Troll on Netflix divides critics and audiences with very different Rotten Tomato scores

Norwegian monster movie Troll has been climbing up Netflix’s streaming charts since its release. However, despite its popularity, the reaction has been mixed: the critic score on Rotten Tomatoes sits at 85%, while the viewer score is much lower at 51%.

The movie, directed and co-written by Roar Uthaug, follows a disparate group of experts who team up after some mysterious deaths in the mountains of Dovre. After discovering an ancient troll is responsible for the carnage, they must do everything they can to stop him before he attacks again.

Critical response to the movie has praised the cinematography, action, and performances. Blu-ray.com’s Brian Orndorf commends the "entertainment value", praising its "competent performances and cinematic energy."

"It’s well crafted and efficient in pacing, only briefly touching on requisite environmental concepts," adds Bloody Disgusting’s critic Meagan Navarro. "It’s fun enough and does deliver on spectacle, but most of all, it leaves you rooting for its magnificent creature."

Collider’s Marco Vito Oddo concludes that while it won’t be "getting any awards for originality", it "succeeds in developing a movie that’ll most likely please fans of giant creatures".

However, viewers haven’t been so sold on the movie, with several Rotten Tomatoes users giving low ratings. "Generic, cliche, and laughably bad dialogue," writes one, while another adds: "This movie looked good, but had no soul or purpose. Just standard chase, puffed-up action."

Not everyone was critical though, with several five-star user reviews as well. "Very sweet, scary, action-packed, and sad," concludes one viewer. "Just like Godzilla and every other movie about humans facing the unknown, the first thing we do is try to kill."