TROLL/TROLL 2: Worth the purchase, I assure you

TROLL Plot: A suburban family moves in a small apartment, only it's inhabited by a troll that turns the tenanats into creatures. The family's son, Harry Potter Jr., tries to end the troll's reign.

TROLL 2: Plot: A small family decides to stay in a country called 'Nilbog', yet the family's little son Joshua can communicate with his dead Grandpa Seth. Seth warns Joshua that the town is filled with goblins who want to turn the family into clorophyll plants and eat them.

TROLL is one of Charlie Band's/Empire Pictures more "family"oriented features. Coming from the same company responsible for the gruesome RE-ANIMATOR (1985), FROM BEYOND (1986), and TERRORVISION (1986) this all kind-of came out of place for the company. Yet, it's all a fun affair as director John Carl Buechler makes it a crazy romp in the park. And the cast list is something else: Michael Moriarty and Shelly Hack as the parents, Sonny Bono as a down-n'-dirty swinger, Anne and June Lockhart as witches, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and her real-life husband Brad Hall, and the loveable character actor Phil Fondacaro! Hey, Empire sure knew how to deliver a cast. Even if the film is a bit weak on ploting, it's still very entertaining and imaginatve.

TROLL 2, on the other hand, is considered to be the bad apple and I really cannot agree. First off, when I originally saw TROLL 2 on video 5 years ago I'll admit that I didn't like it all. But, recently after viewing it again on my crappy VHS I began to like it a bit. TROLL 2 is indeed not going to be a classic by any means, but it has something that a big budget Hollywood film of today lacks: entertainment. Writer/director Claudio Fragasso (who directed the film as 'Drago Floyd') considers this one of his better films due to writing it as an intended film for a younger, imaginatve, and immature audience. Looking at his film AFTER DEATH (1988) and other "serious sounding" films, TROLL 2 comes as a change of pace as the story doesn't have to be serious at all! The story, while very incoherant, is nonetheless interesting and isn't supposed to be some well-restrained film. It's fun and it's incredibly campy. Also considering that their is some mild gruesome moments in TROLL 2, one wonders how it could be intended for kids. Yet, I'll bet in Italy and in other parts of Europe it doesn't offend any of the kids.

Not only that, but the film is critisized for all the wrong reasons. The film was shot on location in Utah and used the local townsfolk as some of the performers (i.e., the father was played by a local dentist; he did a decent job I thought) and is critisized for not hiring "professional" performers. Okay, this is a low budget film made by Italians! Jesus H. Christ on a bicycle, when you are making a film for very little money you have to do something! And the acting wasn't that bad, and it wasn't great either. On the plus side, the camerawork and set design is nicely done (hey, the Italians know what they can do well). Michael Stephenson, who would later star in BEYOND DARKNESS (1991), another product of writer/director Claudio Fragasso (using his 'Clyde Anderson' moniker) and Joe D'Amato-Filmirage S.r.l. company, is fun to watch overract. Carlo Maria Cordio's scores are the same used in the Joe D'Amato-Filmirage S.r.l. products KILLING BIRDS (1987), GHOSTHOUSE (1987), and BEYOND DARKNESS (1991).

Yet, TROLL 2 is anything but a sequel to TROLL. And this was not Claudio Fragasso's idea of the title, so the blame goes straight to producer Joe D'Amato and his Filmirage S.r.l. if you want to point the finger. Fragasso stated that the film was originally titled GOBLIN, but D'Amato decided to change the title to TROLL 2 in order to capitalize on Charlie Band's TROLL. Yet here is the strange catch: TROLL was released in 1986, made it's money back, and that was it. The film wasn't breaking any box office record in 1991, and by that time Empire Pictures was defunct! One would say that, with the competition out of the way, D'Amato could make some buckage off the film easily if it claimed it was a sequel. If so, it's classic D'Amato exploitation, which was becoming a dying breed in the early 90's. What's even more astonishing as how TROLL and TROLL 2 ended up in the same film vault together. When Empire Pictures closed back in 1989, TransWorld Entertainment bought the company and the films, as well as changing TransWorld to Epic Productions. When 1991 rolled in, Epic Productions began to produce and acquire films for limited theatrical release, and it just so happens that TROLL 2 was picked up by Epic. Released with very little playdates, Epic loaned TROLL 2 and some other films to Columbia-Tri Star Home Video for early VHS distribution. In 1993, Epic was sold to MGM for $290 million and since then has remained to be the back catalouge of the big budget studio. But TROLL 2 the "Worst Film Ever Made"? Hell no, leave that to THE PATRIOT, GIGLI, FREDDY GOT FINGERED and a whole other slew of titles. And these films are mainstream films!

