BEST WORST MOVIE (6/04/10 / Documentary)
SCR/DIR: Michael Stephenson
George Hardy, Michael Stephenson, Darren Ewing, Jason Steadman, Jason Wright, Claudio Fragasso
MPAA: NR
1 hour 33 mins
It’s been said that it’s equally difficult to make a terrible film as a great one. Clearly, the filmmakers, cast and crew who made Goblin (later released as Troll 2) in 1988, had no idea they were making Hollywood history at the time.
To be fair, it wasn’t always the most adored cult movie of all time. For a while, as the movie languished on video store shelves and played repeatedly on HBO, it was a source of absolute embarrassment for all concerned. But over time, the sheer awfulness of Troll 2 gained a rabid cult following with midnight screenings and devoted fans who consider virgin viewings a rite of passage.
Yep, these are the trolls - er, goblins.
For the record, Troll and Troll 2 have nothing in common and the details of the plot are best discovered on your own. It’s part of the whole, um, experience. The worst movie ever? Yeah, that’s entirely possible if the clips are any indication. As a former video store owner, I’ll admit that we missed out on the whole experience: we never carried Troll 2 but it was a hoot to see it in stocked in the “Holy F--king Shit” section of a small video store in the film.
The doc’s director is Michael Paul Stephenson, the child actor who played the kid lead in Troll 2. One sense that Best Worst is going to purge a lot of demons, so it’s refreshing to find how much goodwill exists among the reunited cast. Well, except for the batty woman who played the mom. Oh, and then there is the intense “actor” who was actually an inmate in an insane asylum.
George Hardy is the successful dentist who played his father and if there is living person more ticked by the film’s cult status, I’d be surprised. This guy not only knows how ridiculous it all is, but has no problem sharing it with the world. He’s also the window into the world of the kind of post-career convention trolling (pardon the pun) that becomes the path of the has-been. After awhile, it becomes a little uncomfortable watching him peddle himself and this movie to anyone who will listen.
On the other hand, Claudio Fragasso, the Italian director who made Troll 2 has no idea how pretentious he is or why his film is considered so funny. At screenings, he’s combative even while drinking in the (backhanded) praise. In on-camera interviews, he defends the movie in such an artsy-fartsy way, you’d think he was talking about a Felini flick, which of course makes him hilarious.
Best Worst Movie goes down a lot of roads but emerges an affectionate valentine to a most terrible, much-loved movie. Ed Wood, watch your back. Plan 9 From Outer Space has got nothing on the vegetarian goblins in Troll 2.
For more info: Dennis Willis' is the author of Flick Nation: 2010 Movie Yearbook.
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