हेलबॉय: द क्रुकेड मेन

People are addicted to soulless, mass produced, green screen, fast-edited blockbusters with ridiculous budgets that treat the viewers like 8 year olds with ADD. Well this ain't one of them.

The story is smaller in scale, which is what the superhero genre needs after it's been marvelized beyond recognition during the last 20 years. The cast is doing a good job, the pace is fine, the 90 minute running time is ideal, the cinematography is great. Could've used a better soundtrack and some more light in certain sequences.

Of course if it's not your cup of tea, you can always rewatch the abysmal 2019 Hellboy.

No spoilers, i'll be brief.

Now, i've not read the source material, but did watch all three movies (liked 'em... even third one, with mr. Harbour, was not all that bad) though. And played PC game back in 2000 (i am old). So... this flick? Worked for me. 5/10 or even 6/10 easily. Has some good acting, has some bad acting, production budget is low and it shows, but the story is pretty good and horror elements are there. Old village in the middle of nowhere, deal with a devil, touch of witchcraft and necromancy. Do not expect fancy CGI, though some practical make-up is spot on. Probably would have worked better as a mini-series - say, four episodes, an hour each. More space for story development, character arcs and general progression.

To conclude. Not nearly as terrible as i thought it would be.

Not the greatest praise, i know.

But still a praise.

This film has an unique place in my cinema viewing history. It's the only series I've ever seen on a big screen where I've been the only person in the auditorium for each one. This latest episode sees the eponymous devil (Jack Kesy) escorting a lethal spider on a train with aspiring para-psychologist "Bobbie Joe" (Adeline Rudolph) when an accident sees them deposited into the middle of the Appalachian forest. Here they encounter long-since abandoned coal mines and an equally out-of-touch community that smacks a great deal of "The Deliverance" (1972). With little sign of their spider, they encounter the returning local lad "Tom" (Jefferson White) and are quickly helping him repatriate his dad to the cemetery and keep his ex-girlfriend/local witch "Effie" (Leah McNamara) out of the hands of the real devil. It's dark and misty settings do go some way to creating a slight sense of mystical peril, but the rest of this is badly acted and written with zero originality and few opportunities for action or humour. Kesy seems content to take his fee for wandering around wagging his pointy red tail and smoking whilst the director Brian Taylor uses plenty of tried and tested cinematic techniques to try and breathe some life (or death) into this derivative drudge of a film. I kept thinking he's got a pair of goggles on his head - but them's what used to be his horns. Like his horns, whatever made this work first time round has long gone and I can't say I'd even bother with this on a streaming service on a wet Wednesday in February. No more, please.

This garbage is an abysmal misfire that only tarnishes the legacy of the beloved comic character. The film is a disaster from start to finish, failing in nearly every aspect of filmmaking, from its mediocre script to its lackluster performances and embarrassing visual effects.

The plot, which should have been a dark and thrilling exploration of Hellboy's adventures in the Appalachian backwoods, instead feels like a poorly strung-together sequence of clichés and uninspired horror tropes.

The pacing is atrocious, dragging its feet through long, dull stretches that leave the audience bored and disengaged. It's hard to believe this story came from the mind of Mike Mignola, considering how it has been butchered beyond recognition.

Performance-wise, the cast seems entirely checked out, delivering lifeless and wooden portrayals that are far beneath their talent. Hellboy himself is reduced to a one-dimensional caricature, lacking any of the charm or depth that made the character iconic.

The supporting characters are forgettable at best and cringeworthy at worst, with dialogue so stilted it sounds like it was written by a first-year film student.

Visually, the movie is a complete eyesore. The special effects look like they were ripped from a low-budget TV movie from the early 2000s.

The creature designs are uninspired, and the CGI is so poorly executed that it takes you out of the experience entirely. Even the practical effects, which could have been a saving grace, are laughably bad.

The direction is utterly inept, lacking any sense of style or coherence. The horror elements fail to deliver even a hint of tension or fear, instead leaning on cheap jump scares that don't land. The film's tone is all over the place, trying to balance horror, action, and dark comedy, but succeeding in none. The result is a jumbled mess that doesn't know what it wants to be.

How does anyone in their sane mind give the directional capabilities to the moron who destroyed Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance is beyond me. Also the lack of budget is very much prominent in the scenes also hiring God knows who the actors are whether they can be called so is a doubt.

I knew it from the first trailer that this was going to be a straight to vod type garbage.

It's a soulless, uninspired cash grab that disrespects its source material and its audience. Avoid this one at all costs-you'll thank yourself later.

"Hellboy: The Crooked Man" tries to revive the iconic character's universe but faces serious challenges that prevent it from reaching the heights of Guillermo del Toro's films. The low budget is not enough to capture the grandeur and complexity of Hellboy's world, resulting in a rather limited effort overall. It feels like they tried to reboot Harry Potter with a budget equivalent to an episode of a mediocre CW show. While the production team clearly made their best effort to address the shortcomings, it was a tough task.

Additionally, the supporting cast is another weak point. The performances are weak and often unconvincing, even less realistic and more frightening than roles in "Power Rangers." However, Jack Kesy as Hellboy is one of the few positive aspects. I hope this role opens doors for him, as it is one of the few things that really work in the film.

The makeup and special effects also appear cheap and uninspired, failing to create an immersive experience and making the attempt to build a scary atmosphere fall short, giving it an amateurish feel.

On the other hand, the film's atmosphere, though limited, is a positive aspect, along with the soundtrack featuring eerie melodies that contribute to the dark and mystical tone the film aims for. However, the sound editing, especially the jump scares, is overly excessive.

"Hellboy: The Crooked Man" is a film that tries to capture the essence of a complex universe with limited resources, resulting in a movie that feels more like a fan-made project than a true reinvention of the character. It is an example of how a low budget can severely compromise a film's potential, even with genuine effort from the production team.