While this fact might be hard to believe, there were trolls long before the creation of comment sections on websites. They were not the nicest of mythical creatures. Some lived beneath bridges and interfered with interstate commerce. Think of them as a yard gnomes ugly and rude cousin. In the wake of Gremlins, Charles Band’s Empire Pictures struck gold with Ghoulies. This led him to produce another film about little creatures that destroy the lives of humans. Troll has a sense of the exploitation although it’s more than a cheap rehashing of Gremlins or even Ghoulies. The film is so star studded that you’d swear they had hijacked the guest passenger list from Love Boat.
The Potters (Law & Order‘s Michael Moriarty and Charlie’s Angels‘ Shelley Hack) are moving to San Francisco with their kids. Their new apartment building looks kinda shady with freaky tenants. Deep in the basement the young daughter (Jenny Beck) encounters an evil troll. The grotesque small humanoid takes over her shape and causes havoc within the building. Sonny Bono (Murder in Music City) is a swinger who has a bachelor pad that gets turned into a forest. Gary Sandy (WKRP in Cincinnati) is a bit nutty. The married couple is Brad Hall and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld) fresh off Saturday Night Live. They get altered by the unexpected troll. The only person in the building that is ready for the arrival of the troll is June Lockhart (Lost In Space). She is also the only one that young Harry Potter Jr. (Never Ending Story‘s Noah Hathaway) can trust. There’s something familiar about a boy named Harry Potter having to battle wicked magical creatures.
Did J.K. Rowling also rip off this movie to create her billion dollar “wizarding” empire? The good news is that you can watch Troll without contributing to a fund to ruin the lives of other people. This is merely strange ’80s goofy horror.
The casting is odd with a future fake president and a real future Congressman on the screen. There’s even a small part for June’s daughter Anne Lockhart (Battlestar Galactica). How did such a great cast end up in this film? Turns out they shot it in Rome. So why not take advantage on an Italian vacation with a few days of being chased around by an evil troll? Brad Hall and Julia Louis-Dreyfus must have fond memories of making this film together. You’ll have an equally enjoyable time watching Troll once more.
Troll is being released as a MVD website exclusive. You can order here.
The video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. You great views of the trolls lurking in the real world. The audio is LPCM 2.0 Stereo. The mix is just good enough to give you all the campy lines clearly. The movie is subtitled in English.
Making of Featurette (50:07) has producer Charles Band talking about how they made the film at Empire’s studio outside of Rome, Italy. He gets into how they had success in home video at that point that they bought the Dino De Lurettiis’ old studio. He reflects how this was one of their big budget productions. He is still amazed at his cast. Screenwriter Ed Naha worked at Starlog and Fangoria before getting his start with Roger Corman. He then moved over to work with Charles Band.
Theatrical Trailer (2:48) got people excited to see the film in actual theaters and rent the VHS.
Photo Gallery (2:18) is a montage of behind the scenes snaps, press photos and publicity stills.
Mini-Poster suitable for framing.
O-Ring Wrapper that makes it look like you rented the VHS of Troll from East Coast Video.
MVD Rewind Collection presents Troll. Directed by: John Carl Buechler. Screenplay by: Ed Naha. Starring: Noah Hathaway, Michael Moriarty, Shelley Hack, Jenny Beck, Sonny Bono, Phil Fondacaro, Anne Lockhart, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Gary Sandy and June Lockhart. Rated: R. Running Time: 83 minutes. Released: June 30, 2026.
