CHRONICLE

(Josh Trank, 2012)

It's one of those ideas so simple and obvious it seems impossible it hasn't been done before: a found footage super-hero movie.
Well, Chronicle takes that concept, mixes in a little high school drama and a touch of horror, and turns in a gripping little genre film made on a relatively low budget without any stars which has far more impact than most big budget superstar-fronted blockbusters.
It follows three Seattle teens who gain telekinetic powers after an encounter with something of alien origin in the woods. They have quite archetypal personalities, nicely revealed through narrative as we see them gain strength and confidence with their new abilities; Steve is cocky, likeable and popular, Matt is sensitive and nice, and Andrew - whose mother is dying and whose embittered alcoholic father lives off benefits after an accident at work - is damaged, lonely and emotionally volatile. Andrew is also recording everything on his new video camera, allowing Trank to put it in unlikely scenes and places as one of the boys is gradually corrupted by his new power.
That found footage aspect is inventive throughout and just about pushed to its limit; but it is also, unpredictably, a great vehicle for this story. The super-hero action fetishised by the studio genre films which are largely responsible for much of it has little margin for error in terms of effects and visuals. If it isn't great, it's generally awful, with no middle ground. But the found footage approach, in contrast, is extremely forgiving: the scenes of superpowers here are lo-fi, snatched, caught from a distance or in a blur on video or security camera. That provides instant verisimilitude and immediacy to the action climax, which has a sense of genuine awe and scale absent from bigger films.
It also has a hefty emotional kick; these characters are developed enough, their world recognisable enough that we care about and empathise with them. The likeable work of the three leads is a big part of that, as is the snappy pacing and smart tonal changes which characterise the narrative.

TROLL HUNTER

(André Øvredal, 2010)

Displaying all of the strengths and all of the weaknesses of the "found footage" horror sub-genre, Troll Hunter is based around a clever little idea. Trolls exist in Norway, and the Government there employs a Hunter to control outbreaks from Troll territories while covering up their existence with stories of bear attacks and natural phenomena. The film then, purports to be the footage captured by a trio of students who follow the Hunter, believing him to be a poacher. Only he is sick of his lonely, brutal, underpaid job, and quite keen to share the trolls' existence with the world...
Øvredal's film is most notable for the droll humour throughout, alongside the incredible, bleak beauty of the wild Norwegian landscapes. The plot is the usual episodic trail familiar from other found footage films, marked by an unmistakeable "and then" quality. The Hunter and students encounter a series of trolls in various locations and these sequences are mostly quite effective; the effects are fine, the trolls nicely designed and cleverly conceived, the emotions of the characters believable - from initial euphoria at the existence of the creatures to stark terror - and the scale of the narrative builds steadily throughout. But there is no tension or suspense, nothing in the least scary - a devastating flaw in a horror film - and little emotional attachment to the characters. It's a minor genre film, neat and efficient for the most part, but lacking in depth or resonance.