 --> 01:32:13.180 critique it and say, are we, what is the purpose 01:32:13.180 --> 01:32:19.699 of the, the, the 12th landscape shot of this 01:32:19.699 --> 01:32:23.760 movie? Is it to establish geography? Cause we've 01:32:23.760 --> 01:32:26.619 already done that. Or is it to pad our runtime 01:32:26.619 --> 01:32:30.500 a little bit? Yup. And I think with found footage, 01:32:30.779 --> 01:32:34.859 that is a common criticism where we're just filming 01:32:34.859 --> 01:32:39.020 people walking through a forest. Okay, but we've 01:32:39.020 --> 01:32:43.560 done that before. What is the driving force behind 01:32:43.560 --> 01:32:46.319 this choice here? So yeah, the movie does fall 01:32:46.319 --> 01:32:51.319 into that trap a little bit. Yeah. I feel like 01:32:51.319 --> 01:32:53.460 I've been a little too hard on the movie. Maybe 01:32:53.460 --> 01:32:55.319 not too hard, but I've been hard on it. So what's 01:32:55.319 --> 01:33:02.319 in your bad category for the movie? I not much. 01:33:03.680 --> 01:33:08.159 Now I feel especially bad. No, but I love it 01:33:08.159 --> 01:33:10.479 because you've never seen the movie. I had seen 01:33:10.479 --> 01:33:12.600 it and I do remember watching it. I watched it 01:33:12.600 --> 01:33:15.539 with my buddies and, you know, it was just like 01:33:15.539 --> 01:33:19.119 kind of a nostalgic return for me. So I have 01:33:19.119 --> 01:33:23.039 a lot of forgiveness for for stuff that in another 01:33:23.039 --> 01:33:26.840 movie I might be harder on. Yeah. Where I will 01:33:26.840 --> 01:33:29.800 criticize the movie is the thematic stuff we 01:33:29.800 --> 01:33:33.340 talked about. How we don't drive home any sympathy 01:33:33.340 --> 01:33:37.560 for the trolls. They are depicted as just dumb, 01:33:37.600 --> 01:33:41.239 ugly monsters to be blown up. But what if we 01:33:41.239 --> 01:33:44.140 had a kid? What if we had a mother nursing a 01:33:44.140 --> 01:33:45.899 kid? And it's like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Are we 01:33:45.899 --> 01:33:49.819 going to blow that family up? I think there's 01:33:49.819 --> 01:33:51.680 a lot of missed opportunities because even in 01:33:51.680 --> 01:33:55.069 a movie, even in a comedy. And this is a comedy, 01:33:55.170 --> 01:33:59.970 and yet it's presented rather seriously. Therein 01:33:59.970 --> 01:34:03.069 lies the humor. But nonetheless, there was still 01:34:03.069 --> 01:34:07.750 opportunity to really deepen sympathy for our 01:34:07.750 --> 01:34:11.569 monsters. Yeah, totally agree. Can't wait to 01:34:11.569 --> 01:34:15.729 hear what you rate this movie. Well, you know, 01:34:15.789 --> 01:34:18.270 I won't be excessively hard on it, I promise. 01:34:18.369 --> 01:34:20.449 But I feel like we had a similar conversation 01:34:20.449 --> 01:34:23.710 with Cloverfield because... As I remember, you 01:34:23.710 --> 01:34:27.189 liked it a little bit more than I did. And maybe, 01:34:27.670 --> 01:34:30.590 I don't know, I don't want to speak for you, 01:34:30.630 --> 01:34:32.390 but maybe nostalgia plays a certain role in that. 01:34:32.689 --> 01:34:34.430 Like remembering seeing it when it first came 01:34:34.430 --> 01:34:36.829 out. Maybe. I'll have to go back and listen to 01:34:36.829 --> 01:34:42.909 our episode. But I think the mockumentary found 01:34:42.909 --> 01:34:45.890 footage, whatever you want to call it, in Trollhunter 01:34:45.890 --> 01:34:49.789 works for me more than it did in Cloverfield. 01:34:50.750 --> 01:34:53.229 Maybe it's because Cloverfield's approach was 01:34:53.229 --> 01:34:57.329 using different forms of, like that was a found 01:34:57.329 --> 01:34:59.489 footage movie. And I want to draw the distinction 01:34:59.489 --> 01:35:01.729 then between found footage and a mockumentary. 