Movies
Attack the Block
“A heavy dose of dry, witty humor mixed with engaging action and a score by Basement Jaxx that will appeal to fans of Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy work, Attack The Block is an unquestionable homerun and the kind of film that doesn’t come around often enough. Cornish manages to take what could be unlikeable antagonists and transforms them to heroes through unlikely, random circumstances and razor-sharp wit, making him seem like the British Shane Black. It’s a shame that the dialect is what the industry is buzzing about as the film looks for a distributor, and not how fun and refreshing an experience it is.”
If you live in the US, odds are that Joe Cornish’s name doesn’t mean much to you. Yet. Known for The Adam And Joe Show in the UK, as well as small roles in Edgar Wright’s Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz, his script for The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn – which he co-wrote with Wright, along with the long-gestating Ant-Man – has yet to be appreciated by mainstream American audiences. His first directorial effort, however, is one the best theatrical experiences I’ve had in a long time. Mixing a kids-in-a-gang premise with an old-fashion standoff and incorporating fantastical creatures using rotoscoping techniques that would make Ralph Bakshi proud, Attack The Block will undoubtedly make you excited for ANYTHING he puts his name on in the future.
Set in south London, the film follows a group of hoods in their early teens who are involved in selling drugs, assaulting and robbing people who pass by their street corner, and general shenanigans. After mugging Sam (Jodie Whittaker), a local nurse, the group spots a pod of sorts falling from the sky, which crashes down and destroys a car right next to them. Moses (John Boyega), the leader, gets scratched by a creature emerging from the wreckage and, seeing it run off, gives chase to an old building where he kills it immediately. Dragging the corpse through the neighborhood back to their dealer’s HQ, Hi-Hatz (Jumayn Hunter) sees the act as a rite of passage and decides to “make” Moses. That is, if the larger, nastier aliens who just crash landed in the neighborhood don’t tear them to shreds first.
Saying that Attack The Block is a cross between Rumblefish, Assault on Precinct 13 and Critters is a fair comparison, but a tad too simplistic. Cornish’s feature-length debut is a gathering of gifted newcomers, including cinematographer Thomas Townend and most of the cast. Seeking an authentic representation of the disaffected and trouble youth in the UK (a subject touched upon quite a bit in British cinema over the past few years including Hot Fuzz and Heartless), Cornish cast young unknowns for his hood group who actually provided insight into the hierarchal ruling involved and the proper slang to use (which is sadly the most discussed about aspect of the film), among other things. All of the kids are phenomenal, taking what would be one-note characters and turning them into sympathetic and REAL people, especially Boyega who steals the show as Moses. Because of this, none of them – including the adult characters – really feel like fodder; every scene and character feels essential.
What stands out just as much is the creatures’ production design. Like the creature-features of the 80s and early 90s, the aliens are wholly unique and effective, carrying traits that don’t make them seem like they were ripped off from a thousand flicks before. Their presentation, which is a mix between practical and rotoscoping techniques, works incredibly well, creating a shade darker than black while giving it texture.
A heavy dose of dry, witty humor mixed with engaging action and a score by Basement Jaxx that will appeal to fans of Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy score, Attack The Block is an unquestionable homerun and the kind of film that doesn’t come around often enough. Cornish manages to take what could have been unlikeable antagonists and transforms them into heroes with razor-sharp wits and tongues through the occurrence of unlikely, random circumstances, making him come off like a British Shane Black. It’s a shame that the dialect is what the industry is buzzing about as the film looks for a distributor, and not how fun and refreshing an experience it is.
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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