Both TROLL and TROLL 2 are presented in their Original Theatrical Aspect Ratio of 1.85:1, enhanced for 16x9 widescreen televisions. I must say that seeing these two films remastered on DVD is a revelation. TROLL looks beautiful as the colors are clear and the print is free from any heavy grain. Considering that the transfer was taken from the 35mm negative materials, TROLL looks better than the old Vestron Video pan-scan VHS. TROLL 2 also looks pretty damn good. You might think I am a little liar when I say that, but I'm not joking with you when I say TROLL 2's transfer looks good. The color's are vibrant, as it adds a strange surrealistic element to an otherwise childish film. It's sure looks better than the old 1993 Columbia-Tri Star Home Video release as it's flat transfer pales in comparison to MGM's fantastic restoration (which may or may not be a good thing to those who know about TROLL 2).

TROLL's soundtrack is in Stereo Surround, while a plain Mono soundtrack is on TROLL 2. Both sound clear, especially TROLL's soundtrack as this is the first time it has been presented in it's original Dolby Stereo format ever since it's 1986 theatrical release (i.e., the Vestron Video release was in Mono sound)! As for TROLL 2, it was originally recorded in Mono and that's that. English, French and Spanish subtitles are provided, so in case you need them here's a head's up.

Extra's are very sparce as we get the theatrical trailers from both films. TROLL's trailer comes complete with the memorable Empire International logo, regular narration, and a fun advertising ploy. TROLL 2 is just a barage of scenes put together, yet it is the international theatrical trailer as it has scenes, which are shot on different angles, that differ from the feature and suggests that U.S. distributor TransWorld Entertainment-Epic Productions just used the international trailer to advertise TROLL 2's brief theatrical release here in America. Even so, I was quite disappointed by the lack of extra's. I mean, MGM could have gotten video interviews with TROLL's director John Carl Buechler, executive producer Charles Band, and it's star performers. As for TROLL 2, an interview with Claudio Fragasso would have also sufficed. But alais, this is not to be and it's quite a shame. The Empire Pictures films are a small back catalouge for MGM, so in a way this is all to be expected and I'm at least glad that a great transfer and sound quality are provided. But damn it, when these films have cult reputation written all over them and some other extras besides a trailer should have been added! And to add another thought, while TROLL 2's audio/visual transfer is stunning, I would have liked it if Shriek Show-Media Blasters would have picked this baby up since it came from Filmirage and fits their category.

Another complaint is the DVD packaging. Don't get me wrong, it's nicely done. But by the look on how they list the film's credits on the back, it's obvious that they are taken directly off the film's theatrical posters. For example, the credits of TROLL 2 on the back of the DVD list "Story by Clyde Anderson", "Screenplay by Clyde Anderson and Sarah Asproon", and "Director of Photography: Federiko Slonisko". It's all wrong as the film's credits list "Story and screenplay by Drago Floyd (Fragasso's alias)" and "Director of Photography: Giancarlo Ferrando"! Please MGM, get your info from the film itself not the posters!

TROLL and TROLL 2 is lighthearted fun. TROLL 2 will obviously not appeal to those who have been weened on too much crappy mainstream garbage. Don't get me wrong, TROLL 2 is crappy independent garbage. But it's appealing garbage in the sense that Hollywood would never rise up to.