The Film
There's something about a movie getting the "Best Worst Movie" title that just makes it a must-see. Well, maybe not. However, Troll 2 has snagged that title, claimed it as its own, and even has its own documentary of the same name.
Troll 2 is celebrating its 20th anniversary. That is true. However, it has nothing to do with the original Troll, actual trolls, or good acting. It's bad right down to its goopy green core.
Troll 2 is the story of Joshua Waits (Michael Stephenson), whose dead grandpa Seth loves to tell bedtime stories from beyond the grave about evil goblins. Yeah, not trolls, but goblins. Apparently, it's not fractured fairytale, but a fractured town of Nilbog, which just happens to be the vacation destination for the Waits family.
Sadly, the family never held the brochure up to a mirror, or maybe they would have discover that Nilbog is actually "goblin" spelled backwards. Cue the creepy music...
So yes, the trolls here are actually goblins. What's the difference? We don't really know. Apparently goblins have more of a limited wardrobe, since these evil creatures wear burlap sacks and horrible plastic masks. They also thrive on plants, and for some reason, there seems to be a shortage of those, so they turn humans into plants and eat them.
Still following? The funniest part (if we can actually narrow that down) is how the goblins make that magic happen. Instead of spells, they get humans to eat a mixture that looks like toxic pistachio pudding. Of course, no one ever questions this. We know if someone hands us something toxic green to eat, we'd have more than a few questions.
However, that's what's so awesome about Troll 2. None of it really makes any sense, and you don't want it to. The dialogue is bad, the acting is bad, the costumes and makeup are bad, and the plotline is completely ridiculous. It's camp at its finest. Hence, our 3.5-star (out of 4) rating. Other critics beg (and plead) to differ, with the movie currently holding a 0 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. How can a movie that uses lunchmeat as a weapon be that bad? You have to see it to believe it.
The Picture
Considering the special effects and goblin masks, we can't imagine that filmmakers cared too much about the way the film looked. Thankfully, someone at MGM does. Troll 2 looks surprisingly good for its age, budget, and costume designs. This 1.85:1 transfer certainly isn't demo material, but it looks like someone at MGM has done a bit of tweaking. It's grainy, but the color looks a lot more realistic than anything else in the movie -- including the performances!
The Sound
Apparently, you can't make lemonade out of lemons. Despite tacking on a DTS-HD Master Audio track, Troll 2's audio sounds pretty horrible. Everything seems to crap out of the front speakers -- and we do mean "crap." Almost all of the sounds are stuck in the center channel, and some appears to involve a tin can.
The Extras
We have one quick note about the disc. When we first started watching Troll 2, we got called away and had to pop out the disc. When we came back, we were asked if we wanted to resume, but were taken back to the beginning. Assuming we had done something wrong, we tried again -- and again and again.
Other than that, the disc contains just the original theatrical trailer and a copy of the movie on standard-def DVD -- so you can carry it to parties, of course. It's a shame that MGM couldn't include the Best Worst Movie documentary on this disc, which apparently they are saving for its own November release. Also, a commentary would have been nice. Did the actors in this movie have a "we must never speak of this again" pact or something? Can't say we blame them.
Final Thoughts
Despite declaring this the "20th Anniversary Nilbog Edition" on the disc's cover, there's nothing extra special about Troll 2 on Blu-ray. The image is fair, with bad audio and even worse extras. The movie is the treat here. Is Troll 2 a good movie? Depends on who's in the audience. It could be the world's first and only vegetarian horror movie. That's good enough for us.
Product Details
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