Troll 2 (1990)/Best Worst Movie (2009)

This is an unusual case.  I'm reviewing these two movies together, because they really have to be seen as a pair to be fully understood and appreciated.  "Troll 2" is unquestionably a top contender in the "so bad it's good" category, while "Best Worst Movie" - the documentary made about "Troll 2" - is genuinely interesting and entertaining.

Troll 2 (1990)

IMDB entry: here

My rating (as a bad movie): 5/5

There's so much bad in this movie that it's hard to know where to begin, so let's start with the title. Based on the title, you'd guess it was the sequel to "Troll", the 1986 movie starting Michael Moriarty, Shelly Hack, and Sony Bono, but you'd be wrong.  Not only does it have absolutely nothing to do with the former movie, but there aren't even any trolls in it!   The title was just a shameless attempt to leverage the moderate success of the earlier movie.

The plot, such as it is, involves the Waits family moving to the town of Nilbog (spell it backwards, get it?).  The young boy is visited by the ghost of his dead grandfather, who warns him to beware of the goblins (not trolls!!) in the town.  The ghost grandfather also has some magic powers that are enough to help the boy out a bit and get him into embarrassing situations, but never quite enough to actually solve a problem.  It's sort of like Bewitched or I Dream of Jeanie in that regard.

The goblins' game is to trick people into eating some sort of goop that turns them into plants.  Why? Because the goblins are vegetarians!  Turning people into plants allows the goblins to eat them.  This was apparently a way for the the director's wife, who co-wrote the movie, to vent her annoyance at her vegetarian friends.

The dialog is terrible, because it was largely written by the director, an Italian whose English is so bad that he has to be interviewed through an interpreter.  Add some horrific acting and low budget special effects, and you have a truly memorable bad movie.

I could go on, but you really have to see it to believe it.

The movie vanished into obscurity for some time, until someone stumbled upon it a few years ago, and it has since become something of a cult phenomenon in the fine tradition of Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The Best Worst Movie (2009)

IMDB entry: here

My rating (as a good documentary): 5/5

For the first few minutes, you may think you have the wrong movie. It seems to be some sort of documentary about a small town and one of its prominent citizens, George Hardy. After a few residents sing the George's praises, the director asks innocently, "Did you know George once made a movie?". No one did.  It seems George doesn't talk about it much.

It turns out that 19 years earlier, George Hardy played Michael Waits, the father in Troll 2. As for the child who talked to his dead grandfather, he was played by a young Michael Stephenson, who grew up to make this documentary.  You can see an example of their acting ability as well as the movie's most memorable line here.

George had been an aspiring actor when he made Troll 2, but that experience convinced him to give up acting and become a dentist.  If you've seen the former movie (or even just watched the clip above), I'm sure you'll agree that this was a wise decision.

The documentary focuses primarily on George's experiences as he revisits his involvement in that film and discovers the cult phenomenon it has become.  We also meet some of the other actors and catch up on what they've been up to since.

This movie works on a couple of levels.  On the one hand, it's great fun to rewatch the worst parts of the first movie and to explore the entertaining world of bad B-movie fandom, but on the other hand it's actually a very effective documentary with some surprising depth.  It follows George's journey as he initially embraces the new found notoriety of Troll 2, but eventually becomes disillusioned when he realized that for many people, a bit part in a B-movie was the height of their achievement, and they've spent the rest of their life going to "cons" of one sort or another.  On assumes he returned to his "normal" life with a new found appreciation for it.

So make it a double feature night and watch both!