Hellboy: The Crooked Man: Movie Review

Cast: Jack Kesy, Adeline Rudolph, Leah McNamara, Martin Bassindale
Director: Brian Taylor

The fourth entry into the live-action world of Hellboy doesn't bother with rebooting the story or origins of Mike Mignola's Red but just simply focuses on throwing Jack Kesy's Hellboy into the middle of an investigation.

Beginning with the containment of a spider on a train through the Appalachian Mountains, the story focuses on Hellboy and fellow BPRD agent Bobbie Jo Song (Rudolph) who find themselves caught in a village under the thrall of a witch after the train derails. Trapped, the pair start to battle their own demons as events become more personal for both of them.

Based on Mignola's own comic book story, Hellboy: The Crooked Man has potential.

But when compared to Ron Perlman's take on the character, Kesy is fairly non-descript and the story soon shifts to interminably dull territory rather than unsettling and enthralling. Mixing folk horror with would-be Evil Dead elements is admirable, but the film's long slow pace, limited budget and reliance on spectral elements starts to feel rote and repetitive after 25 minutes.

Stripped of any real edge, Hellboy: The Crooked Man goes for atmospherics instead while settling into a pattern of nothing more than sequences of battling marauding hordes of baddies. It's all so darkly shot too that it's too muddy in places to watch and enjoy.

Coupled with some very weak CGI early on, Hellboy: The Crooked Man is nothing more than a continuing disappointment for a character that has potential to light up the screen.