Cult status allows bad movies to come off good
There are many bad movies out there — many bad movies. I can think of several in almost every single genre. Some of the worst: Gigli, Kazaam, Spider-Man 3 (that’s right I said it).
But many believe the worst movie of all time, and thus one of the best movies of all time, is Troll 2, directed by Claudio Fragasso. You probably have been lucky enough to evade this 1990 horror gem, or perhaps you just saw Troll, the original movie.
Truth be told, I have seen neither one of them all the way until the end, so I will reserve my critical eye until I’m able to watch both in their entirety. But I’m told that Troll 2 has nothing to do with Troll 1. In fact, Troll 2 has more to do with goblins in Utah than trolls in San Francisco, and, of course, that should get us discussing exactly what is the difference between a troll and a goblin. But I digress.
Almost unanimously, Troll 2 has been vilified as that unique class of film that is so bad that it’s so good. There was even a documentary aptly named Best Worst Movie about Troll 2, and if that’s not enough, a scene from the movie featuring one of the worst (and most hilarious) line deliveries in history has received more than 2 million hits on YouTube (click here to see that great, great scene).
I’ve heard the film, with cheesy lines and so-so special effects, is a hoot and a half. So maybe it’s time to check out Troll 2. I do love really, really, really bad films.
I will mention one thing, in defense of seemingly bad movies: Often movie reviewers are adults (in fact, probably 95 percent of all movie reviewers are adults). This doesn’t mean that they are unable to review films intended for teenagers or children. After all, it was critics who first shed light on some of the great animated movies of our time. But perhaps there should be a thought about a movie’s legacy. As a young teenager, I watched horror movies and was genuinely scared by them. Be it Freddy, Jason or Michael, scary movies scared me. When I watch some of those same movies as an adult, I almost laugh at myself for being so scared.
Whether we like it or not, some movies are intended for other groups of people. I’m sure that if I watched Troll 2 as a kid, I would have kept the light on when sleeping in my bed that night.
Horror movies don’t always age with time. I still watch Halloween every single Halloween, and it still scares me. I still hate the sight of Freddy Kreuger. And Jason Voorhees … well, the Friday the 13th series is OK. So maybe that is the historical footnote for Troll 2. Is it a bad movie? Yes, perhaps. But if it has earned a cult following — whether because it’s a bad movie or just a cult movie — does that matter so much? At the heart of cinema is one word: enjoyment. If people still enjoy watching Troll 2, then maybe it’s quite successful after all.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
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