For the most part the found footage/mock-doc format are relatively cheap and easy to make. The very nature of the conceit demands that they are badly shot on video with improvised acting. It works particularly well with horror, as seen with Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity, because they can get away with not actually showing anything. The scares come from the unseen. Troll Hunter, however, is another kettle of (Cat)fish.

The original idea apparently came from a throwaway line by a Norwegian politician about trolls, which is actually used in the film to give it some credence, although it would need a knowledge of Scandinavian politics to appreciate the verisimilitude, which the rest of the film lacks.

For a film like this to work you have to buy into the conceit from the outset, and believe it is a real documentary. At no time did I believe this was a real doc, whereas to other non-genre examples that came out last year managed to convince, but with different reveals. Catfish, a film about looking for a completely different type of troll, has lauded by critics and the makers insisted throughout that it was real, and still do. The other film was I’m Still Here, the Joaquim Phoenix film, which director Casey Affleck revealed was a mock (as in not real) doc, shortly after its release, even before there was chance for a public “is it, isn’t it” debate that would have driven up audiences, because it was either a stunning record of a brilliant actor having a total meltdown, or simply a brilliant piece of acting, of which it was the latter.

The idea behind this film is a solid one, a government conspiracy to hide the existence of trolls from the public by pretending any damage they cause is by rogue bears. The so-called student documentary team are doing an investigation into the “bear” hunter, who eventually reveals to them the truth about the trolls and takes them on hunting expeditions with him.

It is a great concept for a film that is let down by its execution. The mock part of the doc neither convincingly real nor does it make run of the format. There are moments of humour but maybe they needed to concentrate more on the humour, after all the trolls look like something out of Henson’s Creature Shop (and nothing like the Jedward-haired pencil toppers of my childhood). The Finns managed to bring to life one of their legends with both style dark humour in Rare Exports, and it’s a shame their neighbours couldn’t do it with similar flourish. Troll Hunter is certainly ripe for big-budget remake that can address the failings of its current format.

TROLL HUNTER is in cinemas now.