Troll (1986)
Director: John Carl Buechler
Starring: Noah Hathaway, Michael Moriarty, Shelley Hack
Synopsis:
When a family moves into a new apartment, the daughter is captured by a troll who takes her place.
Impressions:
After an FWI (flying while intoxicated) incident, Harry Potter lost his job at the Ministry of Magic, Ginny divorced him and made off with James and Albus, he had his powers sealed and his mind wiped, then started up a new franchise in the States, but even though he's living a new life as a muggle, the world of magic comes for him and his family once more. That may or may not be my head cannon backstory for this movie. (And, no, you can't talk about this movie without making Harry Potter jokes.)
I forgot about how Italian filmmaking works (at least their B movie sector) and thought that I needed to see this before Troll 2. They're unrelated, but in retrospect, I'm glad for my confusion. The first act of the movie is a drag, I admit, but as the magical elements ramp up, this actually becomes a rather neat movie. John Carl Buechler's background in effects gets put to good use here and the design for Torok. Character-wise, Torok is a bit interesting as he blends malice and mischief with a more benign side that alludes to a more complex character that doesn't quite get executed as well as I would've liked. Like I said, when it really gets going, it's pretty nice, but you've got to grit your teeth and power through the first half-hour or so. If you can do that, I'd say it's worth a watch.
Rating:Watch It