01:35:01.829 --> 01:35:04.329 I think Cloverfield is found footage. People 01:35:04.329 --> 01:35:07.729 find a cell phone and they record something. 01:35:08.430 --> 01:35:12.590 Troll Hunter, we are following filmmakers and 01:35:12.590 --> 01:35:17.130 they are making a documentary. We call it mockumentary 01:35:17.130 --> 01:35:19.279 because that's the genre. But to them, it's a 01:35:19.279 --> 01:35:21.899 documentary. So I think it does take itself, 01:35:22.039 --> 01:35:24.420 I don't know, in a more grounded direction by 01:35:24.420 --> 01:35:29.180 that definition. That's a good point. It's a 01:35:29.180 --> 01:35:30.880 good distinction. I think it's even harder to 01:35:30.880 --> 01:35:33.359 believe in Cloverfield than in this case. Yeah. 01:35:33.979 --> 01:35:39.239 I agree. Yeah. I like that. Because I use the 01:35:39.239 --> 01:35:41.319 terms interchangeably, but I probably shouldn't. 01:35:41.859 --> 01:35:45.340 Right. And even mockumentary. you know we're 01:35:45.340 --> 01:35:47.659 calling it mockumentary but in the world of the 01:35:47.659 --> 01:35:51.100 film it is a serious documentary which is why 01:35:51.100 --> 01:35:53.739 i talked about why i brought up cinema verite 01:35:53.739 --> 01:35:58.239 yeah totally yeah yeah and i yeah like i i don't 01:35:58.239 --> 01:36:01.479 know i i think like again i just don't know if 01:36:01.479 --> 01:36:03.680 like the element of realism is there but like 01:36:03.680 --> 01:36:06.560 the concept is is strong you know i can see the 01:36:06.560 --> 01:36:08.199 potential there you know what i mean yeah like 01:36:08.199 --> 01:36:12.229 what if this movie was not a comedy I, yeah, 01:36:12.289 --> 01:36:14.109 it's interesting to think about. And now I kind 01:36:14.109 --> 01:36:16.170 of want to see one with like animatronics and 01:36:16.170 --> 01:36:18.270 like a man in a suit and see if I would have 01:36:18.270 --> 01:36:20.569 a different experience, you know? And if the 01:36:20.569 --> 01:36:23.109 tone was a little bit different too. And if the 01:36:23.109 --> 01:36:27.810 camera was set up on a tripod. Yeah. If it just 01:36:27.810 --> 01:36:30.109 like didn't have any found footage elements whatsoever. 01:36:30.630 --> 01:36:36.270 If it was just a conventional movie. Right. Conventional, 01:36:36.270 --> 01:36:42.500 but well -made, you know? Yes. I love it. We're 01:36:42.500 --> 01:36:45.159 splitting hairs in the best ways. We're having 01:36:45.159 --> 01:36:49.039 a real conversation here. Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes 01:36:49.039 --> 01:36:51.180 you should have like passionate opinions if you're 01:36:51.180 --> 01:36:54.220 a movie lover, you know? Yeah. We'll host a panel 01:36:54.220 --> 01:36:57.000 about Troll Hunter and really spar about it. 01:36:57.760 --> 01:37:02.039 I mean, that would be awesome. Sign me up. All 01:37:02.039 --> 01:37:04.220 right. I think it's time to take us home here 01:37:04.220 --> 01:37:07.699 with our final ratings. As always on Camp Kaiju, 01:37:07.739 --> 01:37:10.939 we have four ratings. Number one, our highest 01:37:10.939 --> 01:37:13.699 rating, it is a timeless classic. It definitely 01:37:13.699 --> 01:37:16.619 stands the test of time. Number two, there may 01:37:16.619 --> 01:37:18.520 be some antiquated moments, but overall it's 01:37:18.520 --> 01:37:21.319 great. It stands the test of time. Our third 01:37:21.319 --> 01:37:24.119 rating, it may be historically significant or 01:37:24.119 --> 01:37:26.680 just fun, but it does not stand the test of time. 01:37:27.119 --> 01:37:30.020 And our lowest rating, it's not worth revisiting. 