Editorials
“They All Float Down Here…”: “It” Turns 25!
It’s hard to believe how quickly time flies, especially as one grows older. As children, summer vacation felt like a lifetime while the school year leading up to it felt like an eternity. I remember lazy summer days where I would run in the backyard and climb my treehouse for hours at a time. I remember riding my bike to the park and hanging out with my friends. But you know who never got to really experience anything like that? Georgie Denbrough. He’s too busy doing some “floating”.
That’s right, folks! Today marks the 25th anniversary of the premiere of the TV adaptation of Stephen King’s “It“, the film that instilled a terror of clowns into an entire generation.
Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace (Halloween III: Season of the Witch) the two-part film event premiered November 18th, 1990 on ABC and was based off of Stephen King’s 1986 novel of the same name. The film followed the “Loser’s Club”, a group of seven kids who were essentially the school outcasts as they dealt with the tragedy of losing one of their own. But the tragedy wasn’t some act of nature. Rather, it was the work of Pennywise the Dancing Clown, who was played by veteran actor Tim Curry (Rock Horror Picture Show, Legend).
The first part of the two-part television event focused on the Loser’s Club as children, seeing their formative years shaken and rattled by the eponymous monster that haunted them at nearly every turn. They decide to strike back to ensure no more loss of life occurs, all while having to deal with the school bullies that seemingly won’t leave them alone. After they manage to strongly wound Pennywise, they make a pact that they will return to their hometown of Derry should the evil ever arise again, fighting to save the souls of the children there.
Part two takes place almost 30 years later, when a vicious murder causes Mike, the only member of the Loser’s Club to stay in Derry, to call the rest of the crew up to return and finish what they started. It’s then that things really start to spin out of control as they are all forced to face their greatest childhood fear.
While King’s novel didn’t get the full treatment that it probably warranted, it’s understandable why so much had to be excised. “It” runs over 1,100 pages, which meant that a faithful adaptation would’ve only worked as a two to three season TV series, at the very least. Even then, a bunch of liberties would’ve had to have been taken because King’s writing is oftentimes very adult in nature and that wouldn’t have flown on TV.
Still, even with all the edits and creative liberties taken, the film was generally well received, although critics and much of the cast and crew felt that the second part wasn’t as strong as the first half. The two-part event was also incredibly well received by viewers, the first part being the fifth-highest rated program upon airing and the second part being the second-highest rated program, each being viewed by nearly 20 million households.
Even with only one movie appearance Pennywise has become a horror icon. Much of that can be attributed to the outstanding performance of Tim Curry, who rumor has it used his real hair for the performance, simply dying it red and going through makeup and hair styling each day. His mixture of pleasant charm with gleeful terror has cemented the character in our minds, filling our slumbers with nightmares.
“It” is in the process of being remade and we’ve been bringing you tons of coverage on what’s been going on there. Admittedly, it hasn’t been pretty and the process has gone through a great deal of turmoil, although now it’s apparently set to begin filming in Summer of 2016. And while we hope that the remake gives something fresh and interesting with more of the terror from the novel, we can always rest comfortably knowing that we have the original.
In this day and age, the word “troll” is often used to describe various online nuisances. Yet as abundant and irksome as the modern troll can be, they aren’t usually as fearsome as their mythological counterparts. I’m not talking about the small and gentler versions that have become more common to see in media. No, there are much bigger and scarier trolls out there—and André Øvredal’s movie Troll Hunter is one of the best places to find them.
It doesn’t take long for Troll Hunter (or Trolljegeren) to dump the Blair Witch Project-esque setup and aim for something a lot fresher. The trajectory of the story is augmented by Otto Jespersen’s character Hans, the titular Troll Hunter. The second he comes barreling out of the deep, dark woods and shouts “troll” at the camera, this movie takes a turn into what feels like uncharted territory. Not only subject-wise, but also conceptually.
For fantastical and made-up subject matter in cinema, found footage is a fast way to add a guise of believability. After all, what we accept to be the most crucial aspect of documentaries—the truth—rubs off on pseudo-documentaries, despite our understanding of the pretense involved. That is what Øvredal delivered with Troll Hunter: a movie so convincing that some viewers wondered if trolls really do exist. So, had this been straightforwardly made, it likely wouldn’t have been as effective. Conventional narratives would be more inclined to treat something like trolls as flat out unreal, and never try to convince the audience to think otherwise.
