Best Worst Movie - Lisa's Review

SHOCKTOBER SPECIAL: BEST WORST MOVIES

In honour of Halloween, we're taking a special "Shocktober" break from the Time-Out 100 Best Horror films, to focus on some of the worst...

So we've already reviewed Troll 2.  This is a documentary about the movie and its 'stars'.  Although I didn't enjoy Troll 2 at all, I found this documentary much more palatable.  It was kind of fun to see the cult following the movie has amongst a certain genre of movie fan.

Upon watching this, it made me much more forgiving of the movie and the actors performances.  We find out that the actors didn't even have access to the full script, so had no idea what to expect until they saw the movie on VHS or HBO.  They also had to Even Michael Stephenson who plays the young boy Joshua in the movie realised how awful this movie is when he first saw it.  He received the movie as a Christmas present and watched it eagerly with his family, only to be flabbergasted (and not in a good way) at what he was part of.

I liked to see how Michael Stephenson and George Hardy (who plays the father Michael) especially embrace the utter suckdom of the movie.  They enjoy the cult status it has received.  We follow them as the movie is shown to audiences all over America and attended both by movie virgins and die-hard fans resplendent in various costumes and customised shirts. The fans were awestruck to see the stars of the movie and have them playing out various humorous lines from the movie.   They played along and provided laughs aplenty for the crowds.  It was nice to see the lack of seriousness and the ability to laugh at the movie and their performances along with everyone else.  

Watching the documentary gives you more of an idea as to just why the movie is as bad as it is.  The Italian Director Claudio Fragasso had very specific instructions that he insisted the actors followed, even when he dictated what he felt was the way American teenagers spoke.  The actors did occasionally question his lines or direction and were told in no uncertain terms to follow his direction, hence awful quotes aplenty.  

Even though Michael and George were able to see the movie for what it is and go with it, it was clear that Claudio Fragasso and Margo Prey (who plays the mother, Diana) took their work very seriously and were not able to laugh along.  Margo seems to not altogether be the full shilling these days and just wanted to be left alone when enthusiasts of the movie kept showing up at her door.

Nearing the end of the movie we see Michael and George attending a movie convention and receiving pretty much no interest in the movie at all.  For the first time we see the crushing disappointment on Georges face, the ever optimist and enthusiastic performer for the fans.  Suddenly he's had enough of Troll 2.  It's a good job he has his own successful dental practice.

This is definately interesting and I would strongly suggest people watch this before watching Troll 2 and not after.  I think I would have been much more forgiving of the movie had I watched the documentary beforehand.

Neither recommending or advising to avoid as watching this documentary totally depends on whether you intend to watch Troll 2.  If you do.... watch this first.