The Monster Pod - Trollhunter

If you go down to the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise.  If you go down to the woods today, you'd better go in disguise!  For every troll that ever there was will gather for certain, because today's the day the trolls have their picnic - (modification of "Teddy Bear's Picnic" by Anne Murray)


Ok...so, there aren't any picnics.  But, that isn't entirely too far off and I think that it actually kinda works for describing Trollhunter, a Norwegian found-footage movie about a group of college kids that think they are filming a documentary about bear attacks, but end up chasing a much different, and much more threatening, monster.

As usual, it should be noted that this is more of an in-depth discussion of the film and not necessarily just a "review."  There are some major spoilers throughout the second section of the podcast.  So, if you have not yet seen Trollhunter, go watch it first and then come back to get our take on it!





We hope that you enjoyed our analysis of Trollhunter and that you keep coming back for more.
The Monster Pod - horroring it up since 2015!!

If you enjoy movies, conventions, comics, games, cartoons, Star Wars, horror, or just about anything geeky...be sure to check back soon for all things geekery!!  In the meantime, follow Lucas on Instagram and follow me here, on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube and be sure to subscribe to my podcast on iTunes and/or Google Play for more geek coverage!




music for The Gargyle Podcast by Bensound

Halloween Movie Month: Mr. Jones

Mr. Jones (2013)
Pg-13
Netflix instant

Mr. Jones is about a young couple who goes to the woods so that the husband (Scott) can work on creating a nature documentary.  As the documentary fails to live up to his own expectations, the couple stumbles across the art of a reclusive folk artist, known for his bizarre and somewhat disturbing pieces.  After their unexpected discovery, they start doing a documentary on the artwork, including interviews with others who have come into close contact with Mr. Jones's work and the disturbing impacts that it has had on their lives.

Mr. Jones is shot primarily as a found footage film, with a few scenes that do not really fit into the format of the other footage.  I have seen several found footage films over the last year, and none of them have really impressed me.  So, as soon as I saw that this was a found footage film, I found myself viewing it with a more critical, negative lens.  It is not that I hold found footage films to a higher standard (even though I think that it is more difficult to do a found footage film incredibly well) - it's that I tend to not enjoy found footage films as much, so they generally have to work a lot harder for me to enjoy them.

One of the things that I really do not enjoy about found footage films is why some of the stuff is recorded.  Why do they leave the camera on the entire time?  How are they able to have all of the battery and memory to be able to record as much as they do?  I understand that it is part of telling the story.  But, if I suspend disbelief and view the movie as if it really were actual found footage, then the logic behind things just doesn't make sense.  One of the other things that I really do not like about found footage films is when music is included.  Again, if I suspend disbelief and assume it is real, then who went back and added the music?  It just doesn't make sense!

Despite the general complaints about found footage films, this one actually did do some things right.  Since he was recording a nature documentary at first, it makes sense as to why the camera was just always running.  Some of the scenes add to the tension and the claustrophobia since you only see a few feet in front of the camera.  There were some scenes with good suspense and decent startles, but practically all of the scares in the movie are exactly what you would expect them to be.  However, for a Pg-13 movie, Mr. Jones actually does a good job of creating suspense.  There is no gore, no blood, no nudity (breasts can be seen through a white dress, but no full nudity).

Rating and Recommendation:  2/5.  Overall, there were some things that I liked about Mr. Jones.  There were definitely some major shortcomings and some aspects that could have been explained and/or set up better.  And there wasn't really anything about it that made it stand out as amazing.  But, it entertained me enough.  There were some "artistic" decisions that were made that could have really worked out well, but they ended up falling too short.  Aside from some swearing, a suggestive scene, and breasts that can be seen through a white dress, Mr. Jones is a relatively clean horror movie.  I think that it would be appropriate for a slightly younger crowd (not kids, obviously) or people who enjoy some of the aspects of supernatural thrillers without all of the gore and sex.  I didn't go into Mr. Jones with very high expectations, so it ended up being better than I expected...which means that I enjoyed it a little more than I initially thought I would.  I do not know if I would necessarily choose to watch it again on my own, but I would be willing to watch it again if someone else had it on.  I would also recommend it for someone who is just starting out with watching horror movies and enjoys suspense without excessive gore.  But, for someone looking for some major screams, this one is a pass.


