Best Worst Movie (2009)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

People are voting emotionally.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

A documentary about the infamous "Troll 2", this is a very entertaining look at the film's legacy and the nature of fandom in general. It is directed by Michael Stephenson, who played the lead role of Joshua Waits. He explains that he first saw the film when he received a copy of it on VHS for Christmas 1991 and that it was pretty soul destroying experience since it was just so awful. He spent years trying to forget that it even existed but he eventually decided to embrace it, which is why he made the documentary. However, the fact that he is behind the camera for most of the film means that this is about as much as we learn about the film's impact on his life, which is a shame. The documentary interviews some of the most die-hard fans of "Troll 2" and there are a few excellent descriptions of the film and its appeal. One fan claims that it is as if an alien picked up broadcasts of Earth films and then tried to make one of their own. Another fan compares it to a religion which keeps growing as more and more people introduce their friends to the film. The horror film journalist M.J. Simpson says that the reason that people love the film so much is that it may be complete trash but the filmmakers were honestly trying to make it good, comparing the complete lack of cynicism on display to Ed Wood's films. I think that this is a pretty apt description.The main focus of the documentary is Stephenson's on screen father George Hardy, a dentist in Alexander City, Utah. He is an extremely nice man who is basically beloved by everyone. Even his ex-wife Merry says that she could not imagine anyone disliking him. Although he harboured dreams of becoming an actor, he did not pursue them as his parents convinced him that it was not exactly a stable income. His mother thought that "Troll 2" was so dreadful that she left halfway through the screening! The film shows Hardy attending a good 10 or 15 screenings of the film all over the US where he is treated like a rock star by the fans. He really laps it up! There is a very bittersweet moment though when he and several other castmembers go to a convention in Birmingham and the Q&A panel is only attended by seven or eight people, some of whom I am convinced were there by mistake from their expressions. From what we see in the documentary, no one went to the signing. This would not have been so bad if it were the comparatively close Birmingham in Alabama but, no, it was the rather more distant Birmingham in England. Hardly anyone there has even heard of "Troll 2". John Schneider says that he has but I am convinced that he was just being polite. Hardy finds it hilarious that they have come so far and no one is interested but another castmember Darren Ewing (of "Oh my GOOOOOOOOOODDDD!" fame) is clearly furious to have wasted so much of his time. It later shows them at a horror convention in Dallas but there is only slightly more interest there. In an extremely funny moment, Hardy comments that many of the attendees have gingivitis and estimates that only 5% floss regularly.In contrast to Hardy, however, the director Claudio Fragasso does not come across very well. He is short-tempered, incredibly rude and aggressive, often referring to the actors as "dogs." There were a few times where I would have thought that he was going to hit someone if I hadn't already seen the documentary about five years ago. He attends several of the screenings but he resents the fact that "Troll 2" is considered by many people to be the worst film ever made. On the other hand, he also thinks that it is almost as big a compliment to be the director of the worst film ever made as it is to be the director of the best film ever made. None of the castmembers really have a kind word to say about him and he is clearly not enamoured of them either. His English is far from fluent but it is seemingly much better than it was when they made "Troll 2" in 1989. His wife Rossella Drudi explains that they made the goblins vegetarians as the fact that so many of her friends were vegetarians made her angry (for some reason). She describes the film as a "ferocious examination of today's society." Right...Connie Young (formerly Connie McFarland) probably had the most negative reaction to the film of any of the castmembers since she realised that her performance as Holly was abysmal from the moment that she saw it. She is still working as an actress, albeit with limited success, and "Troll 2" does not have pride of her place on her résumé. Imagine that. She says that several times people have recognised her from the film at auditions and she knew that her name would be crossed off the list the moment that she left the room. She also admits that she does not understand the fascination that people have with "Troll 2". Don Packard, who played the Nilbog store owner, tells us that he was institutionalised due to serious psychological problems in the late 1980s and he was released for several days in order to work on the film. When he finally saw it after almost 20 years, he said that he was seriously troubled at the time as opposed to acting as if he were troubled as the store owner.Overall, this is a great documentary on the impact that cult films can have on people's lives, for better and for worse.