01:37:30.039 --> 01:37:32.539 It definitely does not stand the test of time. 01:37:33.100 --> 01:37:35.840 What do you think? Do you want me to go first 01:37:35.840 --> 01:37:41.800 or we can end on your opinion? You know, I'm 01:37:41.800 --> 01:37:45.760 here for your opinions. I will end it on you. 01:37:46.300 --> 01:37:49.220 I will say we didn't specifically talk about 01:37:49.220 --> 01:37:52.199 our favorite campy moments in this movie, but 01:37:52.199 --> 01:37:56.539 we talked about so many. So I don't need to rehash 01:37:56.539 --> 01:38:00.600 any of that. But the things we talked about already 01:38:00.600 --> 01:38:02.859 made me laugh. So here we go. I'm going to give 01:38:02.859 --> 01:38:05.979 this movie our second highest rating. There are 01:38:05.979 --> 01:38:10.380 some, not dated, but maybe some elements may 01:38:10.380 --> 01:38:14.220 don't work for various reasons to various viewers. 01:38:14.539 --> 01:38:19.899 But overall, I think this movie's sense of history 01:38:19.899 --> 01:38:24.539 and culture and folklore are very strong. I think 01:38:24.539 --> 01:38:28.260 the movie's lead. Yes person is very strong. 01:38:28.420 --> 01:38:31.479 So funny. So, so funny. I laughed out loud with 01:38:31.479 --> 01:38:35.600 this movie and I think, I think the special effects 01:38:35.600 --> 01:38:39.340 for, for the budget they were on are very effective. 01:38:39.920 --> 01:38:45.180 And yeah, overall, despite my need for more thematic 01:38:45.180 --> 01:38:47.979 depth, I think this movie stands the test of 01:38:47.979 --> 01:38:53.279 time. Nice. I love it. I'm going to give it our 01:38:53.279 --> 01:38:56.550 second lowest rating. Because it is fun. I do 01:38:56.550 --> 01:38:58.350 love the sense of humor that this movie has. 01:38:58.670 --> 01:39:02.470 It's a strong concept, you know, to update traditional 01:39:02.470 --> 01:39:05.250 Norwegian folklore to a modern setting with this 01:39:05.250 --> 01:39:08.409 approach. It's a strong idea. And I'll fully 01:39:08.409 --> 01:39:12.050 admit that, like, it's subjective. Like, I just 01:39:12.050 --> 01:39:15.270 don't like this kind of formal approach. I don't 01:39:15.270 --> 01:39:17.289 think it's very convincing or effective for me 01:39:17.289 --> 01:39:20.460 personally. And, you know, I have some other 01:39:20.460 --> 01:39:22.760 quibbles with the movie as well. So overall, 01:39:23.100 --> 01:39:25.899 I don't think it stands the test of time, but 01:39:25.899 --> 01:39:28.119 it is fun. A lot of people like this movie and 01:39:28.119 --> 01:39:30.800 I understand why. And yeah, if you haven't seen 01:39:30.800 --> 01:39:33.479 it, it's a good time. But if you don't like the 01:39:33.479 --> 01:39:36.340 found footage approach or the fake documentary 01:39:36.340 --> 01:39:39.319 approach, you may come out of it much like I 01:39:39.319 --> 01:39:41.619 did. But, you know, maybe not. Hopefully not. 01:39:42.979 --> 01:39:48.180 Just blast some Christian music and say best 01:39:48.180 --> 01:39:53.100 of luck. Exactly. Yeah. Maybe like cover yourself 01:39:53.100 --> 01:39:55.420 with some like troll slime before you see it. 01:39:55.539 --> 01:40:00.500 Yeah. That was a campy moment. The Hans's truck 01:40:00.500 --> 01:40:03.720 playing the Christian music. Cause it was like 01:40:03.720 --> 01:40:06.300 so over the top at that point. Yeah. And then 01:40:06.300 --> 01:40:11.539 him keeping troll tales in his caravan. That 01:40:11.539 --> 01:40:15.699 was just like a lot of, I think like really those 01:40:15.699 --> 01:40:18.590 kinds of details enrich the world for me. Yeah. 01:40:18.689 --> 01:40:21.289 In a way that just, for me, it's easy to get 01:40:21.289 --> 01:40:24.729 sucked into a movie that pays attention to the 01:40:24.729 --> 01:40:29.029 details like that. Yeah, that's fair. This isn't 01:40:29.029 --> 01:40:30.909 necessarily a can be moment, but I like when 01:40:30.909 --> 01:40:34.409 Hans tells the government guy, Finn, he's like, 01:40:34.449 --> 01:40:36.390 maybe it's time for a change in troll management. 