HELLBOY: THE CROOKED MAN Review: A Laudible, Decent Lo-Fi Comic Book Thriller Reboot
Hellboy: The Crooked Man will open in UK cinemas from September 27 from Icon Film Distribution.
The years continue to pass as any fan-driven hopes of another entry in to the Guillermo Del Toro lens of another Hellboy movie grow inevitably farther from reality. Both films are memorable classics while the Neil Marshall-directed 2019 drew nowhere near the success of its predecessors despite its big scale visuals and ambition. With three films now in our rearview, the latest test of potency for Mike Mignola’s Dark Horse brainchild now comes by way of Brian Taylor, who is no stranger to comic book mediums with credits on Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011), and Jimmy Hayward’s Jonah Hex (2010).
Alas, we get Hellboy: The Crooked Man, penned by Christopher Golden along with Taylor and Mignola, the latter who also served as one of the film’s exec producers. The 1959-set movie touts a few cool horror bona-fides even in its brief intro as the story jumps right into things with Hellboy (Jack Kesy), and BPRD agent Bobbie Jo Song (Adeline Rudolph) thrust into a whirlwind fight for survival when the transport of a demonic spider goes awry. Stranded when their train car derails in the calamity, the two are forced to trek the gloomy woods of Appalachia, crossing pockets of poverty-stricken coal mining families who look like they’ve been to the darkest side of hell and back. During their travels, they learn about the recent actions of a witch, as well as meet young traveler and former soldier Tom Farrell (Jefferson White) whose dark, afflicted past may yet bring his two new cohorts full circle with a destined battle against a supernatural entity called The Crooked Man (Martin Bassindale), who collects souls for a penny.
I’m like anyone who goes into these comic book movies without so much as a smidgen of the original IP, so I won’t go into literary comparisons. What I will say is that Hellboy: The Crooked Man offers a story calibrated precisely per what Mignola’s 2008 mini series cover entails if that’s anything to go by. Taylor eschews the bombastic gunslinging whipsmart fanfare of the 2004, 2006 and 2019 films for something drastically toned down, but without losing the characteristic appeal of the title character. Kesy’s portrayal doesn’t hold a candle to past iterations, and it also doesn’t necessarily need to. Instead, it bodes as fairly entertaining, and holds up equally well for the film’s duration, casting a viably younger depiction of Hellboy with all the mannerisms and trimmings that make him worth rooting for.
Viewers may also take a liking to Rudolph’s fish-out-of-water Song, whose own strengths and wills are bound to be tested with her first field assignment going anything but according to schedule. This especially goes for her evolution during the film’s progression, something aptly put in somewhat omnious focus between Song and beleagured witch, Cora Fisher (Hannah Margetson), in which Fisher warns Song about the extent of her fascination in one concurrent area of her work.
The role of Farrell is explored in part with a short spell of flashbacks that introduce the cause of the curse that now not only haunts him, but additionally threaten the lives of Hellboy, Song and the surrounding community. It is an unhurried build-up of story elements from time to time, and takes a while before eager fans can see the good stuff. It’s worth the wait if you love Hellboy and gradually-told cerebral horror procedurals.
The overall look and feel of Hellboy: The Crooked Man is held together well enough for a conceptually cohesive thriller. The sets and practical erections surrounding it and bringing the film to life work really well, while the more CG-enhanced aspects of the film make its delivery feel a little too gawdy at times. Even the opening shot of Hellboy standing in an open boxcar door on the train leaves an obvious stench of green screen that is sure to validate pre-cemented critics of the film who’d already written the film off in their tweets over budgetary concerns.
Invariably though, the big scale action that culminates Hellboy: The Crooked Man, assures a fine payoff for fans looking for some entertainment in Taylor’s treatment. Kesy was a great choice to carry the torch of Anung Un Rama, and help manifest Hellboy once more for a younger version of the character, one set in a different time than in previous films for an otherwise more expansive, experimental scope at the character’s screen treatment. There’s a mood and energy in Hellboy: The Crooked Man that definitely tries to coalesce in its fan service, and while it probably won’t hit all fans the same, it will certainly find its audience among comic book movies crowds to come.
Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!
