JOSHUA’S SISTER’S BOYFRIEND’S FRIEND SCREAMS in terror as he witnesses the goblins feast.I am going to start of this review stating, outright, that this is the best live action-feature film I have ever seen in my life. For anyone who is a fan of British vegetarian goblins, I would highly recommend this movie. However, even if you aren’t necessarily the biggest vegetarian goblin fan, I would strongly emphasize that you should watch this movie. This movie will make you scream “ohh my god.”
Many critics have stated that this movie is the “worst movie ever created.” However, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. This is the best movies that has ever come out of any studio. Period. Ever. This movie was an amazing film, even though it seemed handicapped by many different factors. For starters, the whole cast were complete novices; they had all responded to a casting call to be shot as extras and were then told they would be starring in the movie. Also, the film was written by Claudio Fragasso and his wife Rosella Drudi, neither of whom spoke English. On top of this, the authors were adamant that only the direct translation script could be used in the film. Lastly Fragasso, only hired a completely Italian speaking film crew. With all of this being said, this movie is just spectacular. From the moment this movie begins you feel honored in being able to watch such a spectacle of film production.
These movies takes place in the small town of Nilbog which is home to 26 people—or are they people? This is just a small example of how the film forces you to keeps you on the edge of your seat and forces you to question even the small details. The main character and the movie’s hero is a little boy named Joshua, who is able to team up with his dead grandfather take down the evil—and apparently magical—powers that the goblins possess. The goblins sole goal in the movie is to turn all people into plants so that they can eat them. Now, you may be thinking, “why would they go through all this effort to turn people into plants?” Well, it all goes back to the fact that these are no ordinary goblins, they are vegetarian goblins so they don’t have to consume the meat that humans apparently so obsessed with. The goblins are able to draw their power from the Stonehenge magical stone from their ancestral home, Stonehenge.
Now some might be asking, what do these British, vegetarian goblins mean? What is the point? This answer is simple: the movie is a direct reference to Cranks restaurant, started in London, England in 1961. This restaurant was the first successful vegetarian restaurant chain which still exists today. Because of this one chain, the vegetarian movement started to become internationally mainstream. In 1971, one percent of Americans described themselves as vegetarian. In 2013, 13% of Americans described themselves as vegetarian or vegan. Obviously Fragasso had a lot of foresight in looking at this topic, and wanted his opinion heard. The goblins represent vegetarians, who try to push their ideals on others, like the main character and his family who enjoy meat as well as fruits and vegetables. Bologna even saves Joshua at one point in the movie, proving that Fragasso believes processed meat has an important role in our lives. The piece is very politically charged, but was incredibly ahead of its time, Fragasso clearly had a vision of the new cultural revolution of diet and was scared of its adverse effect on the population.
My only criticism is that the film is that it can be misleading to some. Not one troll appears in the film, and with a name like Troll 2, a viewer would hope for two or more trolls to appear. And although the film shares no relation to the first Troll movie, I think it stands on its own. You would be hard-pressed to find a more biting criticism of the vegetarian movement, and the film certainly provides great scares to remind you it is as much a horror movie as it is a social commentary. This is a truly great thriller that provides something for everyone, and we can only hope for another horror movie to reach the high bar this film has set.