The Norwegian mockumentary Troll Hunter is currently screening at the Tribeca Film Festival, and is set to hit theaters in the U.S. this June. (Read my review here.) So I for one was surprised to hear that its director, André Øvredal, has eagerly revealed that the film, which posits trolls are real, dangerous, and kept secret by a shady Norwegian government, will be remade in short order.
According to Joblo, Øvredal, who is rumored to be collaborating with Chris Columbus on a family-friendly horror flick in the vein of Gremlins, is “very happy” about the proposed remake, though he won’t divulge who will be crafting it:
“There is a contract negotiation going on,” the director said enthusiastically. “But it’s taking months, just because of details in the contract. There should be an announcement within several weeks.”
He went on to say he may be involved in the remake in some advisory capacity, and is open to helming a sequel to his clever found footage film though he has other projects lined up first.
I’m an unabashed fan of Troll Hunter, which has more in common with Jurassic Park than The Blair Witch Project despite its found footage trappings. It’s a rollicking adventure about some jaded college students who are flabbergasted when their poaching expose leads them to a covert troll hunter and his towering, snarling prey. It’s lithe, sharp, and thrilling without falling into hokey horror conventions. To that end, it’s easy to see why a remake would be of interest to producers – however so much of the plot is so keenly influenced by Norwegian culture, I’m admittedly confused with where a remake would go. I assume it would feature American students falling prey to Ugly Americanism/nationalistic hubris in the Norwegian landscape. And I can’t say I’d be interested in seeing that.
First off, I think we’ve been there and done that with a plethora of horror flicks in the past few years that have thrown vapid Americans into treacherous terrains unfit for tourists. Secondly, this seems a remake as unnecessary as Let Me In or Neil Labute’s Death at a Funeral. With the first one being so wonderful, and only a year old – why bother? It’s that same old assertion that mainstream audiences don’t go to foreign films. Which I can’t help but think should remain their loss.
Would you be interested in a Troll Hunter remake? How about a sequel?