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Troll/Troll II - Double Feature
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Shout! Factory Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (17th January 2016). |
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The Film
 It isn’t often an atrocious sequel is able to vastly outshine its superior predecessor, yet that is precisely the case with “Troll II” (1990). After spending much of its life being derided as one of the worst films ever made, a dubious distinction cemented by an at-one-time number one ranking on IMDb’s Bottom 100 list, these days horror fans are far more likely to hear their friends talking up the ironically-enjoyable sequel than “Troll” (1986), which is (I suppose arguably) the better film. What makes this flip-flopping of reverence even more confounding is that “Troll” was one of Empire Pictures’ best films, boasting a bigger budget than most of their titles, featuring one helluva cast, and the effects work from John Carl Buechler is wonderful. The film has held up remarkably well in the nearly thirty years since release. It’s a wonder Empire honcho Charles Band never made a proper sequel, given “Troll” was a modest success, though the financial difficulties after its release may have been a factor. “Troll II” is an in-name-only sequel, with no reprising cast or crew and a storyline that follows goblins. The damn film doesn’t even have a single troll in it despite the name. Still, that didn’t stop the reviled sequel from garnering tons of midnight movie cred and spawning a documentary, “Best Worst Movie” (2009), chronicling the lives of the cast & crew in a post-“Troll II” universe. Lucky for fans of this “series”, Scream Factory has stepped in to deliver the ultimate package, containing both films along with the usual in-depth bonus features and – for the first 5,000 buyers – a copy of “Best Worst Movie” on DVD. Make note, this is the second Blu-ray release of “Troll II”, meanwhile films like Ken Russell’s “The Devils” (1971) sit in home video purgatory. These are indeed strange times. Young Harry Potter and his family have just moved into a new building; one in which he will soon learn the ways of magic & sorcery, meeting witches, faeries, and other creatures of alternate universes in an effort to stop an old nemesis. But this isn’t THAT Harry Potter despite some alarmingly similar trappings. No, this Harry Potter (Noah Hathaway) still has his parents – Harry, Sr. (Michael Moriarty) and Anne (Shelley Hack) – along with an energetic younger sister, Wendy (Jenny Beck), who stumbles upon an ancient troll named Turok (Phil Fondacaro) down in the basement just as soon as the family arrives at their new apartment in San Francisco. Within the building is a “city bus” of neighbors, including the young, nubile Jeanette (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, in her film debut) and Peter (Sonny Bono), an older eccentric who lives upstairs. Now that we’ve met the cast, time to kill most of them! Turok, having kidnapped Wendy and taken on her likeness, infiltrates every apartment she can, using a magic ring to turn the residents into organic fertilizer that births entire troll worlds within the confines of a city unit. The only one who knows the truth about Wendy is Harry, Jr. Luckily for him, Eunice (June Lockhart), a witch who lives upstairs, has been awaiting the return of Turok, and she has some magic of her own to combat the nefarious troll. This is a fun, nasty little movie. Turok is pure evil, preying on everyone from young kids to old women. Thanks to Buechler’s top-notch suit work, he’s also a creepy little misfit, too. He’s like a fat, vile Benjamin Button, only Turok knows where his magic comes from – that ring – and he uses it for dreadful deeds every chance he gets. I have vivid memories of seeing the “Troll” VHS art on rental store shelves back it was released and the image of Turok’s face always gave me the willies. Now that I’m old and jaded nothing much gets to me at all (just ask my girlfriend), but I still think Turok is one of the creepier creatures to be seen on screen. Something about that silent, hairy homunculus gives my skin a slight crawl. There are a lot of notables among the cast, but none are more important than Michael Moriarty. This is less for his acting in the film, which is very typical Michael Moriarty, and more for his dance moves. The film allows the actor a few minutes to cut a rug, providing the most entertaining moments of the entire film. Buechler described the character of Harry Potter, Sr. to Moriarty as being “ridiculous”. He couldn’t have picked a better actor for the role. Does much need to be said about “Troll II”? At one point destined to be a forgotten turd flushed down the cinematic bowl, “Troll II” found new life and has emerged as a celebrated cult classic of sorts. Think