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Stop complaining about ‘Hellboy: The Crooked Man’

Chris Well

The latest Hellboy movie strikes much closer to the source material than previous movies.

Hellboy creator Mike Mignola appreciates the vision of the Hellboy: The Crooked Man director: “His intention is to make a horror movie.”

In this article:

  • Appropriate context for Hellboy: The Crooked Man

  • Trailer for Hellboy: The Crooked Man

  • About the source material for Hellboy: The Crooked Man

  • Previous Hellboy appearances in media—including comics, books, and movies

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Appropriate context for the movie Hellboy: The Crooked Man

The first movie trailer has been released for the upcoming superhero horror movie Hellboy: The Crooked Man. Expected to hit theaters sometime this year, the movie revisits the blue-collar monster hunter from the comic books created by Mike Mignola and published by Dark Horse. The screenplay was co-written by Mignola and Hellboy novelist Christopher Golden, as well as director Brian Taylor.

The movie is set in the 1950s, when Hellboy and a rookie BPRD agent are stranded in rural Appalachia. They discover a community haunted by witches—led by a local devil with a troubling connection to Hellboy’s past.

The second reboot of the Hellboy movies, Hellboy: The Crooked Man is the sixth movie—and the fourth live-action entry—for the brand. Directed by Brian Taylor, the movie promises to adapt the specific comic book mini-series The Crooked Man (which was written by Mignola). The movie stars Jack Kesy as Hellboy, alongside Jefferson White and Adeline Rudolph.

Now with the first trailer available (you can watch it below), several websiters have inappropriately complained that the movie looks like “low-budget indie movie” and not enough like a big budget superhero movie. Because they are ignoring the fact that this trailer is for a direct adaptation of a specific Hellboy comic book story.

One of the things that makes Hellboy: The Crooked Man stand out from other adaptations of the character is the direct involvement of Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, who wrote and drew the debut Hellboy comic book in 1993. While Mignola has been supportive for previous adaptations of his character, he was finally one of the actual writers involved with Hellboy: The Crooked Man. As mentioned before, Mignola wrote the screenplay with Brian Taylor (who directed the movie) and novelist Christopher Golden (who has written a number of Hellboy novels).

So—whether you like it or not—at least credit the movie Hellboy: The Crooked Man with having a story written by people who know Hellboy better than you.

The movie Hellboy: The Crooked Man promises to be a more accurate adaptation of the blue-collar monster we’ve read about in the original comic books. In previous movies, the versions of Hellboy were shown as far more, well, spirited.

Especially the brawling version from director Guillermo del Toro and played by Ron Perlman. The actor made his on-screen character debut in Hellboy (2004), followed by voicing him for the animated movies Hellboy: Sword of Storms (2006) and Hellboy: Blood and Iron (2007), before returning on screen for Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008).

(Quick side note: Director del Toro also tended to ask for big budgets for his Hellboy movies. Which made the studios finally say “no.” So, complaining about Hellboy: The Crooked Man not being big budget enough—well, that is simply saying you don’t want a Hellboy movie at all.)

So, Hellboy: The Crooked Man, the newest movie attempt at Hellboy—which looks more closely at the source material—is focused on grounding the character. It more closely follows the feel of the Hellboy found in the original comic book stories.

Hellboy creator Mike Mignola talked to Variety about the promise of this second movie reboot of his blue-collar supernatural superhero. He appreciates director Brian Taylor’s vision:

“His intention is to make a horror movie, so that’ll be nice. That’ll be interesting.”

Mignola says that as the script went through multiple drafts, it stayed in the realm of being a movie that would be rated R.

“It’s the first Hellboy script that I read and I went, ‘Oh, it’s a horror movie,’ which is what I wanted. So far… we’ve never gotten a horror movie.” 

Mignola considers the source material—his original story from ‘The Crooked Man’ comic book mini-series—to be one of the best things he has ever written.

“It’s a solid story that doesn’t involve a million different characters. Everybody actually agreed from the very beginning, ‘Yes, we want to do that one.’ It’s not the Hellboy origin. It’s not Hellboy saving the world. It’s not huge. It’s a subtle, dark, little folk horror story.” (SOURCE)

Below, you can watch the first trailer for Hellboy: The Crooked Man. You can also find more info about Hellboy’s previous adventures in comic books, books, and movies.

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Trailer for Hellboy: The Crooked Man

From #Hellboy original creator Mike Mignola and director Brian Taylor, the twisted mind behind Crank, comes Hellboy: The Crooked Man based on the critically acclaimed comic book mini-series.