Hans petrifies the three-headed Tusseladd troll.
The viewers, like the characters trailing Hans, are quickly thrown into the deeper end of that extraordinary story. They have to process all this new information while staying on the go. So, although there is no significant amount of meandering, narratively or physically, there is still a good amount of atmosphere, not to mention tension building. It’s never anything frightful, but then again, Troll Hunter isn’t your standard offering of horror; it’s more on the low end of the dark fantasy spectrum. We aren’t ever spirited away to a faraway world—we stay in rather familiar surroundings, as well as dip into those less so. The outcome is a movie where you’re constantly more in awe than in terror.
As fantasy fiction might do, Troll Hunter prefers not to deal with incredulity. There is no time to waste on doubt, as interviewer Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud), soundperson Johanna (Johanna Mørck), and cameraman Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen) all follow Hans around, recording whatever this character is willing to reveal about his bizarre job. Of course, the Troll Hunter himself is not an open book; in that respect, the diegetic documentary fails to fully capture and unpack the more interesting of its two subjects. Yes, all those giant, monstrous trolls are indeed incredible, but understandably, your mind wanders to their pursuer. What kind of person signs up for this gig and then chooses to stick with it for so long?
Reviews have called out Troll Hunter for its lack of character development. In regard to Thomas and his fellow documentarians, that criticism is valid, but bear in mind, they aren’t the focus of the story, either. Meanwhile, Hans is a well-crafted character. At least better than first realized. Before he was introduced, Hans had already grown tired of the troll grind. Fed up with that low compensation for his services, resentful of the bureaucracy, and wanting to expose his employer on a large scale, Hans’ discontent is glaring.
Then there are those finer details about the Troll Hunter, such as that indifference to both the natural splendor of his everyday surroundings and the affections of an obviously smitten colleague, that also suggest some level of despondency. So it is fair to say this movie doesn’t feature any sizable growth for its characters; however, the namesake isn’t underwritten. No doubt, putting a real-life character like Otto Jespersen in that role is partly why Hans is so fascinating—maybe even relatable.
Otto Jespersen as Hans the Troll Hunter.
There is always a small risk whenever using the term “mockumentary” to describe a found-footage movie, as the word could imply humor where there is none. In the case of Troll Hunter, the term’s usage is appropriate. Some folks have claimed the English-dubbed version has the more comedic tone, however, the Norwegian cut isn’t exactly humorless. Apart from the trolls’ absurd appearances, this is a movie where the characters nearly choke on the monsters’ farts, and Christians are like walking targets. Hans’ complete apathy towards everything is another cause of laughter. Overall, the comedy is intentionally dry and inconsistent. Unfunny, though? Absolutely not.
In a movie where endemic creatures are maltreated, as well as disavowed from living freely and peacefully, it’s hard not to notice the ecological message buried beneath the story. In addition to that is the unmistakable political satire. There is this whole business about intrusive and unsightly power lines—like trolls, they’re big blemishes on the land—that leads to what is perhaps the movie’s funniest moment. The scene in question is that one where certain electric lines, the ones secretly being used to keep the trolls at bay, go in a loop and don’t actually send power to any residents. Yet the monitors of said lines don’t find this at all weird. So it stands to reason that Øvredal was having a go at those who accept the government’s doings without question.
Looking past the fact that trolls aren’t actually real, this movie is an enlightening source of information. And not just for international audiences; Norwegians, too, get schooled about their homeland’s own mythology. It’s also evident from everything on screen that Øvredal and his crew were enthusiastic about the topic. The creature designs are the most indicative of that zeal; those imaginative yet myth-accurate manifestations are equally amusing and grotesque. One second you’re laughing at their phallic noses, the next you’re white-knuckling during a hairy sequence. Most surprisingly is how well the trolls’ visual effects hold up after fifteen years. It’s not all spotless, but on the whole, they remain impressive.
Vouching for a mockumentary about trolls isn’t easy, but those who do come around and give it a shot will more than likely be grateful for the recommendation. For Troll Hunter is a real find in that vast and varied genre we call “found footage“.
A bridge troll reaches up for food and finds Hans decked out in armor.
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