Troll 2 is a bad movie, and one whose sheer horribleness has been transformed into an underground cult phenomenon. Stephenson stars as little Joshua Waits, the youngest member of an all-American family who has moved to the town of Nilbog (spell it backwards). Things become complicated when cannibal monsters and goblins begin to attack. Little people in unconvincing costumes play the goblins, and there is a heavy reliance, I’m afraid, on green ooze, which doesn’t usually spell Oscar nomination. Incidentally, you may wonder why I haven’t mentioned any trolls. This is because the movie contains only goblins. The original title was Goblins, but the name change is the least of their problems.
Troll 2 was an Italian production, produced by legendary schlockmeister Joe D’Amato (who created such classics as Cave Dwellers, Porno Holocaust, and Caligula: The Untold Story) and directed by Claudio Fragasso under the brilliant pseudonym Drake Floyd.
“As a ten-year-old, I got paid not very much at all,” says Stephenson. “But I got paid to show up on set and make faces and scream and run from midgets in potato sacks and ride a skateboard, and it was a lot of fun.”
Last year, Stephenson contacted Claudio Fragasso to tell him about Troll 2’s ironic popularity. “There was this long pause, and then finally he said, ‘Why now, after 18 years, they finally decide they like my movie?!’”