About the source material for Hellboy: The Crooked Man 

The comic book mini-series Hellboy: The Crooked Man was scripted by Mignola with art by legendary horror artist Richard Corben. A tale of witchcraft drawn from Appalachian folklore, the three issues were published by Dark Horse in 2008.

“In 1956, somewhere in the mountains of West Virginia, Hellboy encounters Tom, a man who in his youth sold his soul to a backwoods demon known as the Crooked Man. Together they travel back into the dark heart of the Appalachian mountains to confront that demon and see if Tom’s soul can’t be saved.”

Hellboy creator Mike Mignola’s fascination with ghosts and monsters began at an early age. Reading Dracula at age 12 introduced him to Victorian literature and folklore, from which he has never recovered. He started working in the comic book industry in 1982 at both Marvel Comics and DC Comics. He developed his unique graphic style with mainstream projects like Cosmic Odyssey and Batman: Gotham by Gaslight.

In 1994, he published his first Hellboy stories at Dark Horse Comics. His Hellboy comics led to several spin-off comic books (including BPRD), plus Hellboy novels, short story collections, movies, and games.

Millennium Media announced in February 2023 their plans for the movie Hellboy: The Crooked Man, the new live-action reboot hopefully just the first in a possible series of movies. The project is co-produced by Dark Horse Entertainment, Nu Boyana Film Studios, and Campbell Grobman Films, and distributed by Ketchup Entertainment.

The movie’s director, Brian Taylor, has expressed his intentions to “reset” the film series and depict a younger and wandering version of Hellboy with a folk horror influence similar to the comics. Taylor also explained that the film is R-rated because the movie clasps onto the “dark and scary and violent and adult.”

The trailer for Hellboy: The Crooked Man promises that the new movie is more focused on the version of Hellboy found in the original source material.

Monster Complex™ uses Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. (At no additional charge to you.)

Previous Hellboy appearances in media—including comics, books, and movies

Hellboy comics

While not a complete list of Hellboy comics collections, here are some great places to meet the blue collar monster hunter through his original adventures.

Related link: Mignola on Hellboy in Love: “I loved the idea of Hellboy just trying to have a relationship.”

Hellboy novels and short story collections

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Hellboy movies

  • Hellboy (2004)—From director Guillermo del Toro (who also directed Blade II, Pacific Rim, and The Shape of Water) and based on Mike Mignola’s Dark Horse Comics series. Born in Hell and brought to Earth as a baby, Hellboy (Ron Perlman) was rescued by Dr. Broom (John Hurt), who raised him to be a hero. In Dr. Broom’s secret Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, Hellboy works with amphibious man Abe Sapien (played by Doug Jones and voiced by David Hyde Pierce) and pyrokinetic Liz Sherman (Selma Blair). They stand as the key line of defense against an evil madman who seeks to reclaim Hellboy and use his powers to destroy mankind. Find Hellboy (2004) at Amazon.

  • Hellboy: Sword of Storms (2006)—Partly based on the comics storyline Right Hand of Doom, the animated movie Hellboy: Sword of Storms continues with the cast of the live action 2004 movie. When a folklore professor becomes possessed by the ancient Japanese demons, a cursed samurai sword sends Hellboy to a supernatural dimension of feudal mayhem. While BPRD agents battle one very pissed-off dragon, a lost and cranky Hellboy must find his way home. Find Hellboy: Sword of Storms on Amazon.

  • Hellboy: Blood and Iron (2007)—Based on the comics storyline Hellboy: Wake the Devil, this animated movie finds Hellboy, Liz Sherman and Abe Sapien investigating the haunted mansion, where they uncover a plot to resurrect a beautiful yet monstrous vampire from Professor Broom’s past. Find Hellboy: Blood and Iron on Amazon.

  • Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)—In the second live action movie, the fate of mankind hangs in the balance when a ruthless prince awakens an unstoppable army of creatures and wages war with the human world. It’s up to Hellboy and his team of paranormal outcasts to face off with the forces of darkness in the ultimate battle of good versus evil! Find Hellboy II: The Golden Army on Amazon.

  • Hellboy (2019)—Hellboy finds the demonic superhero (now played by David Harbour from Stranger Things) called to the English countryside to battle a trio of rampaging giants. There he discovers The Blood Queen, Nimue (Milla Jovovich from the Resident Evil series), a resurrected ancient sorceress thirsting to avenge a past betrayal. Suddenly caught in a clash between the supernatural and the human, Hellboy is now hell-bent on stopping Nimue without triggering the end of the world. Hellboy also features Ian McShane (John Wick), Daniel Dae Kim (Hawaii Five-0 and Lost), and Sasha Lane (American Honey). Find Hellboy (2019) on Amazon.

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