Rating: 3.5/5

It’s all been done before.

While, yes, I am quoting ’90s pop geniuses the Barenaked Ladies, I can find no better phrase to describe the film The Troll Hunter.

The Troll Hunter, the brainchild of Norwegian writer/director André Øvredal, may cash-in on every “shakey-cam” cliche from Blair Witch to Cloverfield, is still an insanely enjoyable trip through a fictitious Norwegian landscape, pleasing the nerdy film buff and the casual moviegoer in the process.

The plot follows a group of Norwegian film students who set out to document a possible “troll hunter.” As they become deeper embroiled in his search, they are met with a reality that they appear to not have expected.

The reality I describe, of course, is insanely transparent CGI and loaded with gaudy Norwegian dialogue, but somehow still manages to engage its audience. The laughs brought on at the annual Galway Film Fleadh in Ireland only confirm its campy appeal, but The Troll Hunter remains a solid piece of POV, mainstream cinema that excites and induces a fleeting sense of comedy in its viewers.

So, if you’re looking for a film that capitalizes on its own sense of self-deprecation, scour every video store and illegal bootleg website on the Internet for The Troll Hunter. You will be far from disappointed.