Trolljergeren (2010)

"Trolljergeren", also known as "Troll Hunter" in English, is a fantastic Norwegian horror/fantasy film that highlights the mythical creatures in a way that has never been seen before! What's great about this movie is that it touches on several different kinds of trolls and finds a perfect reason to connect them all together into one story. Each type of troll is given it's fair share of screen time and demonstrates their various traits. Otto Jespersen is amazing as the lead character, Hans the Troll Hunter. Best known as a comedian in Norway, Otto plays his role extremely straight and without too much emotion throughout the film which allows the college students working with him to have the excitable reactions one might have when encountering a troll.
The special effects vary throughout the film, with some trolls looking better and more detailed than others; this is too much of a distraction but is noticeable.


A trio of college students are following a hunter named Hans who they suspect is an illegal bear poacher. At one site where a dead bear is found, local hunters remark how the bear tracks look odd but Finn Haugen, the head of the Norwegian Wildlife Board, reassures that the bear tracks are real. The three finally track down Hans one night as he comes running out of a forest yelling "troll"! The commentator, Thomas, is bitten by something in the dark and the three also find that their vehicle has been destroyed. They ride with Hans back to his camp and ask if they can come along and film whatever it is that he's doing. He thinks about it, asks if any of them are Christians, and after they say no, he allows them to come along. The next night Hans takes the three to another forest where they find a three headed troll. Hans allows it to chase him and leads it back to his Land Rover where he activates a high powered UV light that turns the creature to stone. Hans begins to break down the stone remains as Finn arrives with a bear carcass and begins imprinting fake bear tracks. The three college students soon realize that they are privy to a secret government organization and the trolls are indeed real. They continue their travels with Hans as he tries to figure out why there is so much troll activity all of a sudden.

Oh, that's not good!

UV lights turning an older troll to stone

Hans the troll hunter and Johanna the sound tech

That's a large one!

Lair of the Mountain Kings!

Fritt Vilt 2 (2008)

"Fritt Vilt 2" aka (Cold Prey 2), is the 2008 follow-up that takes place immediately after the ending of the first film. The character Jannicke is the only survivor and is able to make her way to a road where she is eventually found and taken back to a small mountain town. She tells the authorities her story and they go up into the pass and retrieve the bodies of the hermit killer and her four friends. Of course the killer isn't dead, is revived, and goes on a killing spree murdering the understaffed hospital workers and the police officers that come to the rescue. The film is pretty straight forward and doesn't need much explanation; only the back story of the hermit is fleshed out a little bit more. The movie is less frightening than the original but it is still a very enjoyable movie to watch. I appreciated how they treated Jannicke with suspicion at first because it added a layer of "reality" to the film. I also really enjoyed the characters in both films that we got to see their relationships with each other for a little bit before they were killed off.

Fritt Vilt (2006)

"Fritt Vilt", also known as "Cold Prey", is a beautiful and suspenseful Norwegian slasher film shot on top of Jotunheimen. Because of this location, over 20 tons of equipment had to be flown in and the filming process took over two years to complete. The end result is well worth is because if you're going to do something you might as well do it right. The visuals and the sense of isolation is real and intense; I love movies and stories that involve snowy locations and this is perfect.

Five friends (it's always five!) are on a snowboarding trip in the Jotunheimen range. Morten badly injures his leg and the group is forced to find shelter for the night. Luckily they find an abandoned ski lodge nearby, unknown to them that it's the home of a very large, very violent hermit who is responsible for more than his fair share of murders of other skiers and snowboarders. The movie focuses Jannicke, whose boyfriend Eirik volunteers to go back to the car only to become the first victim. Jannicke does her best to protect the wounded Morten after the come to realize that they are being stalked and killed by the hermit. 

Død Snø aka Dead Snow (2009)

The first thing you notice about the film "Dead Snow" is that its in Norwegian and you have to read subtitles to know what's being said; if you hate subtitles, do give up because this is a great film. The second thing you notice is that the writer is a huge fan of 1980's horror films; why else would the film geek be quoting classic lines in English? The third thing you notice is that the film starts off with a serious tone when the horror begins but by the end the movie feels a lot like "Dead Alive". It's an intense, comical, and relentless film about nazi zombies who want their stolen gold back!

What's great about this movie are all of the different ways that the zombies are killed off; gunned down by machine guns, blown up by hand grenades, axed apart, and so forth. And these aren't you stumbling dumb zombies, these are fully trained nazi soldiers that just happen to be dead. And numerous, as in uncountable. Once you think they're all dead, more crawl up from the frozen mountain side. 

I highly recommend this film and it can often be found on Netflix.