01:40:36.670 --> 01:40:40.470 I thought that was a funny line. One of my favorite 01:40:40.470 --> 01:40:44.909 moments of humor in the film. When Hans approaches 01:40:44.909 --> 01:40:48.779 the sign that says blast area, caution. And you're 01:40:48.779 --> 01:40:50.140 like, ooh, what's gonna happen? And he takes 01:40:50.140 --> 01:40:53.319 a sign and just chucks it in the woods. It made 01:40:53.319 --> 01:40:56.420 me laugh. Yeah, yeah. It's most of the stuff 01:40:56.420 --> 01:40:58.319 with Hans, really. That's the funny stuff in 01:40:58.319 --> 01:41:00.920 the movie. Oh, yeah. There's a moment, you know, 01:41:00.979 --> 01:41:03.439 like, there's a scene in a lot of movies where, 01:41:03.500 --> 01:41:05.520 like, you go into somebody's, like, trailer, 01:41:05.619 --> 01:41:07.600 like a dark room, and they've done a lot of research 01:41:07.600 --> 01:41:09.460 on something and have, like, news articles all 01:41:09.460 --> 01:41:11.460 over the place. There's a similar scene in this 01:41:11.460 --> 01:41:13.100 movie where that's kind of funny, and, like... 01:41:13.789 --> 01:41:16.409 there was an incident where, like, a troll, like, 01:41:16.470 --> 01:41:18.750 it bumped its head on a bridge and, like, caused, 01:41:18.789 --> 01:41:21.170 like, all this devastation. And, like, there's 01:41:21.170 --> 01:41:23.409 a moment like that with a news article in this 01:41:23.409 --> 01:41:27.569 movie that's pretty funny. Yeah. Next time on 01:41:27.569 --> 01:41:29.710 Camp Kaiju, Matt, what are we talking about? 01:41:31.289 --> 01:41:35.710 At midnight, I'll take your soul. Whoa. Careful. 01:41:35.750 --> 01:41:37.229 And also, the next movie we're talking about, 01:41:37.329 --> 01:41:40.170 no, I'm just kidding. Yeah, that's the next one. 01:41:40.350 --> 01:41:44.770 From Brazil from 1966, I think. Can't wait. Can't 01:41:44.770 --> 01:41:46.569 wait. If it's anything like the last movie I 01:41:46.569 --> 01:41:50.170 never heard of, Alucarda, I'm in for a treat. 01:41:51.470 --> 01:41:54.710 I think you are, yeah. I haven't seen it in a 01:41:54.710 --> 01:41:57.770 long time, so I'm excited too. Okay. And we'll 01:41:57.770 --> 01:42:00.130 have Frank back, so, you know, we'll get up to 01:42:00.130 --> 01:42:05.470 some mischief there. Well, friends, troll hunters, 01:42:05.829 --> 01:42:08.270 Norwegians, let us know what you think about 01:42:08.270 --> 01:42:11.359 this movie. Please rate and review Camp Kaiju 01:42:11.359 --> 01:42:14.340 and follow us on Patreon .com slash Camp Kaiju 01:42:14.340 --> 01:42:16.140 for additional videos, reviews, merchandise, 01:42:16.159 --> 01:42:19.159 and more. Other ways to get in touch, CampKaiju 01:42:19.159 --> 01:42:22.579 at gmail .com, CampKaijuPodcast .com, Instagram, 01:42:22.779 --> 01:42:27.300 and our voicemail number, 612 -470 -2612. Camp 01:42:27.300 --> 01:42:29.720 Kaiju is recorded in Minneapolis, St. Paul, with 01:42:29.720 --> 01:42:32.399 me in the mailbox by Ben Cook -Felts. Thanks, 01:42:32.500 --> 01:42:36.090 friends. And until next time, stay campy. Camp 01:42:36.090 --> 01:42:38.050 Kaiju is brought to you by Zach Linder and the 01:42:38.050 --> 01:42:40.329 Zach Pack, powered by Coldwell Banker Realty. 01:42:40.529 --> 01:42:42.369 Whether you're looking for your dream home, a 01:42:42.369 --> 01:42:44.590 savvy investment property, or expert guidance 01:42:44.590 --> 01:42:47.149 in home rehab and flipping, the Zach Pack has 01:42:47.149 --> 01:42:49.090 you covered. Check the link in the show notes 01:42:49.090 --> 01:43:23.859 for more information. Come on. Put him in the 01:43:23.859 --> 01:43:27.300 van. Get a blanket over there. Come on. That's 01:43:27.300 --> 01:43:36.520 an offensive weapon, that is. Come on. All right, 01:43:36.520 --> 01:43:38.140 sonny, that's enough. Just pack that up.