If you saw the horror-fantasy flick “Troll 2” when it was released in 1990, you probably worked on the production, and a free ticket to the premiere in Salt Lake City was all you got paid.
But two decades later, the moth- eaten movie has crawled out of the closet to amuse a new audience: connoisseurs of crud who gather at midnight screenings to celebrate what they consider the worst movie of all time.
The surprisingly rich documentary “Best Worst Movie” views the phenomenon from a unique perspective. Director Michael Stephenson was the star of “Troll 2,” when he was 12. Today, he and the other cast members regularly reunite for screenings and autograph sessions across the country.
The liveliest attraction at those events, and in the documentary, is erstwhile actor George Hardy. He was a dental-school student in Utah when he played a father in the low-budget flick, which he soon forgot while he built a practice in rural Alabama. But as the cult of “Troll 2” spreads, Hardy gleefully gets sucked back into a spotlight that he not-so- secretly craves.
But whereas Hardy is a ham, the other cast members are dubious about the attention. In the case of Margo Prey, Hardy’s on-screen wife, she’s now agoraphobic and caring for an elderly mother who tries to shoo away the documentary crew.
The real troll at the festivities is Italian director Claudio Fragasso. He insists that “Troll 2” (which is not related to the original “Troll,” a 1986 film about a young demon hunter named Harry Potter) is a serious parable comparing vegetarians to vampires. Fragasso even curses the actors as dogs when they dare to chuckle about his movie, which we see only in short, confusing clips.
If actor-turned-director Stephenson has any feeling about being called a dog, or about having his career derailed, he unwisely declines to share them while he hides behind the camera.
As a sonar sighting of showbiz bottom feeders, “Best Worst Movie” rivals the rock doc “Anvil,” but it doesn’t quite untangle the twisted appeal of the movie or dissect its impact on the kid who’s still caught up in it.
“Best Worst Movie”
Not rated. 1 hour, 33 minutes. Starring Mi chael Stephenson, George Hardy, Darren Ewing and Jason Steadman; directed by Stephenson. Opens today at the Starz FilmCenter.
