OK, here’s a first for me. This is the cheap option I know, but it makes sense to do a combined review for both Apollo 18 and The Troll Hunter as they are both from the “lost footage” genre of film that has become a staple over the last 15 years or so. On paper it appears both films should be approached with caution as Apollo 18 concerns a hardly original premise, whilst The Troll Hunter suggests an idea too far. The good news is that though neither will be remembered as classics they are both entertaining in their own sense with Norwegian effort The Troll Hunter destined for cult favedom. Let’s start with Apollo 18 though which, following on from its nice tagline (“There’s a reason we’ve never gone back to the Moon”), tells the story of a fictitious and ill-fated trip to said lump of cheese, put across through the astronauts recovered cameras. The films short running time means director Gonzalo López-Gallego skips over the character intros as quickly as possible and before long the astronauts are on the moon and strange things begin to happen. Strange things also quickly begin to happen in The Troll Hunter when a documentary crew following a story regarding illegal shooting of bears stumble across a man who they believe is a poacher, but it turns out he’s hunting something a lot bigger. As you’d expect from that title, The Troll Hunter is outrageously tongue in cheek but director André Øvredal takes such a matter of fact approach to what is going on that you quickly forget about the ludicrous concept and go with the flow. Apollo 18 is also straight faced, but is darker in tone and subject matter. One problem López-Gallego has though with his film is that we aren’t given enough time to engage with the characters and we’re just left wondering about what is happening to them as opposed to worrying about if they’ll make it home in one piece or not. The Troll Hunter also suffers from a similar problem regarding its documentary film crew, but in the eponymous character (played with great world-weariness by well-known (in Norway!) comedian Otto Jespersen) we do have a main focus for our emotions. López-Gallego’s film does a great job with its (relatively) limited budget and frankly to get the full effect you have to see this in the cinema. Strange noises, heavy breathing, creaking spaceships all add up to a potent mixture that put you on edge. Though it is taken too far at times with some of the “interference” the astronauts hear becoming so loud just before various edits that it appears the film has a soundtrack. If you discount the few moonwalks the astronauts undertake, Apollo 18 is mainly a film confined to tiny spaces. The Troll Hunter is the complete opposite as we’re taken on a journey around Norway’s wide ranging landscape including some stunning shots of the fjords at the beginning of the film. Apollo 18 has the old US Government style cover up at heart (as I said there’s not much original to write home about) but surprisingly The Troll Hunter also has some political statements to make, including a nice gag regarding cheap Eastern European labour. Any scares? Apollo 18 is the winner here as it does have a sense of impending doom and a few (telegraphed) jumps whilst, apart from a few Blair Witch style moments at the start, The Troll Hunter goes more for the fun aspect. As with most films of this kind you know it’s not going to end well for all involved, but its The Troll Hunter that steals a march here. Whereas Apollo 18 gives us most of the answers, The Troll Hunter has a denouement that is frustratingly ambiguous, but one that demands further discussion as the final credits roll. It also has a killer sign off line as well that’ll have you chuckling all the way up the aisle.
The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
The atmosphere of Apollo 18 would be drastically reduced on the small screen. However, both films are more than passable with The Troll Hunter getting the nod as the better picture for its overall entertainment value. Apollo 18 Rating: 6/10. The Troll Hunter Rating: 7/10.
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