Alright, fellow tape travelers, let's rewind to a time when fantasy and horror weren't always separated by a velvet rope. Remember scanning the video store shelves, maybe tucked between the big-name slashers and the epic space operas, and finding that box? The one for Troll (1986)? It promised monsters, magic, and maybe a little mayhem, all wrapped up in a bizarre little package that felt distinctly… 80s. It wasn’t a blockbuster, it wasn’t always coherent, but pulling this tape off the shelf felt like unearthing a strange, slightly grubby gem.
### Welcome to the Weirdest Apartment Building in San Francisco
The setup is classic fish-out-of-water, with a twist of toadstool. The Potter family – Dad Harry Sr. (Michael Moriarty, bringing his uniquely intense energy familiar from films like Q: The Winged Serpent), Mom Anne (Shelley Hack, post-Charlie's Angels), and kids Harry Jr. (Noah Hathaway, fresh off riding Falcor in The NeverEnding Story) and little Wendy Anne (Jenny Beck) – move into a new apartment building. Almost immediately, things go sideways. Wendy wanders into the laundry room, encounters the titular Troll, and gets… replaced. Or rather, possessed, becoming the troll’s disguised agent. It’s a creepy premise that the film mines for some genuine unease early on, especially watching the changed Wendy interact with her oblivious family.
### Where Puppets Reign Supreme
Let's talk about that troll. This isn't some sleek CGI creation; this is pure, glorious practical effects work, brought to life by the director himself, John Carl Buechler. Buechler was an effects maestro first and foremost, known for his creature work on everything from Ghoulies (1985) to From Beyond (1986), and he even later directed Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988), giving Jason Voorhees one of his most memorable looks. Here, his troll is a wonderfully gnarly puppet, brought to life through animatronics and puppeteering that, while perhaps not seamless by today's standards, feels wonderfully tangible. You can almost smell the latex and mechanics oil. The troll’s goal? To use a magical ring to transform each apartment into a part of his ancient fairy world, converting the tenants into grotesque fairytale creatures along the way. Remember how real those transformations felt back then, even when they were clearly puppets and makeup? There's a certain charming weight to seeing those physical effects unfold on screen.
### A Cast of Curiosities
The real magic, or perhaps madness, of Troll lies in its ensemble of eccentric apartment dwellers who become fodder for the troll's terraforming project. We have a mushroom-obsessed professor, swinging singles, and most memorably, Peter Dickinson, the lecherous bachelor played with surprising gusto by… Sonny Bono? Yes, that Sonny Bono, who gets transformed into a pile of pulsating plant pods in a scene that’s both disgusting and weirdly hilarious. It’s a moment cemented in the minds of many who rented this oddity. And keep your eyes peeled for a very young Julia Louis-Dreyfus in one of her earliest film roles, appearing briefly as a wood nymph in one of the transformed apartments. It’s one of those "Hey, wait a minute!" moments that make revisiting these films so much fun.
Guiding young Harry Jr. through this bizarre ordeal is the mysterious Eunice St. Clair, played with gentle wisdom by the legendary June Lockhart (Lost in Space). Eunice is essentially the building’s resident white witch, understanding the ancient magic at play and helping Harry Jr. become the unlikely hero. Watching Noah Hathaway navigate this weirdness, armed with a magical spear and a lot of adolescent determination, is one of the film's core appeals.
### The Harry Potter Connection?
Okay, let's address the elephant, or rather, the boy wizard in the room. Yes, the protagonist is named Harry Potter Jr. Released in 1986, a full eleven years before J.K. Rowling published her first novel, it's become one of cinema's most bizarre coincidences. Writer Ed Naha (who also penned the script for the similarly creepy doll flick Dolls the following year) has stated it was just happenstance. Still, it’s a fantastic bit of retro trivia that adds another layer of curiosity to the film. Imagine stumbling across this after the Potter phenomenon hit – talk about a double-take!
### A Genre Blender Set to 'Weird'
Troll occupies a strange space. It’s got moments of genuine creepiness (Wendy’s transformation, some of the creature designs), moments of broad comedy (Sonny Bono’s entire subplot), and moments of earnest fantasy adventure. Directed by an effects guru on what was reportedly a fairly low budget (around $1.1 million), it sometimes feels like the seams are showing. The tone wobbles, the plot logic can be… flexible, and the synth-heavy score screams mid-80s. Yet, there's an undeniable charm to its ambition and its commitment to its own bizarre internal logic. It feels like a fairy tale that wandered into a horror movie set, got confused, and decided to just roll with it. It wasn't a huge box office success, earning maybe $5.5 million, but found its audience, like so many quirky genre flicks, in the hallowed halls of the video rental store. It's also sadly often overshadowed by its infamous (and entirely unrelated) successor, Troll 2, but the original deserves recognition on its own strange merits.
Rating: 6/10
Justification: Troll earns a solid 6 for its sheer audacity and memorable weirdness. John Carl Buechler's practical effects are a delight for fans of the craft, Noah Hathaway makes for an earnest young hero, and the supporting cast (especially Sonny Bono and June Lockhart) adds considerable flavor. The "Harry Potter" coincidence alone makes it a fascinating curio. While the script stumbles and the tone is all over the map, its enthusiastic embrace of bizarre fantasy-horror tropes and its undeniable 80s video store charm make it a uniquely entertaining watch, flaws and all.
Final Thought: Troll is a wonderfully strange portal back to a time when low-budget fantasy could be this gloriously, unashamedly peculiar – a true testament to the weird and wonderful discoveries waiting on those VHS shelves. Definitely worth digging up if you're in the mood for something… different.