The Troll
She sleeps without curtains, waiting for the next day to begin and reciting her self-affirmation mantra as she rises, open to the world and all it brings and greeting her adoring fans with grace and gratitude as they anticipate wait for her latest postings and hints of her forthcoming music video, Killa B the girl who makes it look like you can have it all and do it with ease, though life beyond what the camera captures is not so perfect.
Driven by her unhappy childhood, the harsh criticisms of her mother that Bethany wasn’t good enough, a single comment from the troll among thousands of others rankles Killa B, fixated and unable to move past it or place it in context as she examines the profile of “flyboy_420” for clues, tying the profile to Josh Falnick, seventeen years old, his mother a recovering alcoholic, his father with a history of domestic violence, innocent target of her vindictive wrath.
The feature debut of short-form comedian Brianna Lee, she has written, produced, directed and stars in The Troll in addition to performing her own self-penned track and serving as production designer, editor and also contributing to the visual effects, a tale of disproportionate responses and obsession where beauty is only skin deep and ugly bloody rage lies beneath, the carefully cultivated public image of Killa B masking deeper dysfunction, even her patiently smiling driver and personal assistant unaware of what lies beneath.
Haunted by being told that she was never pretty, that she looked like a man, that she should fix her face or stay invisible, Killa B’s smile and persona are practiced deflections from her wounds, reopened when Josh (Greg Saridakis) calls her “the ugliest girl on the internet,” a remark he has likely forgotten within moments unforgivable by her, using the tech savvy which brought her to an audience and her clout as a personality as she goes full-on crazy without dropping a beat.
Running to only sixty-seven minutes including credits, understandably given the background of the creator The Troll performs efficiently, never labouring a point or dragging its feet, Lee having created a monstrous protagonist in Killa B, unable to ever be satisfied in her quest for adulation, violations of the expected code of conduct in the AA meetings attended by Jeanette (Alena Acker) run by sympathetic convener Steve (Jake Lesh) only the tip of the iceberg.
Stalking Josh and infiltrating his family before using her talent for acting and manufacturing drama to destroy them, that The Troll is far-fetched is not the point, a product of an age where superficial sells, where outrage is commodified, where the scales of perceived injustice are weighted in favour of those who can shout the loudest, sweet Killa B less of the honey variety and more a scorpion with the cruellest temptations in her sting.
The Troll enjoyed its world premiere at the Raindance Film Festival on Saturday 20th June
