Hellboy: The Crooked Man

Director: Brian Taylor
Screenplay: Christopher Golden, Mike Mignola and Brian Taylor
Starring: Jack Kesy, Jefferson White and Adeline Rudolph
Country: United States
Running Time: 99 min
Year: 2024

When it comes to live-action adaptations of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, there’s little competition in the way of which adaptation people tend to love. Guillermo del Toro’s 2004 effort and its 2008 sequel, The Golden Army are fan favourites for a reason. del Toro’s inspired worlds, the loveable Ron Perlman as Big Red himself, those films are a great entry point for newcomers to the world of Mignola’s anti-hero. When the 2019 effort rolled around, fans were disappointed that they weren’t getting a third instalment to cap off del Toro’s trilogy and were negative towards the David Harbour-led reboot, which aimed for less of a fantastical world and leaned more into the Deadpool sense of humour, which was a dud for critics and audiences alike. 

Fast-forward to 2024 and we get news that Brian Taylor, one half of filmmaking duo Nevaldine/Taylor (Crank, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Gamer) was rebooting Hellboy yet again, fans were once again frustrated and ( unfairly) judged the film based on a leaked 240p trailer. The film looked cheaper than the previous efforts, and didn’t have the star power of the previous efforts, so it seemed like everything was going against it, outside of the fact that it was a direct adaptation of Mike Mignola’s The Crooked Man story, with Mignola getting a writing credit for his work. The big question is, how did this turn out? Was it the dud everybody was expecting or better than anticipated? Well…

Right off the bat, I want to say that comparing this film to the $50 million+ efforts that came before is something that feels unfair for a project that’s considerably smaller in scale. Many people have stated that it looks more like a ‘fan film’ than a studio effort, and while Taylor and co. weren’t working with as much money as those other two films, I don’t think it affects the end product. Within the opening frames of the film, we’re presented with the horror-esque title card (which rules) and given no introduction to Hellboy or his partner Bobbie Jo Song, outside of the fact that they’re carrying a dangerous spider in a box on a train. Usually, this’d be frustrating but given how many adaptations we’ve already received, Taylor assumes we know what we’re in for. Hellboy works for the B.P.R.D. and deals with supernatural deities often. 

I feel like I’m going to be in the minority when saying this, but The Crooked Man absolutely rocks. The opening action set-piece of a train doesn’t deliver with the greatest visual effects, but Jack Kesy’s take on Hellboy is something refreshing, opting not to recreate what Perlman or Harbour did previously, but instead making him a quiet and dry wise-cracking detective. It’s a great performance and ranks as my favourite page-to-screen adaptation of the character, he’s that good. 

Taylor’s direction throughout is as manic as you’d expect from the man behind the Crank movies, with crazy dutch angles, Raimi-esque performances from the antagonists and some killer action scenes, when they’re present. The film focuses far more on the horror than prior instalments and really shines for that. Instead of giving us another “end of the world” disaster narrative, we get Hellboy taking on a weird, creepy old man in the woods and if you’re on board for that, it’s a delightful time.

I feel like most people will be expecting something more along the lines of those prior adaptations, which only does this film a disservice for what it’s aiming to deliver. It’s a small-scale horror picture, with some fun action sprinkled in, a great source-accurate portrayal of the lead character and plenty of fun, haunted house vibes that are an absolute blast. As I said earlier, comparisons to the del Toro or Neil Marshall efforts from before will most likely be the reason why this doesn’t immediately connect with audiences and critics, which is a shame to say, because Brian Taylor and his crew delivered something that undeniably rocks. There’s passion brimming through every single frame, care given when adapting the source material and it’s a lean, tight 90 minutes and change. If you head into it open-minded, without instantly comparing it to those earlier adaptations, it’s a riot and I can’t wait to watch it again in the future.

Film:

Icon Film Distribution presents Hellboy: The Crooked Man in UK and Irish cinemas from 27 September.

A home media release is planned for later in the year.

Where to watch Hellboy: The Crooked Man