Trollhunter (2010)

Did everyone who celebrates Christmas have a good one?  I did.  I would go so far as to call it an unqualified success.  I got fuzzy socks, a Starbucks gift set, make-up, bath stuff and, of course, movies.  Christy got me Anastasia, The Brave Little Toaster, and Clueless, her boyfriend got me Dead Man Down, and Rob got me a 6-film Jackie Chan collection and the Warner Bros. Best Picture collection.  Twenty more Best Picture winners from 1929 all the way to 2006.  Plus, my aunt and uncle got me a gift card to Fandango, which is going to come in very handy this Oscar season.  Honestly, I feel very humbled to have so many people in my life who love me whether or not I always deserve it.

Enough mushy crap.  Trolls!    Ignore that tagline; it's terrible, but the movie is good.

Three film students are tracking a man named Hans (Otto Jespersen) who they believe to be a bear poacher.  They discover that Hans is actually part of a secret government branch that monitors Norway's most endangered animals:  trolls.  Several of the territorial creatures have escaped their enclosures to rampage the countryside and Hans wants to know why.  Initially skeptical, the students soon find that sometimes fairy tales should be left alone.

This is one of the rare films that actually does found footage correctly.  The whole thing is played very straight, with a heartfelt plea at the beginning and end about people coming forward if they have any answers on what may have befallen the three film students shown.  The creature effects are very good, as well, especially in the "night vision" portions. 

I always like to see myths and legends from other countries told without the lens of Americanization.  I grew up with David the Gnome on Nickelodeon.  My mom actually had the source book for that cartoon, Gnomes, so I'm aware of Scandinavian troll stories.  There are lots.  I did not know that trolls can apparently smell the blood of Christians.  That's a nifty little detail that you wouldn't get if you didn't grow up there, I guess.