Gollum is envisioned with creativity, the filmmakers confining him to a burlap sack for most of the movie, yet whoever plays him in the sack, combined with Gareth's Borough's keen impression of Andy Serkis, are a worthy low-budget substitute for Jackson's extensive motion-capture. The score by Adam Langston and Andrew Skrabutenas is less conspicuous and 'epic' than the Oscar-winning strings of Howard Shore, but that's perhaps fitting for this small, more personal movie. No less than a half- dozen cinematographers were used to evoke the atmosphere and rich, somber colors that helped distinguish the first movie. If you had some favorite technical element from the movie trilogy, writer/director/producer Chris Bouchard has likely re-created it here on a fraction of the budget.

Those who have seen Jackson's Fellowship of the Ring will know how this movie ends, but then that manages to add some more tense elements to the story. Success will allow for more time to plan, failure will result in a forced hand for our heroes, requiring that the ring be moved, with Frodo and the others put in imminent peril. The wizard Gandalf goes to Aragorn with a crucial mission: find Gollum, who knows the location of the One Ring, before Sauron's forces do. The movie takes its inspiration from one of the many appendices to the original novel, events that are hinted at in the first movie. For such a small budget, it's impressive how close they come at times to reproducing Jackson's big-budget style. A team of Tolkein fans, with an estimated budget of $3,000, have produced their own addition to Peter Jackson's film series.

Lord of the rings movie posters gollum