'Hellboy: The Crooked Man' Review: A Solid New Lead Stuck in Mixed Bag Superhero Movie (2024)

Hellboy: The Crooked Man is the fourth live-action feature film and third incarnation of a massively beloved comic book character, who has become a household name thanks to the two excellent Guillermo del Toro films and the not-so-excellent 2019 reboot. With a reputation like that, one would think Hellboy's newest adventure would be the talk of movie town, yet the film unexpectedly skipped theaters, and Hellboy: The Crooked Man was dropped on VOD with zero fanfare. If you're reading this review, whether you're a hardcore Big Red fan or not, I'd even be willing to wager that you didn't even know a new Hellboy movie had come out.

After the crushing mediocrity that was 2019's Hellboy, the idea of Crank filmmaker Brian Tyler taking on an adaptation of the Hellboy: The Crooked Man graphic novel was intriguing. Not only is the comic itself one of Mike Mignola's best, but it's also a smaller-scale thriller instead of an explosive action extravaganza, which sounded like just what the franchise needed to regain relevancy. Those hopes were seemingly dashed following the sudden VOD release that did not inspire any sort of confidence. However, Hellboy: The Crooked Man is a flawed but audacious new take on a pop culture icon.

What Is 'Hellboy: The Crooked Man' About?

Hellboy: The Crooked Man starts the live-action continuity over yet again, completely disconnected from the versions that starred Ron Perlman and David Harbour as the title character. It also takes place in a brand-new time period, moving from present-day cities to the rural woods of Appalachia in 1959. Here, Hellboy (now played by Without Remorse star Jack Kesy) and his fellow BPRD agent Bobbie Jo Song (Adeline Rudolph) are trapped in the woods after their train gets derailed. After a chance meeting with the noble Tom Ferrell (Jefferson White), Hellboy and Bobbie Jo soon become involved in a dark and twisted tale of demonic witchcraft, the source of which is a malignant demon known only as The Crooked Man (Martin Bassindale).

To put it nicely, Hellboy: The Crooked Man's opening is rough enough to make anyone say "Ah crap." Right off the bat, the film's biggest problem rears its head — clear budgetary constraints, with what could be one of the most unconvincing CGI monsters in a movie all year. Things don't get much better for a bit, with some awkward dialogue and uneven pacing, but once Hellboy, Bobbie Jo, and Tom start to dig deep into their demonic adventure, the film does start to pick up.

Brian Taylor previously promised that this would be a very different Hellboy movie compared to what came before, and he delivered on that promise with The Crooked Man. Tonally, this does feel like a huge and honestly welcome departure from the on-the-nose action movies that preceded it, feeling much closer to something like Constantine rather than the prior Hellboy films. There's still some levity and humor to keep a comforting, loose connection to the cinematic origins of the character, but it's reined in and represented uniquely. Sadly, the horror vibe isn't always done justice, primarily through some very cheap jumpscares, including some very out-of-place ones toward the end.

Jack Kesy Is a Phenomenal Hellboy

'Hellboy: The Crooked Man' Review: A Solid New Lead Stuck in Mixed Bag Superhero Movie (1)

Throughout all the ups and downs of Hellboy: The Crooked Man, one element that is consistently deserving of praise is Jack Kesy's lead performance as Hellboy. While he may not be the "best" portrayal of the character (Ron Perlman is just too good), Kesy's performance is another big departure from previous portrayals — in a good way. Jack Kesy's Hellboy isn't constantly disrespecting authority like Perlman's or screaming his head off like Harbour's. He is much closer to Mike Mignola's original noir detective vision of the character from the comics, cooler, wiser, and more calculated than ever before.

Hellboy: The Crooked Man's version of Hellboy is surprisingly more responsible than fans of the previous films might expect, but he still retains the sense of humor and classic one-liners that he continues to be well-revered for. The supporting cast alongside Kesy also does a decent enough job, with Adeline Rudolph and Jefferson White fitting the bill as strong companions (though the former gets caught up in a pretty pointless third-act sequence) and Leah McNamara and Martin Bassindale gleefully chewing up the scenery as the film's villains. However, i's Joseph Marcell's Reverend Watts who is the big standout supporting cast member, with the blind evangelical priest being a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

'Hellboy: The Crooked Man's Biggest Demons Are Its Budgetary Constraints

'Hellboy: The Crooked Man' Review: A Solid New Lead Stuck in Mixed Bag Superhero Movie (2)

As previously mentioned, one of the things that makes Hellboy: The Crooked Man sound interesting on paper is its small scale and budget, but after watching the film, it might be a little bit too low-budget. Not every mistake can be blamed on budget alone, but it's clear that some sequences that the film tries to pull off just couldn't be done because of the constraints caused by lack of resources. The result is an overall end product that feels less like a guerrilla filmmaking effort and more like a promising concept that is begging for more money to conceive its vision.

That, of course, is especially impactful on the effects side of things, and there's a huge discrepancy between the practical and digital effects in the film. Most of the practical stuff looks great, with Hellboy himself looking as cool as ever, the Crooked Man appearing as if he jumped out of the pages of the comics, and an especially icky body horror sequence involving a skin suit. The digital effects fare much worse, with the majority appearing choppy and unconvincing. That said, even these can flip-flop back and forth, as there is a pretty creative sequence involving a CGI snake to offset some pretty generic-looking zombie makeup.

Hellboy: The Crooked Man is unfortunately a bit of a mixed bag. For every promising pro, there is also a contentious con, and some promising ideas are executed well while some less stellar concepts also sneak in. At the very least, it attempts to do something different with the Hellboy IP, and in part makes it a step up from the 2019 film, but it won't scratch that itch for Hellboy 3 among fans of the del Toro films. In short, if you're a hardcore Hellboy fan, The Crooked Man has enough to keep you engaged. If you're looking for something a little bit more in your dose of Big Red, you might be better off waiting for the next inevitable reboot.

'Hellboy: The Crooked Man' Review: A Solid New Lead Stuck in Mixed Bag Superhero Movie (3)

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Hellboy: The Crooked Man

Hellboy: The Crooked Man has a great lead and a refreshing new tone, but those positive elements are buried by glaring budgetary constraints.

Pros

  • Jack Kesy absolutely kills it as Hellboy.
  • The horror noir tone is a welcome change of pace for the franchise.
  • Some really great practical effects and makeup...

Cons

  • ...paired with some really terrible digital effects and CGI.
  • A very rough opening act and a scattered final act.
  • Some cheap and unearned jumpscares.

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
Main Genre
Action

Writers
Christopher Golden , Mike Mignola

Hellboy: The Crooked Man is currently available to buy on VOD.

Watch on Amazon

'Hellboy: The Crooked Man' Review: A Solid New Lead Stuck in Mixed Bag Superhero Movie (2024)
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