A “Hellboy” Double Feature: “Hellboy” (2019) and “Hellboy: The Crooked Man”
- Matt Palmer
- Jun 25, 2025
- 5 min read
The Guillermo Del Toro “Hellboy” movies have been fan favorites for years. Despite the fact that the 2004 and 2008 movies were only modest theatrical hits, fans still really enjoyed them and wanted a third movie in the Del Toro series. Well, they were close to getting a “Hellboy 3”, until it was decided that the series would get the reboot treatment.
In fact, the “Hellboy” series actually received two reboots back to back - the 2019 movie simply titled “Hellboy” and last year’s “Hellboy: The Crooked Man” (which went straight to PVOD in the US). The initial reviews for both movies weren’t really that kind so let’s see if they’re just as bad as the critics and even some audiences say.
In the 2019 reboot, while battling a trio of rampaging giants, the legendary half-demon Hellboy encounters Nimue the Blood Queen, an ancient resurrected sorceress who’s out to avenge a past betrayal.
Suddenly caught in a clash between the supernatural and the human world, Hellboy soon becomes hell-bent on stopping Nimue without triggering the end of the world.
I’m not really familiar with the “Hellboy” comic books/graphic novels and have seen the Guillermo Del Toro movies a couple times. Now, I really couldn’t get into the 2004 and 2008 movies as much as some people did, I can admit that those movies can be guilty pleasures. And, despite the 2019 movie (and “The Crooked Man”) not being really great, they can be a guilty pleasure and probably become cult classics, like the previous movies, down the road.
Unlike the Guillermo Del Toro movies that were a little on the dark side, the 2019 movie did have a much darker tone compared to the others. Some of the darker scenes can be quite brutal with the gore, even though a lot of the bloody moments are not the best due to the heavy use of CGI.
In fact, there are only two things I thoroughly enjoyed with the 2019 installment. First off, the actor who portrayed the titular character, David Harbour, did a great job. I’ve only seen him in a couple projects (“Black Widow” and “Thunderbolts” - yes, I know he is in “Stranger Things” and never got to the Netflix series as of yet) and he always does a good job with keeping audiences entertained. And, just like some of his other roles, he does a great job with adding some humor between the dramatic moments.
The other aspect that I thoroughly enjoyed about this installment is the dark/eerie atmosphere. From what I can see from looking online about the comic books and graphic novels, this movie series really needs a dark atmosphere. Other than that, just like the movie’s visuals, the story and some of the movie itself can be on the bland side.
“Hellboy” (2019) is rated R for strong bloody violence and gore throughout and language (runtime 2 hours).
In the 2024 reboot “Hellboy: The Crooked Man,” Hellboy and a rookie BPRD agent find themselves stranded in 1950s rural Appalachia. They soon discover a community of witches led by a local devil who has a connection to Hellboy’s past.
Almost like the previous reboot attempt, “The Crooked Man” can be a bit of a mixed bag. This version of “Hellboy” also has a darker tone and is said to be almost faithful to the comic books/graphic novels.
Despite the dark and sometimes eerie atmosphere that this movie delivers, due to the lower budget, the visual effects really lacked and the overall story itself was really bland. Plus when an installment of a franchise that is still enjoyed by fans goes right to PVOD, that’s generally not the best sign. Even though I really didn’t get into these movies as much as I thought, fans of the “Hellboy” series may enjoy them. So, these movies are definitely not for everyone. Maybe down the road I will revisit “The Crooked Man” and give it a closer look.
“Hellboy: The Crooked Man” is rated R for some violent content, language and nudity (runtime 99 minutes)
In mid 2012, Ron Perlman once again endured the 4-hour makeup routine required to transform him into Hellboy, to fulfill the Make-A-Wish request of a six-year-old boy named Zachary who had leukemia. Creature effects house Spectral Motion, who had worked on the two previous Hellboy films, applied Perlman's Hellboy makeup (and later, also made up Zachary as Hellboy as well), so that Zachary could spend the day hanging out with his favorite superhero. Guillermo del Toro was so touched by this event that it inspired him to re-start production on the shelved Hellboy 3. However, after several years without progress because del Toro was working on several other projects, the studio had approached Neil Marshall to helm the next film, and decided that it had to be a reboot to set it apart from del Toro's vision. Del Toro's Hellboy III was subsequently announced to be canceled, and this reboot's development started soon after.
Mike Mignola takes a more direct involvement in the production of this film than he did on the Guillermo del Toro Hellboy films. According to him, since a new director would helm the reboot, the idea with this one was to downplay the superhero elements in the film, strip out the "del Toro-isms", and stay closer to the darker tone of the graphic novels, making it a much more horror-oriented entry into the franchise.
A follow-up to Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) had long been in development hell, mostly due to a projected budget of $120 million whereas the first two movies had only seen modest returns, and because director Guillermo del Toro was unavailable for a long time. Following the success that Deadpool (2016) had in getting the movie made through social media, Ron Perlman tweeted a proposal that if #HellboyIII started trending, a third Hellboy film might finally get the funds to be made. Del Toro soon followed suit, but by the time that he was finally ready to discuss the project, the studio had already decided to make this completely unrelated reboot.
On August 21, 2017, Ed Skrein was cast as Major Ben Daimio in the film. However, upon discovering that Daimio was portrayed in the comic books as a Japanese-American character, Skrein announced a week later that he was pulling out to allow an actor of Asian heritage to be cast instead. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Skrein's decision marked the first time a white actor had left a high-profile role after such criticism.
The storyline draws from four comic books in the Hellboy series - "Darkness Calls", "The Wild Hunt", "The Storm and the Fury" and "Hellboy in Mexico".
The movie's title was "Hellboy: The Blood Queen" initially, before reverting to simply "Hellboy".
Reported to have a $20 million budget, which is the lowest of all four adaptations.
Unlike the other three live-action Hellboy films, Mike Mignola, creator of the character, received a credit on this film for co-writing the screenplay. He has been very outspoken of his dislike for some of the creative choices of the first three films. Though he did receive story credit for Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), he still expressed his disappointment in that film.
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