Troll 2 (1990)
Directed by Claudio Fragasso
Written by Claudio Fragasso, Rossella Drudi
Starring George Hardy, Michael Stephenson, Connie McFarland
Release Date October 12th 1990
Box Office Gross 0
"It's a ferocious analysis of today's society" Rossella Drudi on her script for Troll 2
That's a real quote from someone who co-wrote the script for 1990's Troll 2. For those aware of the reputation of Troll 2, it's hard not to assume that Drudi is making a joke. I assure you, she is not. The quote comes directly from Drudi in the amazing documentary, Best Worst Movie, a documentary about the rebirth of Troll 2 as a so bad it's good cult classic. Drudi, in a tone that betrays irritation at having to defend her work, actually says, with some conviction, how she views Troll 2.
Where do we begin with the mess that is Troll 2. From a personal perspective, I have been aware of Troll 2 for years without ever taking the time to actually watch it. I've watched numerous other critics poke hilarious fun at Troll 2 on YouTube and that's really been all the Troll 2 I have ever needed. Troll 2 is far more fun if you watch it with a group of like-minded friends or via the perspective of a very funny YouTube critic who can deliver the gist of the movie in a tight 15 to 20 minute package.
So, despite feeling as if I have seen Troll 2 via these critics, the words of friends in the bad movie community, and the remarkable documentary, Best Worst Movie, directed by the film's star, Michael Stephenson, this watch, for this project, is actually the first time that I have seen Troll 2 in its entirety. What have I learned? It's about as crazy and deeply misguided as I thought it was. Indeed, dear reader, unless you are going to a Troll 2 party, you never need to actually see Troll 2, everything you already know about it is more than enough.
Troll 2 follows a family that is engaging a summer home exchange. They are going to stay on a farm in a small Utah town while a family from that town will stay in their home in the 'big city.' The craziness kicks off right away as our protagonist, 10 year old Joshua (Michael Stephenson) is being read a story about evil, human consuming Goblins who roam the forest. The man reading the story is Joshua's grandfather, Seth (Robert Ormsby), a man who happens to be dead.
We learn this from some of the clumsiest, clunky exposition possible. The poor amateur actors of Troll 2 are a sincere lot but they are fully defeated by a script translated from Italian by a tyrant who was, according to Best Worst Movie, eager to tell his American actors that he knew the way Americans talk better than they did. Claudio Fragasso's comically misguided dedication to preserving the bizarre, though incredibly quotable dialogue, leads to these amateur actors having to try and perform while fighting the very script they are supposed to be performing.
Director Claudio Fragosso directs Troll 2 as if he were attempting to shame America by presenting Americans as viewed through the lens of the rest of the world. In Fragosso's world, Americans are grotesque weirdoes who engage in bizarre behaviors like Vegetarianism, and engage in a dystopia via a rigid set of expectations that when not met, can lead to murderous chaos. Americans are both the monsters and the victims in Troll 2, so the intentions of Fragosso are more than a bit muddled, but, yeah, that is apparently Fragosso's intention.
Find my full length review at Horror.Media
