To put it bluntly, Troll 2 isn’t just a movie; it’s a rite of passage, a cosmic joke, a Gen‑X fever dream preserved forever in the amber of cult cinema. And Vinegar Syndrome knows it . . . which is why their reissue of this cult classic is a must-own.
The film plays like a deranged campfire story told by someone who hasn’t slept since the Reagan administration and is now powered exclusively by Mountain Dew and spite. Directed by Claudio Fragasso—working under the alias “Drake Floyd,” because even he knew he needed plausible deniability—and written by his partner in cinematic crime, Rossella Drudi, the film follows the Waits family as they vacation in the town of Nilbog, which is “goblin” spelled backward, a twist delivered with the dramatic weight of a middle‑school talent show. The goblins (not trolls, because why would the title match the content) are shape‑shifting vegetarians who turn humans into plant mush so they can chow down without violating their moral code. It’s like PETA made a horror movie after losing a bet.
The cast is a glorious grab bag of non‑actors, locals, and one man who would later become a dentist. Michael Stephenson stars as young Joshua, a kid haunted by the ghost of Grandpa Seth (Robert Ormsby), who appears at random intervals like a spectral life coach with terrible timing. George Hardy, in his legendary role as the dad, delivers every line with the energy of a man who wandered onto set thinking he was filming a motivational seminar. Margo Prey plays the mom with the wide‑eyed intensity of someone who has just discovered decaf exists. And then there’s Deborah Reed as Creedence Leonore Gielgud, the goblin queen, who performs like she’s trying to win a regional witch‑pageant judged by David Lynch.
The plot—if we’re being generous—unfolds like a fever dream written on a napkin during a road trip. Joshua tries to warn his family that the townsfolk want to turn them into chlorophyll smoothies, but no one listens because this is a universe where adults are incapable of recognizing danger unless it’s labeled in Comic Sans. Meanwhile, a group of teenage boys in an RV (including Jason Wright as the eternally confused Elliott) wander around Nilbog trying to get laid, which is the surest sign they’ve never seen a horror movie. Every scene feels like it was filmed in a different dimension and stitched together by a caffeinated raccoon.
The goblins themselves look like they were crafted by a Halloween‑store clearance bin and then left in a hot car. Their masks don’t move, their hands are rubber mittens, and yet they remain deeply committed to the bit. The infamous “hospitality” feast glows neon green, as if the food itself is radioactive and union‑eligible. And of course, the film’s most iconic moment—Joshua stopping his family from eating poisoned food by peeing on it—remains one of cinema’s greatest acts of chaotic heroism. Fragasso directs it all with the confidence of a man who believes he is making a masterpiece, and in a way, he did.
By the time the final twist arrives—delivered with the subtlety of a brick through a window—you’re either fully converted to the Church of Nilbog, or you’ve fled the room.
The new 4K restoration is so clean it almost feels illegal. You can now see every pore on Grandpa Seth’s ghostly face, every bead of sweat on Michael Stephenson’s forehead as he tries to process the script he was forced to memorize phonetically, and every individual fiber of the goblin masks that look like they were purchased from a Halloween store that only exists in abandoned strip malls. The HDR pass gives the infamous “hospitality” dinner a radioactive glow, like the food itself is trying to warn you. And the green goop—my god, the green goop—now has the shimmering viscosity of a Nickelodeon game show prize mixed with antifreeze. It’s glorious.
What really pushes this release into the stratosphere is how the clarity exposes the film’s absolute refusal to make sense. Troll 2 has always been a masterpiece of narrative chaos, but now you can study it like an archaeological artifact. Vinegar Syndrome’s release is the kind of physical media miracle that reminds you why boutique labels exist. They’ve taken a film that was once a punchline and elevated it into a sacred text of outsider cinema. This is the definitive way to watch Troll 2: late at night, lights low, snacks questionable, brain unguarded. It’s a spiritual experience for anyone who grew up renting tapes based solely on the cover art and a dare from a friend. This special limited edition 2-disc 4K UHD/Blu-ray set comes with a fluorescent pink spot gloss hard slipcase + slipcover combo (designed by Brianna Miller & Johnny Ryan), includes a 40-page perfect-bound book, and is limited to 8,000 units. It is only available on our website and at select indie retailers. Absolutely no major retailers will be stocking them.
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray Edition / Slipcover Edition
Home Video Distributor: Vinegar Syndrome
Available on Blu-ray - November 25, 2025
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: 4K Ultra HD; Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free; blu-ray locked to Region A
Celebrated by cult film fans around the world as one of the “best worst” movies of all time, TROLL 2—helmed by prolific Italian filmmaker Claudio Fragasso (Monster Dog, Beyond Darkness), who appears under the pseudonym of Drago Floyd, and shot in Utah with a local cast—is a sheer masterclass in cinematic insanity packed full of WTF moments, choice dialogue, googly-eyed goblins, people being gruesomely transformed into human plants, and an entirely unexpected erotic application of an ear of corn. Now newly restored in 4K from its original camera negative and loaded with a spellbinding array of brand new bonus features, Vinegar Syndrome is thrilled to serve up the green goo-spattered cult classic that is TROLL 2 in its world UHD premiere. OH MY GOD!!!
