Troll 2 is a masterpiece of awful; it's incompetent on just about every single level, and it's great. It really is the pinnacle of "so bad it's good" film making. Apparently Troll 2's star, Michael Stephenson realized this too, because this documentary about the 1990 crapfest celebrates its awfulness and new found cult following.
Most of the documentary follows the dad from Troll 2, George Hardy, and his stint of conventions amidst his everyday life as a dentist in rural Alabama. The guy is a bit eccentric, but so infectiously happy that it's hard not to like him. The other stars from the film range from pretty normal like the daughter Connie Young and Darren "Oh my Gaaaaaahhhhd" Ewing, to completely balls-out insane like the store owner and mother.
And honestly, it's parts like these which really take away from the entertainment value; these people are clearly unstable, and it's really sad to see them in such depressing times. The mother at times is downright scary. Another interview that's hard to watch is the grandpa, Robert Ormsby, who laments in the interview of wasting his life. It's sad; the guy seems like such a nice old man. Then there's the director of Troll 2, Claudio Fragasso, in such denial about the film's reception that he picks fights with actors. A couple of the stories that he tells about the shoot actually seem pretty inhumane. He's one of those people you really love to hate, and the way he defends Troll 2 like it's a good movie is just bizarre.
But despite all of that, it's an interesting look at Troll 2. I'm not sure if it's cool or sad that it's impacted so many peoples' lives in the past years, but it's certainly got a strong cult following that simply can't get enough of it. Someone in this film calls Troll 2 this generation's Rocky Horror Picture Show, and that sounds about right. I recommend you give this a watch; it's mostly pretty lighthearted and funny. Oh, and if you haven't seen Troll 2, just go do that right now. Thank me later.
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