There is a certain undertone of sadness present in “Best Worst Movie,” as its mainly a testament to the dangers of filmmaking and the potential for either making a masterpiece or what is considered the worst movie of all time. “Best Worst Movie” is a charming and enthusiastic portrait of the lives of an array of actors, all of whom took part in the 1990 abomination entitled “Troll 2.” What we learn is that these people have been affected by it and its cult status whether they know it or not and we follow star Michael Stephens around as he re-connects with his co-stars and attempts to comprehend why this film has suddenly caught on. Perhaps it was ahead of its time, perhaps cynical horror fans just need some absurdity and innocence and are just bonded with its sense of innocence and incoherency. Regardless Stephens, who refused to touch the movie again after starring as protagonist Joshua, grabs the legacy of this film and discovers an underground of followers who treat “Troll 2” as an almost religious experience.
Through this we learn of the surprising origin of the Nilbog store owner, the tragic life of a few of its co-stars whose acting careers were damaged and tarnished by it and the ever amusing George Hardy who embraced his past and treats it as a way of meeting people and touching everyone’s life when he’s not filling cavities as a dentist. But, while the story of George Hardy’s surprising re-emergence in to the public consciousness is quite charming, the real story for this film is the exploration in to director Claudio Fragrasso’s mind set when approached with the film and how he is utterly incapable of admitting that “Troll 2” is technically and creatively terrible. Constantly he monopolizes the camera whenever he’s being interviewed, he attempts to convince the audience that “Troll 2” is a commentary on consumption and the human condition, he refuses to answer questions that are remotely critical toward the film, and he even forces his actors to re-do most of the scenes from “Troll 2” insisting they botched the scenes originally.
When they ask him for logic for each line of dialogue, he just expects them to follow his order and not think about it. And he insists that he knows how Americans speak better than Americans do. He even sits in the back of a “Troll 2” screening during a Q&A jeering the actors whenever they mock the movie. And they take it with a chuckle and an eye roll behind his back. Fragrasso is the typical art director who is convinced that everything he touches is gold and will not look at the movie he’s made as anything more than a misunderstood bit of cinematic art and nothing else. He walks the lines of screenings asking people who have no idea who he is what they think of the film, he basks in the glory of the fan’s love, irks his co-stars, and in the end is not aware that people are really laughing at him more than they are with him.
Even the actors have an impossible time delivering their old lines without breaking in to hysterical laughter, but his deadpan insistence that they continue unfettered is something of sheer absurdity. But then, only a man completely convinced he’s made a masterpiece could have created something like “Troll 2” which is what director Stephens attempts to convey to the audience. Fragrasso is essentially Ed Wood. And one of the many amusing aspects is that George Hardy is so infinitely nice that he refuses to say anything really harsh about Claudio. One opinion that many will agree on after watching this documentary is that “Troll 2” is awful, but it surely isn’t the worst movie ever made, and it’s definitely not the most offensive to the eyes and senses.
Stephens tries to express that with this documentary while also coming to grips with his past and admitting that no matter what he does, “Troll 2” will be with him, and this is his form of owning up to it and in a sense celebrating the innocence and awe of films and filmmaking however entertaining or awful they may be. But “Troll 2” does end on a frown as Stephens submits the question that perhaps the sudden fame of “Troll 2” may have just been a brief bit of lightning in the bottle a film that had its fifteen minutes and ended quicker than it began… and sometimes that can be enough for a lifetime of memories. Michael Stephensen has created a very charming and touching documentary pinpointing the sudden success and deflation of “Troll 2” a horror movie that rose to infamy and has been appreciated by many film buffs. Director Stephensen goes behind the curtain to re-connect with this small legacy and put this bit of resentment to rest with what is an entertaining and memorable little film.