Found Footage and Trollhunter (2010): Essay Time!

The found footage horror film is so commonplace in modern cinema that it's no longer innovative or edgy. This also means that we can look past the gimmick of Found Footage films and start seeing them for what they are, which is not all that bad.
Back in the days of The Last Broadcast (1998) or The Blair Witch Project (1999), dressing a movie up as mysterious footage found in some remote location was a great way to add mystique to a film's release and get asses in theater seats. When Blair Witch came out in the late 90s I was not immune to it's creepy charm. I was convinced this was real footage and that there was a legitimate mystery behind it. I mean, there was a website and everything, I couldn't imagine that the internet would lie to me.

I fell for it... so what

These curiosities were of course killed when the backlash exploded and the truth, that it was really a hoax, came out in the open. I can remember seeing Heather Donahue, one of the characters in Blair Witch who is named the same the actor, on some talk show promoting some teen movie she had a bit role in, my naïve illusion was burst...but I digress.
The venom that was heaped on Blair Witch in the years following its release seemed to do little to discourage the plethora of would-be Found Footage films from hitting the market. Paranormal Activity (2007), Cloverfield (2008), and The Last Exorcism (2010) all use the found footage/mockumentary approach to storytelling, were all released relatively close together and are coming out about a decade after Blair Witch.

We know Godzilla didn't attack New York,
but Cloverfield  is still in verité style

Leslie Vernon: a loveable rogue

This sub-genre, flooding of the market as it has, has no doubt turned many people off this kind of movie, but personally I think the saturation is a positive thing: It has given a new sub-genre to Horror. Much like the Slasher, or the Monster movie have done for Horror, the Found Horror has added some new ammo to the cannon. It has it's genre restraints just like the others, but also has the ability to subvert and play with other sub-genres of horror. Take for instance Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006). The movie mixes the traditional slasher with the exposé-style documentary to make a funny and scary flick, that's actually pretty damn good.
The Found Horror also gives independent filmmakers a popularly accepted and understood film form that doesn't require a high budget. It almost does the opposite and demands a low budget (or at least the appearance of one). The film S&Man (2006) (pronounced “Sandman” not “S-ampersand-Man”) is, at it's core, a really intelligent and even handed documentary investigating good, bad and ugly of underground gore/horror films. Throughout the documentary is also weaves a story of a horror fan who may also be a murderous psychopath and in turn becomes a sort-of  found indie Horror flick itself. The film is very low budget, and rightfully so, as it's documenting super low budget films, as well as throwing its own hat into the ring as a frugal fright flick.
Of course Found Horror isn't without drawbacks. Just like any other genre there's a lot of crap out there. But there are gems, and the crap make the gems shine brighter, and this is where we finally get to  Trollhunter.

Jive Turkey shines a light on Found Horror

Category: Horror, Creature Feature, Found Footage, Norway!

Written by André Øvredal and Håvard S. Johansen. Directed by André Øvredal (Future Murder). Norway. 103min

Trollhunter sells itself very much like a found footage films, kicking off with a brief explanation of where the footage was found and what was done to it in order to bring it to the screen.
At the core of the film, there's not too many surprises. It hits all the right notes of these kind of films and doesn't really play with expectations or flip genre conventions.
So how can it be so good?
Well think of it as a well written pop song. A ditty by Superchunk or Big Star or something. It hits the verse, chorus, verse structure, but does so very well you fall in love with it so easily. It's paced nicely and keeps your attention the whole time, but doesn't become annoying or repetitive. Trollhunter is the “I Want You to Want Me” of Found Horror Films.
Oh, did I mention it has trolls in it?!
I haven't seen a troll film since, well, Troll (1986) (and no, Troll 2 doesn't count, because despite its title, it had goblins). However in this film they are not weird little mischievous monsters, but huge hulking brutes, as they should be. They're essentially the Norse version of Kaijus and are terrifying.
It's like a Scandinavian Jurassic Park without the boring stuff and Spielberg touch. Much more raw and much more brutal. So maybe it's the “Take on Me” of Found Horror, but “Take on Me” done in the style of Black Metal. (How would that sound?)

The Gang suited up for the hunt

In a few words: it's just really great.
So like it or not, Found Horror has not found it's death... yet. There's apparently still more to say.
Trollhunter gets 4 chewed up tires out of 5