Despite the critical and commercial successes of Guillermo Del Toro’s two Hellboy films, comic fans have been crying out for a screen outing that reflects the comics they love. Gritty, violent and Lovecraftian. Pulpy and witty. And above all else, really freaking cool.
Mignola’s comic hero is notoriously hard to get right on screen. That exact pulpiness the fans want equals cheesiness in real life, and is what gave us Neil Marshalls 2019 attempt. Once again the criticisms came in fast; it was too different to the source material, and not in a way that made sense.
Fast forward five years and we have another Hellboy. This time, Deadpool 2’s Jack Kesy is in the titular role, and as the subtitle ‘The Crooked Man’ suggests, this one is based on one of Mignola’s most popular folk horror stories.
We are introduced to a younger Hellboy, in 1955 and in the early days of B.P.R.D (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence), he is aiding in the transport of a dangerous spider alongside researcher Bobbie Jo Song (Adeline Rudolph). After the spider escapes, in their attempts to track it down across the Appalachian wilderness they come across Tom Ferrell (Jefferson White), a witch who is returning after a long absence with the hope of atoning for his sins. He leads them to the girl he abandoned, Cora Fisher (Hannah Margetson), and together they face off against a host of evil characters in the quest to save her soul.
Hellboy: The Crooked Man makes almost no attempt to separate itself from the comics it’s based on. It is, fundamentally, exactly what fans have been asking for. Whether that works or not is questionable. It’s unlikely to be a critical or commercial success, but that doesn’t mean it’s without its charms. The first half in particular is clumsy and awkward, potentially alienating fans who are already on the back foot from its opening frames. At the midway point though, something changes. The pace picks up, the chaos increases tenfold and it finally finds its feet as the gnarly, gruesome, and frantic movie we’ve always wanted.
Quick editing cuts together our separated characters as each battles a different enemy. From witches to giant spiders, from ghosts to a murder of crows, each one weaved into a messy, jagged, hellish web. This is the Hellboy we’ve been waiting for, we just needed to be patient.
Hellboy: The Crooked Man isn’t perfect. Far from it. As mentioned it is clumsy, clunky, awkward and cheesy, but when it hits the notes it’s aiming for they are in tune and it’s a tune that comic fans will instantly recognise. It was never going to be a masterpiece, it was never going to be accessible to the majority of people in the same way the comics aren’t. They are niche, underground horror comics that are as challenging as they are entertaining. You will find exactly the same thing here. Balls to the wall horror, punny humour, and enough bad guys to fill a Guess Who? board. As the good reverend says, “it’s dark down there, dark as the devil’s asshole”.
Hellboy: The Crooked Man is released in UK Cinemas on September 27th
