The Hunt For Gollum [Review]

The Hunt For Gollum is an Independent fan-made Lord of the Rings film that was written, produced and directed by Chris Bouchard. I am sure that "fan-made" is the thing that jumped out at you in that sentence, but I urge you not to dismiss this movie based solely on that. Even if you watch it and dislike it you will certainly agree that, as far as fan-made films go, this is one of the best - and I'm not talking exclusively about LOTR fan-films either. 


The short film (just over half an hour in length) was shot on HD cameras and on a budget of £3000 and has been distributed for free through the internet. I assume this was to avoid legal issues, as I don't believe you can be sued for using intellectual property if you aren't profiting from it, though I also believe there was some back-door agreement between Chris Bouchard and J.R.R. Tolkien's estate. Over 160 people volunteered to work as actors and crew for this film. 


To get into the meat of the film, stylistically I don't think they could have did any better. Chris Bouchard was very intelligent with his choice of shots, angles and effects as he used them to his advantage. He made the scenery of the film look as good as similar settings in the actual LOTR films (such as inside a forest) while avoiding trying to go for sublime shots of huge canyon faces and the like. He was also smart in how he used Gollum; we only see him from a distance, or from extreme close up, up until the end when we get a CGI version of his face which did resemble Gollum but obviously was not to the quality of Andy Serkis. Speaking of which, some of the characters, especially Aragorn, do look like there counterparts in the official films.


The film is really about what you'd think. Gandalf approaches Aragorn in a tavern and asks him to track down Gollum, as it is feared that if the orcs capture him he will end up confessing the whereabouts of the One Ring (or rather, who currently holds the ring). 


The pace of the film is very good. It benefits from really not having a lot to fit into the 30+ minutes so it isn't rushed, but it isn't stretched out either. This factor partners with the even balance of action and slower scenes to make a film with the correct ratio to my personal tastes, which I can only say about one of the official LOTRs films. 


Throw into the mix some not-so-subtle shouts to the films, such as Gollum fishing and an orc announcing that he is craving for some fresh meat, and you have all you really need from this film. 


I'm not going to say this is essential viewing, because it isn't, but if you're a fan of Lord of the Rings I think you will enjoy this short film as well as I did. It will also, if you haven't watched LOTR in a while, get you back into the Tolkien-verse ready for The Hobbit when it comes out this year.


If you want to watch it, it is available here for free on the official website.