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Hellboy: The Crooked Man
2024 100 min United States of America, Germany, Bulgaria R 18+
★4.7
Fantasy, Horror, Action
Director: Brian Taylor
📖 Based on the novel
«Hellboy»
byMike Mignola
Trailers
Description
Hellboy and a rookie BPRD agent get stranded in 1950s rural Appalachia. There, they discover a small community haunted by witches, led by a local devil with a troubling connection to Hellboy's past: the Crooked Man.
Budget:
$20M
Worldwide:
$2.01M
Starring
Jack Kesy
Actor
Jefferson White
Actor
Adeline Rudolph
Actor
Key opinion
Hellboy: The Crooked Man is a polarizing low-budget experiment that replaces blockbuster spectacle with a gritty, comic-accurate supernatural aesthetic. While some viewers appreciate its stripped-back, pulp-horror focus, others find the film underfunded, sluggishly paced, and lacking the charisma of previous franchise entries.
| Adaptation | The film succeeds as an intimate, shot-for-shot adaptation that captures the specific gothic atmosphere and tone of Mignola's original comic arc. | |
| Production | The practical makeup and creature effects are highly effective, providing a visceral, tactile horror aesthetic despite the film's severe budget constraints. | |
| Acting | Jack Kesy's portrayal of Hellboy is divisive; some see his performance as a grounded, introspective take on the source material, while others find him uncharismatic and lacking the character's signature infernal presence. | |
| Pacing | The film's minimalist, slow-burn approach to storytelling polarizes audiences, with some valuing the contemplative pace as a refreshing change from blockbuster tropes, while others find it boring and lacking in necessary action. | |
| Production | The low budget results in inconsistent production quality, with crude CGI and flat, underwritten side characters that detract from the overall cinematic experience. | |
| Screenplay | The screenplay fails to provide meaningful character arcs or motivation, reducing the narrative to a repetitive series of episodic encounters. |