Film Review

Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024) — clichéd, draining adaptation with glimmers of well-executed action

Hellboy and a rookie agent in the 1950s are sent to the Appalachians, where they discover a community dominated by witches and led by sinister local demon the Crooked Man.

Hellboy: The Crooked Man wastes no time in plunging us into its narrative. It doesn’t assume viewers need a lengthy introduction to its protagonist or his sidekick. Fittingly, the entire film feels like an unending action sequence, with breaks from the violence merely window-dressing for the subsequent beatdowns.

Adapted from the limited series comic-book of the same name, The Crooked Man follows the benevolent demon Hellboy (Jack Kesy) in the Appalachian Mountains of the 1950s. Accompanied by rookie agent Bobbie Jo Song (Adeline Rudolph), this unlikely duo must brave the demons and ghostly beings that roam this tortured landscape at night. Their quest is to vanquish The Crooked Man (Martin Bassindale), the region’s resident devil. They are also joined by Tom…