PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Released in 1986, Troll is a low-budget fantasy horror film that has endured not because it succeeds, but because it fails in such a distinctive, oddly committed way. Directed by John Carl Buechler and produced by Charles Band under Empire Pictures, the movie has become a cult favorite for its peculiar tone, clunky effects, and a blend of zaniness and semi-seriousness that clashes spectacularly.
At a glance, Troll looks like it wants to be a dark fairy tale. In practice, it lands somewhere between horror, children’s fantasy, and unintentional comedy — never fully belonging to any of them.
Troll Happens Sometimes
Troll was directed by John Carl Buechler, a special-effects artist best known for his work on films like Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood. Charles Band, a prolific producer of low-budget genre films, produced the movie during Empire Pictures’ 1980s heyday.
The film stars Noah Hathaway as Harry Potter Jr. (yes, that name is real and predates J.K. Rowling by more than a decade), Michael Moriarty as Harry Potter Sr., Shelley Hack, June Lockhart, Sonny Bono, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus in one of her earliest screen roles.
That cast alone hints at the movie’s odd place in pop culture: recognizable talent embedded in a production that never quite comes together in a conventional way. It’s really just fun.
Also, the movie has some great music!
The Premise
The story centers on a family that moves into a San Francisco apartment building, unaware that a centuries-old troll named Torok (Phil Fondacaro) lives hidden within its walls. Torok’s goal is not simple destruction but transformation. He wants to convert the building — and everyone in it — into a twisted fairy-tale kingdom, turning residents into goblins, fairies, and other supernatural creatures.
To accomplish this, Torok swaps places with the family’s young daughter Wendy (Jenny Beck), using her body as a disguise while imprisoning her in the walls. Harry Potter Jr., the family’s son, eventually teams up with a benevolent witch (June and Anne Lockhart) to stop the troll and reverse the damage.
The premise is dark, strange, and oddly ambitious for a modestly budgeted film — and that ambition may be Troll’s greatest strength and its greatest flaw, depending on who you ask.
Tone and Style
Troll clearly aims for dark fantasy, but it never quite finds the right register. It isn’t scary enough to function as effective horror, yet it’s too grim, slow, and unsettling to work as a children’s fantasy. It also lacks the scope, pacing, and polish to feel epic in the way that fantasy audiences might expect.
Visually, the film relies heavily on practical effects. Creature designs range from frog-like rubber suits and fog-drenched sets. Some of the creatures are charming and cute. Others are simply baffling, looking less like mythic beings and more like unfinished ideas brought to life.
The performances mirror this inconsistency. Some actors play the material straight-faced and dramatic, while others drift into a tone that feels unintentionally exaggerated. The result is a film that swings wildly from scene to scene, never settling into a stable mood. It contributes to the manic energy that makes such movies even more charming (or damning).
Why It’s Remembered
Troll is not remembered because it is “good” in any conventional sense. It’s remembered because it commits fully to its own strange vision.
The effects are clunky but sincere. The performances vary wildly but don’t obsessively wink at the audience. The internal logic barely holds together. And yet, the movie takes itself seriously enough to be coherent and enjoyable, in addition to being cute.
That sincerity is the key to its cult appeal. Troll never tries to be iconic. We just acknowledge how odd or awkward it is. It simply barrels forward, convinced of its own fairy-tale gravitas. That silliness and seriousness turn its flaws into entertainment.
This is the kind of film best experienced at midnight with friends — not because it works, but because it doesn’t work perfectly, and because it doesn’t work perfectly in such a perfect way.
The Troll 2 Confusion
Despite the title, Troll 2 (1990) has no real connection to Troll. There are no returning characters, no shared storyline, and — famously — no troll at all, but vegetarian goblins who transform people into vegetable paste and eat them! The sequel’s reputation has grown even larger, often being labeled “the best worst movie ever made.”
The shared title is more a marketing decision than a narrative one, and the disconnect between the two films has only added to their collective cult mythology.
Final Verdict
Troll is an odd artifact of 1980s fantasy horror. It’s not polished, not particularly cohesive, and not frightening. But it is imaginative, sincere, and weird enough to linger in the memory.
For fans of cult cinema, practical effects, or films that accidentally capture lightning in a very crooked bottle, Troll is worth watching at least once — if only to marvel at how far sheer conviction can carry a movie that otherwise shouldn’t work at all. Obviously, this movie could be adequately paired with Ghoulies, Leprechaun, KIller Klowns from Outer Space, or other such oddball flicks.
