Being Film #16 for Hooptober 2025
In the end, there’s really no escaping the shadow of what Guillermo del Toro brought to Mike Mignola’s Hellboy character in his two films. You can argue they’re not truly what Mignola intended with the character, mixed too much with del Toro’s sympathy with the monsters, but those two films stand as a monument to how to present the fantastic on film. About the only to really do (takes notes, Neil Marshall) is to scale it back, own the story, and just drive your perspective home. And the audience and critics seem to bury Hellboy: The Crooked Man in the dirt, I’m here to tell you not only is it good, it’s really good: nasty and intimate and capable of moments that get straight to the heart of what makes Mignola’s stories so indelible. Ignore the critics and take this one on its terms; you won’t regret it.
THE QUICK SUMMARY: 1950s. Appalachia. Big Red (I’m gonna assume you know who Hellboy is at this point) and junior partner Bobbie Jo are transporting their latest cargo back to headquarters when the cargo breaks loose, causing the rail car to crash, dumping Hellboy, Bobbie Jo, and the cargo in the middle of nowhere. Looking for a phone they come across a family whose son is cursed by a local witch, a witch young Tom Ferrell has returned from his own supernatural journeys to confront. Hellboy and Bobbie Jo join him, and learn of his history with the Crooked Man, the Devil of these parts who may be trying to take Ferrell’s soul as well as those of the ones he loves, including his father. Soon Tom, Red, and Bobbie Jo come face to face with the Crooked Man and his witchy followers in a fight for their very souls…
I’m not the biggest Nevaldine/Taylor fan: I’m sure I’ve seen most of Crank, and maybe some of the second Ghost Rider movie, but their frenetic digital camera work was never to my tastes. But watching how Brian Taylor takes that style and reins it in for slower, more ominous story I was impressed.
A lot of it comes from the location shooting; he makes the most of shooting in Bulgaria to make the film – small as it is – feel absolutely real and lived in. Visually it has a not film/not digital vibe, there’s almost a documentary quality to it, ramping up when needed for certain set pieces, helping the at times rough VFX to be more fully integrated into each scene.
Onto the cast. Look, no one is going to replace Ron Perlman as the quintessential Red: just ask David Harbour. But Jack Kesey leans away from that interpretation just enough to give a very different flavor to Hellboy, one who is more tender and gentle, but who’s also seen enough to carry a weariness and resignation with every breath. I really enjoyed his take, and the practical makeup to bring him to life looks fantastic. Adeline Rudolph proves to be a good complement as Bobbie Jo Song. She does a good job of putting out the bookworm eager to experience the real thing without once coming across as stupid or naive. And I liked how quickly Taylor and Mignola, who wrote the screenplay based off of his original story, introduce Tom Ferrell into the group dynamic. Hellboy always works best when he’s working off of others, so it’s essential that the group chemistry works.
You know what else works? The VFX. There, I said it. Taylor’s working on a $20M budget, less than half of the abysmal 2019 reboot and less than a quarter of Del Toro’s Golden Army sequel. But there’s a modest charm to the big set pieces, including an opening giant spider attack and another battle with a demonic snake that had some of the pulpy moments I crave when reading the books that all the prior versions of Hellboy sacrificed in various ways.
Hellboy: The Crooked Man is small. It’s not trying to be del Toro’s version. For better of for worse this is Mignola’s version, and I wish it had done well enough to warrant another entry in the series. Red’s too good a character to stay down, and if I can’t get de Toro’s Part III, I’m happy to have this as the alternative.
Cinema Dual 
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