Best Worst Movie: The Troll 2 Documentary

I was thinking of Christmas ideas and I thought it would be nice to get a replacement copy of Troll 2. I had loaned my old Troll/Troll 2 DVD out back in 2007 and it hadn’t been returned. The problem was compounded by the fact that I couldn’t remember who I’d loaned it to. Damn. I love Troll 2 and I have loved it ever since an old friend brought it to my attention, way back in 1993. He said he saw it on HBO and that it was the worst movie ever but it was hysterical. It was a low point in my life so I was game. I’d actually seen the VHS of Troll 2 in a rental store for a few years and it never passed the “cover test.” Ironically, it wouldn’t have mattered as the original VHS cover didn’t have anything to do with the movie. We rented a copy and set down to watch, beers in hand. I am amazed we didn’t get hernias from the gut busting laughter that volcanically erupted from us. Troll 2, despite its obvious lack of technical prowess in almost every area of importance, delivers.  It is fun and like a good album something you play again and again and it was many years until that same friend who first introduced me to Troll 2 gave me the Troll/Troll2 DVD, for Christmas 2004. We had talked about the movie for years and it was a surprise to find it was on DVD. I loved to play Troll 2 during the Halloween season and I have missed seeing it the last few years. So, why not as a Christmas gift?

I found online that Troll 2 was available as a 20^th Anniversary, stand alone DVD. Sadly, there is no bonus material. I found something else, a documentary about Troll 2 called: Best Worst Movie. They’d both just been released on DVD in November. Excellent and unexpected! The documentary is directed and is the brain child of Michael Stephenson, the child star of Troll 2: Joshua Waits. Stephenson had run from the movie for most of the 20 years since its release in 1990. Via the internet, Stephenson found that a large cult following for the film had developed over the years and, warming to the situation, realized HE was the lead child actor of the best worst movie ever. The only way to distinguish yourself from the best is to be the worst. And seriously, the movie is really fun to watch. Thinking this was pretty cool, he decided to make a documentary on the phenomena, the highlight being he’d track down just about everyone of note who was involved with the movie. I put both the DVDs on my wish list and crossed my fingers.

I got Troll 2 as a gift and had to order Best Worst Movie. When I received my order, Best Worst Movie was the first thing I wanted to see. The documentary is as much of a tribute to the fans as it is the cast and crew of Troll 2. It is enjoyable and there is a lot of interesting information therein. I had no idea of the large, young cult following that has blossomed in Troll 2’s wake. The film focuses mostly on George Hardy, the amiable dentist that played the part of the dad in the movie, Michael “Farmer” Waits. Most all the principal actors were interviewed and featured except for two notable people: Mike Hamill, the fire and brimstone preacher of Nilbog, and Deborah Reed, the over the top villainess: Goblin Queen. I have heard CultFilmFreak’s separate podcasts with both actors that both were interviewed for the documentary but weren’t featured at all. This is regrettable and eminently perplexing. Stephenson even had material with some of the dwarves who played goblins in the film but didn’t include the two main villains? Judging from the podcasts, their inclusion in the film would’ve only made the movie better. Oh well. I read on some comment boards that Deborah Reed is working on her own documentary, so how knows? Despite this egregious flaw, it is a good, enjoyable documentary.