I collect crappy horror films, particularly the "creature flicks" and I have to confess that Troll 2 is my run-away all-time favorite. This movie has absolutely no redeeming qualities, none. Had the acting, story, effects, dialogue, any one of those not been as awful as they are in this film then Troll 2 simply would not be the same. It would have been forgotten long ago and not held as the utter piece of crap that it is.
First, there is absolutely no connect with the first Troll movie. This is probably a good thing since the first movie wasn't even funny in an awful way, just horribly lame. There is not a single troll in Troll 2 anyway, since they're all "goblins." The premise entails a family (Mom, Dad, Joshua, Holly) in some sort of "exchange program" which puts them in a town called Nilbog (get it?). It turns out that the town is really goblins who try to feed humans neon green slop that turns them into part-vegetables. The goblins then eat them. The family is evidently comfortable eating food like corn-on-the-cob with neon green stuff on top and cakes with "eat up" written in green "icing," except for Joshua who suspects trouble by virtue of the fact that the boy is in communion with his dead grandfather, a man who conveniently knows all about the goblins and how to conquer them.
As if this premise weren't enough, the acting is horrible. Holly has a boyfriend who comes along and drags three of his own friends who each suffer a gruesome fate (turned into a tree, drowned in popcorn, etc). These dorks couldn't score with Nilbog girls if they paid them, but since there's a weird homo erotic feel to their interactions, it probably wouldn't come to that. Holly's BAD at delivering her lines - it reminds me of second grade and how we'd read the parts of a play out loud in class. It sounds prepackaged and faked, like reading off a teleprompter. The Mom is equally awful and has really strange bug eyes. You half expect her to turn into a goblin. Apparently "row, row, row your boat" is her favorite song and she makes her family sing it. Joshua looks like he's in constant pain and every whine of his makes you grit your teeth and beg for a chainsaw (Creedence has one!). Although far from being good, the Dad here delivers the best performance, but maybe that's because he reminded me of Craig T. Nelson, who can actually act. As far as costumes, they went crazy with the green dye. It's everywhere. There are only three goblin mask molds that they use on different midget or kid actors so that the goblins look inbred. There's a closeup where we see a goblin's mouth and the fakeness of the mask is revealed. The music is a keyboard synthesizer.
The strangest thing about this movie may be the continual string of non-sequiturs. We see "Nilbog milk" but we never find out why it's there or what it's supposed to do (It presumably doesn't aid in the vegetable-morph process). We never learn about grandpa's powers, why he's unable to stop the family from eating bad food yet is able to hack a goblin with an axe through a mirror later and produce a Molotov cocktail to hurl at the Nilbog preacher. Why turn Arnold into a tree? Who was that girl randomly running through the forest and why doesn't Arnold seem surprised to see goblins? Just who is Creedence and what does her family being "from Stonehenge" have to do with anything? How does "the power of goodness" vanquish the goblins? I have to conclude that there's a satirical undercurrent to this film because it's just that random.
This film is obviously a local product from somewhere in Utah. It changes your perception of that state. According to the cover, this movie is just over an hour and a half but I swear it feels like a three hour movie. I recommend watching Troll 2 if you like funny bad movies, but it's best watched with friends and intoxicating substances. "They're eating her! And then they're going to eat me! Oh my gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawd!"
First, there is absolutely no connect with the first Troll movie. This is probably a good thing since the first movie wasn't even funny in an awful way, just horribly lame. There is not a single troll in Troll 2 anyway, since they're all "goblins." The premise entails a family (Mom, Dad, Joshua, Holly) in some sort of "exchange program" which puts them in a town called Nilbog (get it?). It turns out that the town is really goblins who try to feed humans neon green slop that turns them into part-vegetables. The goblins then eat them. The family is evidently comfortable eating food like corn-on-the-cob with neon green stuff on top and cakes with "eat up" written in green "icing," except for Joshua who suspects trouble by virtue of the fact that the boy is in communion with his dead grandfather, a man who conveniently knows all about the goblins and how to conquer them.
As if this premise weren't enough, the acting is horrible. Holly has a boyfriend who comes along and drags three of his own friends who each suffer a gruesome fate (turned into a tree, drowned in popcorn, etc). These dorks couldn't score with Nilbog girls if they paid them, but since there's a weird homo erotic feel to their interactions, it probably wouldn't come to that. Holly's BAD at delivering her lines - it reminds me of second grade and how we'd read the parts of a play out loud in class. It sounds prepackaged and faked, like reading off a teleprompter. The Mom is equally awful and has really strange bug eyes. You half expect her to turn into a goblin. Apparently "row, row, row your boat" is her favorite song and she makes her family sing it. Joshua looks like he's in constant pain and every whine of his makes you grit your teeth and beg for a chainsaw (Creedence has one!). Although far from being good, the Dad here delivers the best performance, but maybe that's because he reminded me of Craig T. Nelson, who can actually act. As far as costumes, they went crazy with the green dye. It's everywhere. There are only three goblin mask molds that they use on different midget or kid actors so that the goblins look inbred. There's a closeup where we see a goblin's mouth and the fakeness of the mask is revealed. The music is a keyboard synthesizer.
The strangest thing about this movie may be the continual string of non-sequiturs. We see "Nilbog milk" but we never find out why it's there or what it's supposed to do (It presumably doesn't aid in the vegetable-morph process). We never learn about grandpa's powers, why he's unable to stop the family from eating bad food yet is able to hack a goblin with an axe through a mirror later and produce a Molotov cocktail to hurl at the Nilbog preacher. Why turn Arnold into a tree? Who was that girl randomly running through the forest and why doesn't Arnold seem surprised to see goblins? Just who is Creedence and what does her family being "from Stonehenge" have to do with anything? How does "the power of goodness" vanquish the goblins? I have to conclude that there's a satirical undercurrent to this film because it's just that random.
This film is obviously a local product from somewhere in Utah. It changes your perception of that state. According to the cover, this movie is just over an hour and a half but I swear it feels like a three hour movie. I recommend watching Troll 2 if you like funny bad movies, but it's best watched with friends and intoxicating substances. "They're eating her! And then they're going to eat me! Oh my gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawd!"