VIDEO
Troll 2 in 4K from Vinegar Syndrome is like someone took a thrift‑store VHS fever dream, fed it a fistful of Pop Rocks, and then shot it out of a confetti cannon directly into your eyeballs. This movie was already a cosmic accident of filmmaking—an Italian anti‑meat morality play disguised as a monster movie disguised as a family vacation—but now, in UHD, every deranged creative choice hits with the force of a late‑night infomercial you can’t escape. Watching this transfer feels like being transported back to a 1990 sleepover where someone’s older brother popped in a tape he absolutely should not have had access to, and suddenly you’re witnessing goblins in potato sacks turning humans into chlorophyll smoothies. It’s cinema as a dare.
AUDIO
The audio upgrade on Vinegar Syndrome’s Troll 2 is the kind of sonic resurrection that makes you wonder whether anyone involved in the original production ever expected their work to be heard this clearly. The new lossless track turns what was once a muddy, half‑asleep soundscape into a crisp, unhinged tapestry of bizarre choices: dialogue now pops with the earnest, community‑theater intensity of actors who learned their lines five minutes before filming; the goblins’ rubber‑mask mumbling has a newfound, almost ASMR‑level intimacy; and Carlo Maria Cordio’s synth score pulses with the caffeinated energy of a Casio keyboard possessed by a mischievous forest spirit.
Even the infamous “You can’t piss on hospitality!” line hits with a clarity that feels spiritually dangerous. It’s an audio mix that doesn’t just clean things up—it amplifies the madness, letting every awkward pause, every misplaced sound cue, and every goblin giggle bloom in glorious, high‑definition absurdity.
Supplements:
Commentary:
- See special features
Special Features:
The commentary and special features on Vinegar Syndrome’s Troll 2 release feel like opening a cursed time capsule stuffed with behind‑the‑scenes chaos, unfiltered honesty, and the kind of filmmaking war stories that only happen when no one on set is speaking the same language—literally or artistically. The commentary tracks are a delirious mix of cast reflection and director‑driven conviction, with Claudio Fragasso still insisting he made a serious film while the actors recount memories like survivors of a very polite, very confusing cult. Archival interviews, new sit‑downs, and fan‑driven retrospectives turn the whole package into a sociological study of how a movie this baffling became a beloved cultural artifact. You get deep dives into the goblin masks, the Utah locals drafted as actors, the infamous corn‑seduction scene, and the accidental alchemy that transformed a low‑budget oddity into a midnight‑movie religion. It’s the kind of bonus‑feature lineup that doesn’t just illuminate the madness—it celebrates it, turning Troll 2 into a fully annotated fever dream for anyone brave enough to explore its roots.
- 2-disc Set: 4K Ultra HD / Region A Blu-ray4K UHD presented in Dolby Vision High-Dynamic-Range
- Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative
- Commentary track with actors George Hardy and Deborah Reed
- "Eat Your Greens!" (45 min) - an interview with director and screenwriter Claudio Fragasso
- "So Bad It's Good" (28 min) - an interview with actor George Hardy
- "All Part of the Play" (32 min) - an interview with actor Michael Paul Stephenson
- "Don't Mess with Goblins" (37 min) - an interview with actor Darren Ewing
- "Nilbog Vibes" (6 min) - an interview with composer Carlo Maria Cordio
- "Assistant Trolling" (19 min) - an interview with first assistant director Alessandra Lenzi
- "Parallel Trolls" (16 min) - an interview with filmmaker Fabrizio Laurenti
- Original trailer40-page perfect-bound book with essays by: Daniel R. Budnik, Adrian Smith, and Eugenio Ercolani
- Reversible sleeve artwork
- English SDH subtitles
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Composite Blu-ray Grade
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MPAA Rating: PG-13.
Runtime: 95 mins
Director: Claudio Fragasso
Writer: Claudio Fragasso
Cast: Michael Paul Stephenson; George Hardy; Margo Prey
Genre: Horror | Comedy
Tagline: One was not enough.
Memorable Movie Quote: "A double-decker bologna sandwich!"
Theatrical Distributor: Columbia/Tristar
Official Site: https://vinegarsyndrome.com/products/troll-2?_pos=1&_psq=troll+2&_ss=e&_v=1.0
Release Date: October 12, 1990
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: November 25, 2025.
Synopsis: A vacationing family discovers that the entire town they're visiting is inhabited by goblins, disguised as humans, who plan to eat them.