Mismarketed as a documentary that seeks to deduce how bad movies get made, "Best Worst Movie" spotlights the cultural impact of "Troll 2", widely considered the worst movie ever made. The principal cast of "Troll 2" were either too young or too inexperienced to realize they were making such a hilariously bad flick. And you can't help but feel sorry for these people as they describe having to come to grips with their involvement in said debacle, back in 1989. But that sympathy doesn't last ling, as they grow to embrace their ironic fame. The funniest parts of "Best Worst Movie" (aside from clips of "Troll 2") are the raucous crowds at the revival screenings, and the cast's own reenactments of the best (worst) scenes from the movie. What's staggering is that the director has no idea he made a terrifically terrible movie. To him, it's a parable that examines the important everyday issues (life, death, food, family). Even when attending a midnight screening, the guys has no idea the movie is celebrated for being so awful.The documentary loses its way in the second half, as it focuses on the lead actor, George Hardy (a small-town dentist) and his time spent languishing at various fan and horror conventions where few have heard of "Troll 2". But the good definitely outweighs the bad here, as this is a thoroughly enjoyable film.I have never seen "Troll 2", and we simply need to fix that.7/10

George Hardy is an incredibly likable man. He has a steady job at a successful dental surgery and is devoted to his children. He keeps fit and has a great sense of humour alongside an admired position amongst the rural community of his Alabama home. Hardy was never a famous man, but he did have one significant outing on the silver screen as part of Italian director Claudio Fragasso's (Zombi 3, Zombie Creeping Flesh) infamous Troll 2.Best Worst Movie is a documentary about the legacy which Troll 2 left behind. Although, the actual depth and significance of this legacy may have been exaggerated slightly by the filmmaker Michael Stephenson, who was the child star of the feature. The documentary follows the reunited cast of Troll 2 as they relive the insanity of the shoot and wallow in the brief appreciation that arose out of the obsessive nostalgia of the fans.Hardy is the first to be studied in depth and his amiability and small town charm ooze through the screen, as they hunt down the other stars the story starts to take a turn for the weird. It is worth noting at this point that none of the stars of Troll 2 were professional actors, they had all answered casting calls for extras and were given leading roles by Fragasso, who spoke very little English at the time. Fragasso also used an entirely Italian crew who also spoke very little English, all of which resulted in the bizarre farce that the movie became. This practice was not uncommon though, Lucio Fulci (who Fragasso shared directorial duties with at certain points of his career) adopted the same practice for his 'Trilogy' (The Beyond, House by the Cemetery and City of the Living Dead). The end result of the two directors couldn't be further removed, however, as were Fulci managed to inject a great deal of style and cinematic flare into his work. Fragasso does not.Troll 2's infamy lies in the fact that it was voted the Worst Movie Ever on IMDb, a quote which is often mentioned in the subsequent promotion of the movie. The actors are all happy to admit that it is a terrible movie and have no problem playing along with the crowds who showcase the movie with the intention of having a good laugh at it all. Fragasso is not as pleased about it. One gets the impression that he is of the idea that his movies have been taken on board as classics and his smile drops very quickly when he realises that people are laughing at his 'art'.There are actors who have since become damaged recluses and others who were quite literally on day release from mental institutions. Hardy gets swept up in the media furor, eager to lash out his catchphrase; 'You can't p*ss on hospitality, I won't allow it.' For anyone who will listen. He organises a charity event showing in his hometown and even attends a few conventions. The UK convention was a particularly sobering affair, with the attendance in single figures, it seems to be the moment when Hardy realises that the film industry isn't where he wants to be. His disgust and revulsion at the attendees of the horror con is kind of sad in many ways.This is such a compelling and interesting documentary that it becomes very much about the individuals involved and less about the original subject matter (Troll 2). This is an absolute must see for any fan of horror, sci-fi or good documentaries as it offers a worthy insight into the machinations of the low budget movie industry.Read more at zombiehamster.com