recent “hits” like “The Room” (2003) and “Birdemic: Shock and Terror” (2010), not actual cult films truly worthy of adoration. In it, a family goes on vacation to the one-stoplight town of Nilbog (clever, right?), where they encounter dwarves in goblin Halloween masks and locals with bad dental hygiene. The locals keep trying to get the visitors to eat and drink their local offerings, but Joshua (Michael Stephenson) tries valiantly to stop them since the ghost of his dead Grandpa Seth (Robert Ormsby) has warned him to avoid all food in Nilbog. You see, these aren’t normal goblins; they’re vegetarians, and the food & drinks they serve contain something that turns people into mushy, green organic food for the goblins to eat. Everything about this film is ridiculous. Everything. Vegetarian goblins turning people into edible plant matter? Hot popcorn sex? Dead grandpa ghost? Not a single trained actor in the cast? And director Claudio Fragasso wonders why people think of his film as a joke? “Troll II” deserves the home it found on the midnight circuit because it really has no place anywhere else. “Troll” film rating: B- “Troll II” film rating: C
Video
“Troll” and “Troll II” each feature a 1.85:1 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 encoded picture. The print used for “Troll” looks nearly flawless, with few instances of dirt or white flecks. Film grain looks very fine and natural. Colors are nicely reproduced, too. It’s as clean as the film can look, while still retaining that 80's aesthetic. “Troll II” previously received a Blu-ray release from MGM which was well regarded in terms of video quality. That same master was likely used here, so expect the same high level of quality. It’s almost sickening how good they managed to make the film look.
Audio
Neither film’s English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track (stereo for “Troll”; mono for “Troll II”) is buzzing with enough activity to be noteworthy. These are fairly straightforward arrangements in terms of sound design. Expect to hear clean, balanced dialogue, a range of fantasy sound effects and high fidelity rock-and-roll when Moriarty puts on his dancing shoes. Subtitles are included in English.
Extras
“Troll” gets a new making-of featurette in line with nearly every other Scream Factory title, while “Troll II” gets a new audio commentary track. The “Best Worst Movie” documentary is the best bonus feature to accompany the film, so nothing else would really matter. DISC ONE: BLU-RAY “Troll” “The Making of “Troll”” (1080p) is a featurette that runs for 50 minutes and 7 seconds. Many of the minds behind the Empire picture show up to deliver the usual recollections and history regarding the film’s production. As expected, it’s a well-made piece that flows nicely. Interestingly, this project was originally pitched to Roger Corman before finding life with Band’s production company. The film’s theatrical trailer (1080) runs for 2 minutes and 47 seconds. A photo gallery (1080p) runs for 1 minute and 27 seconds. “Troll II” The film’s new audio commentary track features actors George Hardy and Deborah Reed, both of whom were recorded separately and spliced together. It’s fun and lively; not very technical but, then, Hardy’s forte is being a big, entertaining presence and he makes the track a success in that regard. A theatrical trailer (1080) is included, running for minutes and seconds. DISC TWO: DVD Contained here is “Best Worst Movie”, featuring the exact same disc – art and all – fans have been able to purchase for years. It's a thoughtful examination of the phenomenon that is “Troll II”. The focus here is ostensibly on the film, but what really makes this doc worth watching is to see the range of people whose lives were affected, for good or bad, by “Troll II”. In particular, [dentist] is just one of those infectiously enthusiastic types who brings up the energy of any room. Most of the film’s actors are finding a new (first?) lease on fame by embracing what was once thought of as an embarrassment. The doc is essential viewing, either before or after watching the feature. The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 16x9 anamorphic widescreen ratio, with English Dolby Digital audio in either 5.1 or 2.0. Bonus features consist of a great deal of deleted/misc. footage, nearly all of which is as entertaining as the feature.
Packaging
The two-disc set comes housed in a standard Blu-ray keep case. “Troll” and “Troll II” share a disc, while “Best Worst Movie” sits on a hub just inside the cover.
Overall
“Troll” works well to sate horror fans looking for a creature feature, while “Troll II” is just what the bad movie lovers have always wanted. Add in “Best Worst Movie” as the best not-worst bonus feature possible and this is yet again another winning package from Scream Factory.
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