In 2019, Nora and I went to the theater excited to see David Harbour portray a character that we both love and I remember leaving the theatre feeling empty. 2019’s Hellboy left me with this feeling that the franchise is dead and there was no coming back from it. Which was shame the character created by Mike Mignola in the pages of Next Man #21 (released in December 1993) is perfect for live action and we may have witnessed the death of that. I was surprised when Hellboy The Crooked Man was announced, but my fears of the franchise dying was still present with limited screening of the film and an overall box office of $2 million on a budget of $20 million. Luckily upon viewing the film, which release direct to VOD in the US, the feeling of emptiness was erased and optimism came over me.

Hellboy The Crooked Man is directed by Brian Taylor, the director of the Crank! films and the Ghost Rider sequel Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Looking at Taylor’s filmography, it is easy to catch onto a style of filmmaking that he is trying to establish as his own. Every shot seems close up and like a handheld camera vibe, and that kind of works for Hellboy The Crooked Man. Unlike the classic Guillermo Del Toro films and the 2019 Neil Marshall reboot, Hellboy The Crooked Man feels grounded and very much like the comic itself. Its no where near amazing filmmaking but it adds an odd charm to a film that really embraces the horror elements.

As impressive as the world is for Hellboy, fans of the character will judge a film by the portray of Hellboy himself and there is nothing special about Jack Kesey’s performance unfortunately. Its not a bad performance but comparing it to Ron Perlman and David Harbour’s performance as the character previously, it does rank among the weakest portray. Kesey as Hellboy does not have a negative impact on the overall quality of the film, its just feels flat compare to the others. Adeline Rudolph as Bobbie Jo Song and Leah McNamara as Effie Kolb are the two performances in the film that help beyond its setting and horror elements.

Bobbie Jo Song plays the role as Hellboy’s BPRD partner, very much like Rupert Evans’ John Myers in 2004’s Hellboy, this gives Hellboy someone to banter with throughout the film. But unlike John Myers, the character of Bobbie Jo is interesting and does not feel like a plot device instead I wanted more interacting between Hellboy and Bobbie Jo. Which on the bright side we will be seeing Adeline Rudolph later this year as Kitana in Mortal Kombat 2. Adeline is quickly become a mainstay in geek cinema with he appearances in this, 2022’s Resident Evil and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. I will be keeping an eye on Adeline for future films. Effie Kolb is just a sensual witch that chews up the scenery, is Leah McNamara’s performance great? No, but its the character that is having the most fun in the film and that adds to the film beyond being a creepy romp.

Now special effects is where the film suffers and easy to spot within the first 10 minutes. The film is very much folk horror with a emphasis on the paranormal and witchcraft, but in a baffling start to the film, Hellboy fights a giant spider. This giant spider may be the worst special effects in a comic book film in a long time, yes worst than The Flash. Unlike The Flash, the film only cost $20 million, some forgiveness can be given for that but the fight against the Spider and later on a snake, did leave a sour taste in my mouth. Once you get pass the terrible fight scenes and special effects, its the focus on horror that makes the film.

As for scares, there is nothing really scary. Its more like if Tim Burton was to make a Hellboy film, the setting and tone gives it the horror vibe. The appearance of the Crooked man is more creepy than scary but that fits perfectly if you know the character of Hellboy. Credit to Brain Taylor in making a low budget horror film with a popular character.

Despite my enjoyment of the film, which I enjoyed more than the 2019 version, this is meant for the fans of the character. To many this will feel like a film that the SyFy channel would produce, bad CGI and moderate attempts at scares. For fans of the character like myself, it was more of a love letter to Mike Mignola (whom actually helped with the script) and the world of Hellboy. The film is currently streaming on Hulu at the time of this writing, if you have 99 minutes and love Hellboy check this out… if you don’t love Hellboy, use that 99 minutes to catch up on Daredevil:Born Again