While the character has seen success with Guillermo del Toro’s two excellent films and a less impressive 2019 reboot, Hellboy: The Crooked Man marks the fourth live-action film and third iteration of the beloved comic book character. Given this history, one might expect the latest Hellboy adventure to be a major topic in film circles. However, it unexpectedly bypassed theaters, premiering quietly on VOD. Whether you’re a die-hard fan of Big Red or not, I’d wager you didn’t even know a new Hellboy movie was out.
Hellboy: The Crooked Man arrives after the lackluster Hellboy from 2019, the idea of Crank director Brian Taylor adapting the comic book novel Hellboy: The Crooked Man was appealing. The comic itself is not only one of Mike Mignola’s best works, but it’s also a smaller-scale thriller rather than an explosive action blockbuster, which sounded like exactly what the series needed to regain its footing. These hopes seemed dashed after the sudden VOD release, which didn’t inspire confidence. However, Hellboy: The Crooked Man is a flawed but bold new take on the pop culture icon.
What is Hellboy: The Crooked Man About?
Hellboy: The Crooked Man once again restarts the live-action continuity, completely separate from the versions starring Ron Perlman and David Harbour. The story also takes place in a brand-new time period, shifting from modern cities to the rural forests of 1959 Appalachia. Here, Hellboy (now played by Stranger Things star Jack Kesy) and his BPRD agent colleague, Bobby Jo Song (Adeline Rudolph), find themselves stranded in the woods after their train derails. After a chance encounter with the noble Tom Ferrell (Jefferson White), Hellboy and Bobby Jo are soon embroiled in a dark and twisted tale of demonic witchcraft, the roots of which stem from a vicious demon known as The Crooked Man (Martin Bassindale).
To put it kindly, Hellboy: The Crooked Man’s opening is rough enough to elicit a groan. Early on, the film’s biggest problem rears its head – the obvious budget constraints, with CGI monsters that might be some of the most unconvincing seen in film this year. Things don’t improve much at first, with some awkward dialogue and uneven pacing, but once Hellboy, Bobby Jo, and Tom begin to delve deeper into their demonic adventure, the film starts to find its footing.
Brian Taylor previously promised that this film would be very different from previous Hellboy outings, and he delivers on that promise with The Crooked Man. Tonally, the film does feel like a major departure from those more straightforward action flicks, and honestly, the film feels closer to The Witch than previous Constantine films. The film still has some lighthearted humor, maintaining a welcome loose connection to the character’s cinematic origins, but it’s kept in check and delivered in unique ways. Sadly, the horror atmosphere doesn’t always land, mainly through some very cheap jump scares, including some very ill-timed ones near the end.
Jack Kesy is a Standout Hellboy
Throughout the ups and downs of Hellboy: The Crooked Man, Jack Kesy’s performance as Hellboy is consistently commendable. While he may not be the “best” iteration of the character (Ron Perlman is just too good), Kesy’s take is a far cry from previous interpretations – but in a good way. Jack Kesy’s Hellboy isn’t as frequently disrespectful of authority as Perlman’s, nor is he as shouty as Harbour’s. He’s closer to Mike Mignola’s original noir detective vision of the character from the comics, coming across as cooler, smarter, and more cunning than ever before.
The Hellboy: The Crooked Man version of Hellboy is surprisingly more responsible than fans of the previous films might expect, but he still retains the humor and classic one-liners that make him so beloved. Aside from Kesy, the supporting cast also performs admirably, with Adeline Rudolph and Jefferson White serving as strong partners (despite the former being roped into a rather pointless third-act scenario), while Leah McNamara and Martin Bassindale gleefully chew scenery as the film’s villains. However, Joseph Marcell steals the show as Reverend Watts, a blind evangelist who is a delight to watch.
The Biggest Problem with Hellboy: The Crooked Man is the Budget
As previously mentioned, one of the reasons why Hellboy: The Crooked Man looked interesting on paper was its small scale and low budget, but after seeing the film, it might be a little too low. Not all the faults can be blamed on the budget, but it’s clear that some of the scenes the film tries to accomplish simply couldn’t be done due to a lack of resources. As a result, the final product feels less like guerilla filmmaking and more like a promising concept that’s just begging for more money to realize its vision.
Of course, this especially hurts the effects, with a massive disparity between the film’s practical and digital effects. Most of the practical effects look great, with Hellboy himself looking as cool as ever, The Crooked Man looking like he stepped right out of the comic book, and one particularly gnarly horror scene involving terrifying skin suits. The digital effects fare far worse, with most looking disjointed and unconvincing. That being said, even these effects can go back and forth, as there’s a rather creative scene involving a CGI snake that offsets some rather generic-looking zombie makeup.
Unfortunately, Hellboy: The Crooked Man is a bit of a mixed bag. The film has its strengths and weaknesses, with some promising ideas that are executed well and some less impressive concepts that fall flat. At the very least, it tries to do something different with the Hellboy IP and, to some extent, elevates it above the 2019 film, but it won’t satisfy fans of the del Toro films clamoring for Hellboy 3. In short, if you’re a die-hard Hellboy fan, The Crooked Man is engaging enough to warrant a watch.