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Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for 'Hellboy: The Crooked Man'
Hellboy: The Crooked Man is the latest attempt to bring Mike Mignola's hellspawned occult investigator to the silver screen. One could argue that it's the most faithful: The Crooked Man is based on a miniseries by Mignola and the late Richard Corben, and Mignola even co-wrote the screenplay which sticks close to the comic's events. In 1958, Hellboy (Jack Kesy) and rookie Bobbie Jo Song (Adeline Rudolph) wind up trapped in the Appalachian mountains. There, they meet war veteran Tom Ferrell (Jefferson White), who's returned to his childhood home to face the demons of his past. In this case, it's quite literal, since the Crooked Man (Martin Bassendale) made a deal with Tom for his soul. Hellboy, Bobbie Jo and Tom soon fight against the Crooked Man and other supernatural forces while trying to stay alive. But how does this battle end: with Hellboy victorious or vanquished?
Hellboy Doesn't Save The Day Alone in 'Hellboy: The Crooked Man'
In the Hellboy movies by Guillermo del Toro and Neil Marshall, Hellboy is usually the person who manages to save the day - whether it's punching evil in the face with his signature Right Hand of Doom or using his trusty revolver, the Good Samaritan, to blow it away. In the case of Hellboy: The Crooked Man, Tom and Bobbie Jo also play a key role in defeating the Crooked Man. Hellboy accompanies Tom to a broken-down mansion where the Crooked Man resides, while Bobbie Joe heads into the catacombs of the town with local preacher Watts (Joseph Marcell). Both parties run into trouble; Hellboy is beset by visions that include his mother, who tries to convince him to kill himself - and hinting at the role he'll play in bringing about the Apocalypse - while Bobbie Jo and Watts encounter a massive spider that she and Hellboy came to the mountains to track.
Throughout The Crooked Man, Bobbie Jo has been trying to tap into her innate magical abilities - and facing off against the spider gives her the boost she needs. She casts a spell that expels the dark magic from the spider, and diminishes the Crooked Man's power. Tom then force-feeds the Crooked Man a "witchball," a mystical object formed by the witches of his community, which further weakens him. Hellboy then savagely pummels the demon and blows his head off with the Good Samaritan. Doing this leads to a shower of gold coins pouring out of the Crooked Man's head, representing the souls he's stolen over the years - Hellboy gives Tom one of those coins, effectively lifting the curse on him. He and Bobbie Jo are then airlifted by the BPRD, with Bobbie Jo finding comfort in her demonic companion's arms.
‘Hellboy: The Crooked Man’ Has a Poetic Fate in Mind for One of Its Villains
The Crooked Man isn't the only malevolent force that Hellboy and friends stumble upon in the mountains. Tom reveals that his curse was born when he met the witch Effie Kolb (Leah McNamara), as she told him making a deal with the Crooked Man would make him a witch. To hold up his end of the bargain, Tom killed a black cat and boiled it until the bones remained, offering one to the Crooked Man. Though he eventually changed his mind, Tom's fate was set - the bone kept him safe from harm when he served in World War II, and no matter how many times he tried to get rid of it it would always come back to him. Effie also took dominion over Tom's father's soul, transforming him into a horse with a cursed bridle.
Effie ends up undergoing a rather poetic fate at the end of Hellboy: The Crooked Man. After Hellboy kills the Crooked Man, he and Tom find a rapidly aging Effie in the woods; Tom had previously mentioned that despite years passing, she still looked similar in age to him - meaning that she potentially sold her own soul to the Crooked Man for eternal youth. In a moment pulled directly from the comics, Tom approaches Effie with the bridle she put on his father...and the film ends with a white horse standing, having the words "Beware! I Am A Witch!" painted on its side.
Will 'Hellboy: The Crooked Man' Get a Sequel?
During a panel forHellboy: The Crooked Man atthis year's San Diego Comic-Con, directorBrian Taylor was asked if he would want to make more Hellboy movies. Taylor said that while he'd be open to exploring more Hellboy stories,The Crooked Man was meant to be a standalone story. "I hate it when folks try to do a movie and sell you a whole franchise…if the first one’s good, I’m coming back,"he said. This is fairly true toThe Crooked Man comic, and Hellboy's stories in general; most of them are standalone tales that you can read to get a sense of Hellboy's history. In an age where nearly every film franchise is massively expanding or films are built with the purpose of launching a franchise,The Crooked Man being a single story is surprisingly refreshing.
Sadly, reception to The Crooked Man has been rather lackluster; while Kesy makes a great Hellboy and Taylor does a vailant job of attempting to bring Mignola's stories to life, the final film is working with a shoestring budget, and it shows in the obviously CGI creatures that menace our heroes. Add in the fact that The Crooked Man was sent straight to VOD platforms, and Kesy's future as the World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator is up in the air. While it might not clear the high bar that Guillermo del Toro set with his two Hellboy films, it's a far cry from the overly juvenile antics of the 2019 effort - and a solid adaptation of the comics. If Hellboy is ever adapted again (and let's face it, that day's coming sooner rather than later), perhaps Mignola should consider a return to animation.
Hellboy: The Crooked Man
Action
Horror
Fantasy
Hellboy: The Crooked Man follows Hellboy and a rookie BPRD agent as they get stranded in 1950s rural Appalachia. They discover a small community haunted by witches, led by the Crooked Man, a devil with a troubling connection to Hellboy's past.
- Release Date
- September 19, 2024
- Director
- Brian Taylor
- Cast
- Jack Kesy , Jefferson White , Martin Bassindale , Adeline Rudolph , Leah McNamara , Hannah Morgetson , Joseph Marcell , Nathan Cooper
Hellboy: The Crooked Man is currently available to buy on VOD.
Watch on Amazon