Be sure to check back soon for more reviews in Halloween Movie Month!  In the meantime, leave comments on this (or any other) review, follow me here and on twitter (@GargyleReviews), and let me know what movies you'd like for me to review for Halloween Movie Month!



- The Gargyle

Halloween Movie Month: Hollow

Hollow (2011)
Netflix instant

Hollow is about a mysterious tree with a history of couples hanging themselves from it.  This is a found footage film that follows two couples vacationing in the country near the mysterious tree.

As soon as the movies started, my first reaction was "UGH....a found footage film."  There have been times that the found footage films have actually worked.  But, most of the time, I think that it feels too gimmicky and doesn't work as well as it was intended.  One of my biggest complaints about found footage films is that most of them don't explain why everything is actually being recorded in the first place.  That is definitely the case in Hollow.  There is one quick comment towards the beginning where a character says "if you could just record everything, that would be lovely."  But, that doesn't actually explain why it is that they are recording anything at all.

There were a few things about the found footage angle that actually worked.  Specifically, I think that the lack of music actually worked.  Without any music to let you know the mood or what to expect, there are some parts that end up being pretty creepy.  Some of the unknown and the expectation of something jumping out at you does raise some of the anticipation.  However, I don't feel like they ever lived up to the anticipation they set.  There is one scene towards the end that is pretty creepy.  But, other than that one scene, I feel like most of the horror aspect falls short.

Even though the lack of music worked in the movie's favor, I have another big gripe about the sound in found footage movies.  Rather than picking up more of the background noises to provide a more complete atmosphere, too much of the background noise is cut out so that you can hear the voices more clearly.  The only times that you hear background noises are when they really want to emphasize the "what was that noise???" of it all.

While the sound quality being almost too good took me out of the movie a little bit, the use of light and dark helped to bring me back in a bit.  During scenes that took place at night, when the light on the camera was the only source of light, you only saw where the light was shining.  Only being able to see what was a few feet in front of you definitely added to the tension.  It gave me almost the same sense of tension as Descent did with it's use of light and dark.  In fact, I feel like it played on a very similar fear, but just on opposite ends of the spectrum.  Descent played on the dark in enclosed spaces, whereas Hollow played on the fear of the dark in open spaces.  It was almost like the open spaces in the dark were too vast, resulting in feeling claustrophobic.

They were able to use some low budget techniques to build a lot of the suspense. But, I feel like there was a lot of buildup without much payoff. There are plenty of times where the suspense could have had huge payoffs! On the one hand, it definitely plays on the fear of the unknown, the fear of the dark, and the fear of too much empty space. But I just felt like it fell short somehow. With the dark and the reflection of the light on the windows, there is so much potential to be terrified – they even talk about how the reflection is limiting their view. But they just never really seem to capitalize on that.

If they had made it PG-13, I think they actually could have gotten away with more of what they did. By that, I mean that if they had been PG-13, then they wouldn't have been able to show as much...which would have made the suspense a practical choice to achieve the fear. However, to have the swearing and nudity, the horror aspect felt like it fell short for an R movie.

Rating/Recommendation:  2.5/5.  Pass.  I think that this movie had some potential, but the use of the found footage gimmick took me out of the movie a lot more than it brought me into it.  The lack of music and the use of light and dark helped to bring me in, but there were too many inconsistencies that took me right back out.  They make a point to mention that the power goes out in the house in which they are staying, but there is never any explanation about how they keep powering the camera for so long.  There are a lot of scenes that say something along the lines of turning off the camera, but it keeps recording. It's like they throw that line in a few times to remind everyone it's found footage and that the characters know that there is a camera...but then they don't actually react as someone would if they really wanted the camera turned off.  Also, it doesn't make sense that the entire movie, there are jump cuts when they aren't recording. But, towards the end, when they finally start mentioning that they are low on battery, when they cut the camera off, it goes black for a couple seconds. It should jump directly to the next footage, just like the rest of the movie.

Side note:  All I could think about the entire time was the kite-eating tree from Charlie Brown.