The actors just hoped for the best with Troll 2, at the time of shooting called Goblin (named for the name of the town in the film, 'Nilbog', get it?). The script was awkward, the creature effects shoddy, and most of the Italian crew, including director Claudio Fragasso, and nobody really knew what would happen with the movie. No theatrical release, straight to video and HBO, and when people saw it (save for the director, who still thinks it's a good movie, and the actress who played the mother, Margo Prey, who thought it was a solid "actors" movie) they knew how bad it was... and that included what is now the director of the documentary on Troll 2, Michael Stephenson, who played the lead kid/protagonist in Troll 2. He goes back to visit all the actors in the film, what they're up to, and then confront them with an astounding fact: Troll 2, in small-certain circles, is a big, big deal.One of the main keys here is that the documentary works kind of like a cross between American Movie and Overnight, only it's all taking place many years after the fact. You have the 'characters' who are kind of nutty (the guy who was actually in a mental asylum and let out one day to play the store clerk in the film, Don Packard), and the ones who just tried to put it aside and get on with a career without Troll 2 (Connie Young as the daughter Waits in the film). And then there's George Hardy, who is like the anti Troy Duffy: instead of an obnoxious jerk, Hardy is the guy everybody likes (which could be to a fault, but who cares) and has that nice, sweet, all-American disposition working as a dentist and always with a smile or a laugh. And when he finds out Troll 2 is such a cult, he not only embraces it, he goes with it on tour! This is also a wonderful treat for those film fans who know what it's like to find a movie so-bad-it's-fun like Troll 2. We see them here at the screenings that take place midnight all across the country, from New York to Los Angeles and cities in-between (most touching is the first screening that happens almost underground at a comedy club of all places and where the first real rise of Troll-mania happens). Stephenson gets what it's like for these people to be such fans, and that the cast (save for Prey who doesn't show up cause of her sick mother, and the director who is bitter about the guilty-pleasure love) gets what kind of audience loves Troll 2. As a cult you get the guy who tattoos Troll 2 on his arm. You get the people wearing their hand-made t-shirts. You get people who drive six hundred God-knows-how-many miles for a screening. And of course they all know all the words.Stephenson captures what a phenomena like this is like, and at the same time the bittersweet coin of sudden "fame". Hardy goes all the way to Britain to promote Troll 2, and it's a little staggering to find out a) he didn't see if, you know, there were actual FANS of the film willing to go to conventions for it like they did the screenings in the states, and b) people don't seem to automatically find it cool all the time to be the "worst movie ever made" (smile). This also happens in Dallas at a convention we see, albeit the one time Hardy loses the admiration (at least from me) is when he slams the people who come to horror conventions, without realizing how horror audiences can be at such places, or that, you know, Troll 2 is still and always will be a big film for some, and for others they'll have a blank look on their faces.Which, at the end of it all is fine for someone like Hardy, a genuine real-deal of a man who is fine with his dentist practice (albeit he is now acting in a few intentionally crappy movies like Ghost Shark 2), and for the director Fragasso and his co-writer wife who continue to berate the cast's friendly bashing of the film and the production, since, well, they think they did a good job with the movie (at one point, kind of unintentionally funny, Fragasso ponders why the audience laughs at the parts that "aren't meant to be funny", while also pointing out that the audience "saved" the movie from obscurity). Stephenson gets the human angle of everyone in the movie and understands them, even someone who could have been painted as a crazy like Margo Prey (who for some she may be anyway). And for such a movie like Troll 2 to get mainstream attention, if just for a little while, it's a swell treat for a movie so hilariously s***ty.Moral of the story: You can't p*** on hospitality, I WONT ALLOW IT!