Troll (1986)

A wicked troll king in search of a mystical ring that will transform him to human form invades a San Francisco apartment complex where a powerful witch lives.

Director:

John Carl Buechler

Writer:

Ed Naha

Stars:

Michael Moriarty, Shelley Hack, Noah Hathaway

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Noah Hathaway	...	Harry Potter Jr.
Michael Moriarty	...	Harry Potter Sr.
Shelley Hack	...	Anne Potter
Jenny Beck	...	Wendy Anne Potter
Sonny Bono	...	Peter Dickinson
Phil Fondacaro	...	Malcolm Mallory / Torok the Troll
Brad Hall	...	William Daniels
Anne Lockhart	...	Young Eunice St. Clair
Julia Louis-Dreyfus	...	Jeanette Cooper
Gary Sandy	...	Barry Tabor
June Lockhart	...	Eunice St. Clair
Robert Hathaway	...	First Policeman
James Beck	...	Second Policeman
Dale Wyatt	...	Dickinson's Girlfriend
Barbara Sciorilli	...	Fairy

Storyline

The Potter family has just moved to a rented apartment in San Francisco. Harry Potter Sr. and his wife Anne are bringing the packages to the apartment and their son Harry Jr. and their little daughter Wendy Anne stay on the sidewalk. Wendy goes to the laundry room, she meets the wicked troll Torok that uses his magic ring to possess Wendy and to use her form to transform the dwellers and their apartment into other trolls and his kingdom. Harry Jr. feels that something is wrong with his sister and seeks out help with the good witch Eunice St. Clair that lives in the building.

---

Plot Keywords:

girl in a notably short outfit | knee socks | 1980s | mutant | part of a trilogy | 

---

Taglines:

Welcome to the World of...TROLL

---

Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror

---

Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although she remained covered in the film for her transformation into the Faery, an on-set photo of Julia Louis-Dreyfus was published in the March 1986 issue of Cinefantastique Magazine in which her bare breasts were visible.

---

Goofs

In the first shots, moving into the new apartment, Wendy carries a box halfway up the steps. In the next shot, she plays with her ball on the grass.

---

Quotes

Wendy Potter: I know what death looks like. It looks like *this*!

---

Connections

Featured in The Cinema Snob: Troll 2 (2009)

---

Soundtracks

Summertime Blues
Words and Music by Eddie Cochran and Jerry Capehart
© 1958 Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., Hill & Range Songs, Inc., Elvis Presley Music & Gladys Music
Performed by Blue Cheer
Courtesy of Polygram Special Projects, a Division of Polygram Records, Inc.

User Reviews

So bad you almost HAVE to watch

They play TROLL on TV every once and awhile and like a train wreck, its hard to look away. Its so bad its almost good. Almost. But not quite. What can you really say about an '80s film that boasts both Sonny Bono and Julia "Elaine from Seinfeld" Louis Dreyfuss??? The casting here is so strange that it reels the mind. Noah "NeverEnding Story" Hathaway?? Shelly Hack?? In short, a boy finds a mysterious land o' TROLLs in the basement of his new apartment building. The TROLLS are cheesy to be sure and the whole thing is silly,I guess. But there is something endearing about watching a little boy rescue his cute little sister who suddenly growls and bites people, something weird about watching June Lockhart play with her pet singing mushroom right before she morphs into a total blonde, buxom she-babe. I even love the friendly little dwarf man! TROLL is cheesy but in an inoffensive fun way, unlike it's sequel TROLL 2 which is a terrible cult classic that is painful to watch.

Details

Country:

Italy USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 January 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Troll

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$1,100,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,595,054, 19 January 1986

Gross USA:

$5,450,815

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,450,815

Company Credits

Production Co:

Empire Pictures, Altar Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1