Being Film #16 for Hooptober 2025

In the end, there’s really no escaping the shadow of what Guillermo del Toro brought to Mike Mignola’s Hellboy character in his two films. You can argue they’re not truly what Mignola intended with the character, mixed too much with del Toro’s sympathy with the monsters, but those two films stand as a monument to how to present the fantastic on film. About the only to really do (takes notes, Neil Marshall) is to scale it back, own the story, and just drive your perspective home. And the audience and critics seem to bury Hellboy: The Crooked Man in the dirt, I’m here to tell you not only is it good, it’s really good: nasty and intimate and capable of moments that get straight to the heart of what makes Mignola’s stories so indelible. Ignore the critics and take this one on its terms; you won’t regret it.

Continue reading “Hooptober 12.0 – Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024)”