Posted by Troll is a movie released on Netflix in December 2022. It immediately became a trending film on the streaming platform, as people enjoyed the fantasy story, laying its roots in the legends and the traditions of Norwegian mythology. The movie is presented in a way that leads viewers to wonder if trolls really exist in real life: in this article, we will show the movie’s spirit, explained for the modern viewers, and we will explore Nordic mythology, discovering if trolls are real or not.
You can find the official trailer of Troll here on Youtube.
Troll movie: the plot and ending explained
The movie Troll tells the fantasy story of how the Norwegian population discovers the existence of trolls in modern days. In the plot, while trying to build a tunnel inside a mountain in the wild nature of Norway, something big and unrecognizable comes out of a hole in the ground, leaving giant footsteps in the woods. Scientists soon discover the presence of a giant creature made of stones, who reacts angrily if attacked: Through the knowledge of Dr. Nora Tidemann and her father, Tobias, we discover that trolls are real, they were living normally in ancient times, and afterward, they had to hide in the mountains, chased by humans. The monster is precisely a troll who’s been awakened by humans and is now targeting the capital.
At the movie’s ending, we discover that Tobias, Nora’s father, had found the real story of how trolls were banned from society in the recent past of Norway: the government discovered the existence of the troll king’s palace, in Oslo, and decided to kill the whole royal family, hiding to everybody the truth. Only one troll, the king’s son, was left alive, forced to live isolated in the mountains. The troll awakened in the movie is exactly the king’s son, who’s heading again to Oslo’s Royal palace to join his family and become king.
Once in Oslo, Nora drives the troll out of the city, carrying his father’s skull. They lead the troll to an unpopulated area out of the capital; the troll is blocked and dies because of dawn sunlight. The movie ends with Andreas asking Nora if she believes there could be other trolls hiding in the mountains: the post-credit scene shows another creature emerging from the ground, leaving an open ending that could support a sequel.
Are trolls real in Norway?
Short answer: no, trolls are not real in Norway or any other place in the world. Trolls are mythologic, fantasy creatures like elves or witches. You may think of the giant troll in Norway shown in the Netflix movie in a similar way to Godzilla in Japan, the Loch Ness monster in Scotland, or Count Dracula in Transylvania. Or the yeti, aliens, werewolves, and ghosts. There is no scientific proof of the existence of these creatures. But as Tobias says in the movie, you can use your heart to believe in the legend and believe they exist, even finding mysterious stories that could support your beliefs, as you can do with ghosts and aliens.
Trolls are a widespread presence in Nordic mythology, especially in Norway, and the movie Troll is not the first one presenting them (for example, recently, we talked about Border, a movie that showed the presence of trolls in a more realistic way). In mythology, trolls can be small or giant creatures, like the one in the movie. They live in a strong connection with nature; they are typically not particularly smart and aren’t generally very friendly with humans. According to the legend, trolls are enemies of gods, and that would explain why they hated Christians when the religion arrived in Norway. For the same reasons, they are supposedly scared of church bells.
Answering some of the questions that came up after watching 2022’s movie:
- Do trolls have tails? Yes, they are often depicted with long tails in mythology.
- What do trolls eat? Trolls have sharp teeth, and they can eat pretty much anything. The Nordic tradition says they can eat naughty kids if they misbehave.
- What do trolls look like? Are there real pictures of them? As fantasy creatures, you won’t find real photos of trolls taken from real life, but you can find many representations of trolls in the Nordic tradition. This article on Life In Norway shows many examples of troll representations.
In conclusion, 2022’s movie Troll does a nice job telling a fantasy story based on a developed tradition in Nordic countries, leading viewers to wonder how real the foundations of trolls legend are.
