As a keen fan of the Hellboy films, I was thrilled when I heard that the franchise was getting another instalment with Hellboy: The Crooked Man. My excitement compounded with the news that the plot of the film was lifted directly from the Dark Horse Comic books by Mike Mignola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Christopher Golden and director Brian Taylor. Surely this delightfully detailed folk-horror flick would give us a Hellboy experience closer to that of the comics: more gritty and grimly witty, and ultimately reinvigorate this flagging franchise! Unfortunately, despite its intricate storyline and brilliant cinematography, this one falls short of the mark.
The film begins with a typical Hellboy-esque premise – Hellboy (played by Jack Kesy) and a rookie agent of Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BRPD), Bobbie Jo Song (Adeline Rudolph), are escorting an unknown, and presumably very dangerous, creature to BRPD headquarters. Their mission is derailed (literally, they are on a train) as the caged spider-demon suddenly grows to an enormous size and breaks free. This results in Agent Song and Hellboy chasing it through the forest, ultimately losing the demonic spider as it shrinks and disappears into the underbrush. Realising the train has left without them, they begin to hike to safety, coming across a small backwater town in the process where clearly there is an underlying supernatural danger at play.
As Hellboy and Agent Song investigate the haunting Appalachian town further, with the aid of returning war hero and prodigal son Tom Ferrell (Jefferson White), they discover that it is plagued by a coven of witches lead by The Crooked Man himself (Martin Bassindale). While trying to heal his beloved town Tom is hoping to heal his own wounds and atone for both a bargain he made with The Crooked Man in his youth, and for leaving behind his lover Cora Fisher (Hannah Margetson). When it is discovered that Cora has also made her own pact with The Crooked Man, Tom decides to undertake a pilgrimage to face him on his own turf, in an ultimate battle to save her soul, and maybe his own. After being goaded by one of the more prominent local witches Effie Kolb (Leah McNamara), Hellboy realises that without his help Tom will never overcome the wiley demon pulling the strings. So he and Agent Song head along for the ride.
It is interesting to note that The Crooked Man does not follow on chronologically from the previous Hellboy films – it is set in the 1950s. This gives the character of Hellboy himself more of a youthful and less self assured air – taking place before he assumed his mantle as a powerful demon and saved the world, more than once. Gladly still with his trademark cockyness though.
Stylistically Hellboy: The Crooked Man is a bit of a mess. It has a glorious messy, gritty, Lovecraft feel that ties in seamlessly to the Appalachian gothic setting and the demonic overtones and religious references in the Crooked Man mythos, but it flip flops between being having a pulpy-campy dark comedy mood and being more of a gruesome and gory thriller. In the beginning of the film, the slow cinematography creates an eerie mood, which juxtaposes lusciously ghoulish and dark symbolism with cutting one-liners from Hellboy, but as the film progresses the editing gets jumpier and it loses something of its previous impact – becoming a hash of difficult to follow blood-drenched fight scenes. Ultimately this is an extremely difficult line to walk, especially in film, and one that Mignola pitches perfectly in the comics. Perhaps it will always be a point of contention in any Hellboy film!
Whether Hellboy: The Crooked Man becomes a mainstream hit, it will still remain to be seen, but at least this Hellboy iteration will appeal to the fans of the comics.
5/10
