Tuesday, October 08, 2024

Hellboy: The Crooked Man

Considering he is such a staunch anti-Nazi, Hellboy would probably take issue with the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD)’s association with the United Nations, in light of the UN’s current ideological climate. Back in the 1950s, the UN declared him an honorary human. However, Anung Un Rama (a.k.a. Hellboy) remains keenly aware of his lineage, as the offspring of a witch and a demon. Once again, he fights both in Brian Taylor’s Hellboy: The Crooked Man, which releases today on VOD.

While babysitting their “cargo,” a large demonic spider, Hellboy’s boxcar derails, forcing him and his fellow BPRD agent Bobbie Jo Song to chase the arachnid into the Appalachian hill country. Things go from bad to worse, when they encounter a village plagued by witchcraft.

Tom Ferrell, a recently returned prodigal son, understands the black magic only too well. 
Effie Kolb, a seductive witch, nearly tempted Ferrell into a Faustian bargain when he was a teen. Frankly, he fears he backed out of the ritual too late. Assuming himself damned, Ferrell still wants to save his childhood sweetheart, Cora Fisher, who lately succumbed to the temptations of black magic.

He must also bury his profligate late father in the only holy ground available, in the grounds of Rev. Watts’s tiny clapboard church. Ominously, the local witches lay siege to the church, under the orders of the demonic Crooked Man. Once a wealthy man, the Crooked one hopes to regain his fortune, by earning one penny for every soul he corrupts.

The spooky, witchy hill-and-hollow country is actually an eerily suggestive setting for the
Hellboy franchise to explore. It is easy to believe evil infects the literal ground there (which agitated the spider, causing its escape). (Licensing Cowboy Roy Brown’s ‘Trouble in Mind” for the closing credits was a nice touch.) However, its straight-to-VOD (in the U.S.) production values look a bit threadbare. There is also a lot of hocus pocus in the third act that makes little to no sense.

On the plus side, the portrayal of blind Rev. Watts is refreshingly sympathetic. Unlike far too many horror movie depictions of priests, when Rev. Watts faces temptation, he resists. Indeed, he turns out to be quite a heroic figure (whom Joseph Marcell plays with appropriate conviction).

Jack Kesy and Adeline Rudolph have decent chemistry as Hellboy and Song. Nevertheless, Kesy cannot match the sardonic flourish Ron Perlman brought to the larger-than-life role. Kesy’s Hellboy has the same oversized “Right Hand of Doom,” but otherwise, he seems overly restrained and disappointingly human-proportioned.

Crooked Man
is still better than its generally dismissive reception would suggest. Taylor (who also helmed the unfairly overlooked Nic Cage horror vehicle, Mom and Dad) keeps things moving. Hellboy creator Mike Mignola’s script, co-written with Christopher Golden, explores Hellboy’s character in ways long-standing fans should appreciate. The results are reasonably watchable, but they display none of the spectacle less-discerning comic book movie fans expect. Mostly recommended for the loyal franchise faithful and those who really dig backwoods horror, Hellboy: The Crooked Man releases today (10/8) on VOD.