Troll Hunting with the Cuyahoga Kaiju Club

At an undisclosed location somewhere south of Cleveland, Ohio, the Cuyahoga Kaiju Club recently met for fun, fellowship, and monster flicks. After catching up with our friends, attention turned first to the European release, "Troll Hunter."

Comparisons with "The Blair Witch Project," and "Cloverfield" are inevitable and understandable. The "found footage" approach is definitely in effect. Yet it fits the subject matter well, and a few quick establishing shots sneak into the film in an unobtrusive manner.

All that is secondary to the real attraction: big, mean, trolls. The creatures look ridiculous--like huge, storybook trolls--but within the context if the story, this only enhances their believability. If they're going to be real in the first place, why wouldn't they look exceedingly strange, almost goofy? That's not to say that the effects are lacking; on the contrary, the monsters fit seamlessly into their surroundings, and the final act, featuring a Kaiju-sized troll, is truly gripping.

"Troll Hunter" is a fascinating collision of ancient and modern folklore. On one hand, you have trolls literally lurking beneath bridges, who can smell Christian blood. On the other hand, you have secret government agencies and conspiracies working to hide the truth about such entities. "Troll Hunter" is presented with subtitles, but the real soundtrack was hilarious, good natured riffing provided by the CKC.

Next up was "Godzilla 1985," which is, to put it fairly, not the most action-packed entry in the series. The American scenes, which star Raymond Burr, reprising his role as "Mr. Martin," are almost self-consciously campy. In short, it is a Godzilla movie ripe to be riffed on, which the CKC did in grand style. Having watched it in this setting, I'm not sure I need to see it again--it could not be nearly as entertaining as the treatment it received here!

Other highlights of the evening included getting to see Tom's prototype for next year's Godzilla ornament and an archive of CKC newsletters, photos, and artwork.

The next day, we went to the Lego KidsFest in Cleveland with our friends. It is still amazing to think that a combination of Godzilla and this blog has brought such great, cool people into our lives!

Here's a shot of Lego Harrison Ford with the CKC's own Don Kaiju...