Troll

Troll (1986) is a dark fantasy horror from director John Carl Buechler — watch it online on iFILM. The Italian-American production stood apart from standard '80s creature features by putting a scheming, shape-shifting monster right in the middle of an apartment building.

When the Potter family moves into their new San Francisco home, the youngest daughter wanders into the basement and encounters Torok — an ancient troll who slips on a magic green ring and steals her form. Torok then moves floor to floor, transforming tenants into fantastical creatures to build his army. Young Harry Potter Jr. — yes, the name really is that — notices his sister is not herself and tracks down an elderly witch living upstairs who knows exactly what Torok is.

Buechler's handcrafted animatronic work gives the film a tactile quality that still holds up, and a pre-Seinfeld Julia Louis-Dreyfus appears in an early supporting role. Stream Troll (1986) online on iFILM.