Review: Hellboy: The Crooked Man – Red means stop
Directed by Brian Taylor
Starring Jack Kesy, Adeline Rudolph, Jefferson White
Any attempt to revive Hellboy will always be met with peril. Inevitably, it will be compared to the first cinematic outing, and given the director and star, the 2004 work really represents the high water mark for the franchise. Still, Mignola’s demonic protector has so much potential, and Hellboy: The Crooked Man does try to take things in a different direction. Instead of the more superheroic take (with eldritch set dressing), Hellboy: The Crooked Man cranks up the horror elements present in the comics.
When their train carriage is derailed by the demonic spider they’re transporting, Hellboy (Jack Kesy) and rookie B.P.R.D. agent Bobbie (Adeline Rudolph) are stranded in the Appalachian wilderness. Seeking their escaped cargo, the two occult agents stumble into a landscape dominated by witches and a cursed envoy from hell that empowers them, the Crooked Man.
There’s a strange alchemy at play here. Not the good sort. Not the sort that would turn lead into gold, but rather the type to leave you with a noxious gas cloud. Hellboy: The Crooked Man does a lot right, yet somehow does an equal amount wrong.
It delves deeply into the horror elements but never balances that with competent action. It creates a fantastic sense of Appalachian Gothic but can never convert that into a genuine chills. It has great physical makeup effects but relies on garbage CGI for all the big monster sequences. At every turn, Hellboy: The Crooked Man hobbles itself, and the result is a lacklustre mess.
That’s a genuine pity, as Jack Kesy brings a unique take on Hellboy to the screen. Kesy lends a pensive cynicism to ‘Red’, as if he’s seen all the horrors that this world (and the next) has to offer. It’s an interesting take on the character, but the script and direction just give it nothing interesting to do.
Still, he fares better than many of the other characters, as they seem mainly to exist to deliver exposition. In fairness, this may point to an issue in adaptation as Mignola’s work is dripping with occult lore. However, where a comic can merely place this information in a panel, a film is required to insert it into the mouths of characters. Hence Hellboy: The Crooked Man has a cavalcade of hill folk sprouting folklore in a more unnatural manner than the dark arts they’re discussing.
In truth, there seems to be something of a disconnect between director and subject matter. In terms of set dressing, the rural setting looks appropriately corrupt and festering, but it’s lacking in terms of atmosphere. The camera direction is wrote, the attempted scares pedestrian, and the action is stale. Yes, I’m saying that about the director of Crank and much of Happy, and I’m as surprised as you are. Although, as Brian Taylor is also the director of Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, maybe comic book horror just isn’t their forte.
Not a terrible film, but certainly a mediocre one. At times it gets close, but Hellboy: The Crooked Man just can’t quite do the beloved comic character justice.
DAVID O’CONNELL
