Editorials
Did You Know There Was an Indian TV Series Based on 1990’s “IT”?
Turns out the kids in Derry, Maine weren’t the only ones who needed to fear Pennywise’s grease paint and fangs, as his scaly claws apparently had the ability to reach out from deep in the gutter to far across the sea…
Stephen King is no stranger to having his work adapted. In fact, almost every single one of his novels and short stories have found their way to the big and small screen in some form or another. A handful of these adaptations could be considered what you might call “unique”: Carrie, King’s debut novel and in some ways his most popular release, has been brought to both theaters and television no less than three times, not including unrelated sequels.
Other interesting adaptations include The Lawnmower Man, a film that has absolutely nothing in common with the work from which it got its namesake (so much so that King would later sue New Line Cinema to have all instances of his own name removed from the final product).
But perhaps one of the most interesting adaptations of Stephen King’s work is Woh, an Indian television series from 1998 which was based on the American television miniseries It from 1990!
The major beats of Woh are almost identical to the American series. The titular character — a red-balloon toting, child-murdering monster disguised as a clown – is eventually bested by a group of seven teens who all vow to return should Woh ever return. Years later, when the balloons start popping up and kids start going missing again, the group of old friends reconvenes, intent on destroying Woh once and for all. Much like the American series, several members of the group fall victim to Woh’s shape-shifting and mind tricks, but by the end, the remaining survivors defeat the evil force.
That’s sort of where the incidental similarities end, however. The Indian series didn’t feel the need to marry itself to the source material. In fact, it took a lot of creative liberties, including giving Woh a mother. Near the end of the series, she provides the group with Woh’s backstory and motivations: apparently, he was a short man who found it hard to get along in society, and so he decided to commit suicide and became an evil spirit in the process. Another difference is how the group eventually defeats Woh: they sort of work with him to help him attain “salvation” so that he’ll stop being such a scary creepy clown.
Despite running for a whopping 52 episodes, Woh never caught on. Indian audiences were unfamiliar with the original American series (and King’s novel, for that matter), and found the material a little too niche for their tastes. Because of this, the show was not a success and only ran for one (albeit, long) season.
If you’re interested in checking the show out the complete series is currently up on Youtube, but there’s a little catch: it’s entirely in Hindi and there aren’t any subtitles. However, don’t let that dissuade you from at least checking out the opening credits. They’re perfectly creepy – not to mention oh so wonderfully ’90s.
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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