Neil Marshall has spent the last ten years frustratingly knocking on Hollywood’s door without being let in. Ever since Dog Soldiers, Marshall has been delivering smart, fast-paced genre cinema such as The Descent and Game of Thrones episodes, but kept getting passed over for movies like Sherlock Holmes. But it looks like he might finally be getting his shot, courtesy the remake of Troll Hunter.
Troll Hunter, for those who haven’t seen it, is a highly effective psuedodocumentary about a naive camera crew stumbling across a man who they think is a bear poacher, but turns out to be in the employ of the Norwegian government, killing trolls. The main character is actually a fascinatingly written one, a bitter and lonely man who questions whether his job is in service to the safety of people or to the safety of business interests.
Oh, and it has killer special effects. If you haven’t seen it, Netflix has it as a streaming title. Here, have a trailer:
Anyway, it appears that Marshall will finally get his Hollywood break filming the remake. This also means the remake might actually be worth watching: It was being produced by Chris Columbus, who has had… iffy taste when it comes to genre stuff lately.
In short, a remake has gone from “meh” to “worth seeing” with one directorial choice. Now hopefully Marshall will be in line for a superhero movie; Swamp Thing, anyone?