One of the four secret screenings at this year’s Fantastic Fest was a little handheld film called The Troll Hunter. Most people had not heard of the film at that point, and not many more know about it now despite a great response. I was not personally at the screening, but Twitter was alive with praises for the flick and focused on how varied and great the trolls looked. You may be tired of the “found footage” genre, but this might be a flick to look into for its unique qualities. Did I mention this film has enormous, forest-wrecking trolls? Magnet, the genre arm of Magnolia, has picked up the film for worldwide distribution (except Europe). I cannot wait to see this on the big screen. Hit the jump to watch the trailer and we've also provided the press release:

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Also, just a warning: it is probably best to go into this film with as little knowledge as possible. As I mentioned, most people had heard very little about the film before screening it at Fantastic Fest. A long two-minute trailer is out that gives a little too much away. You probably know if you will enjoy the film from the premise and name alone, so going in relatively blind should help keep the interesting secrets… secret.

New York – October 18, 2010 - The Wagner/Cuban Company's Magnet Releasing, genre arm of Magnolia Pictures announced today that it has acquired World rights excluding Europe to writer/director André Ovredal’s THE TROLL HUNTER, produced by John M. Jacobsen and Sveinung Golimo. Shot in a vérité style, THE TROLL HUNTER is the story of a group of Norwegian film students that set out to capture real-life trolls on camera after learning their existence has been covered up for years by a government conspiracy. A thrilling and wildly entertaining film, THE TROLL HUNTER delivers truly fantastic images of giant trolls wreaking havoc on the countryside, with darkly funny adherence to the original Norwegian folklore.

“THE TROLL HUNTER is one hell of a ride, with trolls the size of King Kong,” said Magnet SVP Tom Quinn. “André Ovredal has created a one-of-a-kind creature feature that’s sure to entertain and wow audiences all over the world. We’re extremely proud to add it to the Magnet slate.”

"The interest in THE TROLL HUNTER from around the world has been overwhelming," says producer Jacobsen.  "But it became clear to us early that Magnolia/Magnet would be a perfect fit both for us and for the film. We are really excited to be working with them on this movie."

The deal for world rights excluding Europe were negotiated by Magnet’s Quinn with producer John M. Jacobsen. Magnet will release the film theatrically in 2011.

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