By Jonathan Klotz | Published
Superhero films are not as large as they were in the past, with the last of Marvel, Captain America: Brave New World fighting to exceed the box office of Antman and wasp: quantumaniaBut even then, the fall of Hellboy, from the production of Guillermo del Toro on a big budget to a reflection after the fact thrown on Hulu, is amazing. Again, Hellboy: the twisted manThe fourth film in the series, with the third actor, Jack Kesy, to represent the good demonic guy, made his debut as the number one film on Hulu. It is the most direct adaptation of Mike Mignola’s comic strip to date, and even a small budget with cheap effects cannot keep a good story.
A different type of demon
Hellboy: the twisted man is not a globetrotting adventure like the other films with Ron Perlman and David Harbor, instead, it takes place in the Appalachian forests in a small town filled with witches and haunted by a dark presence. Hellboy’s agent and recruit BPRD Bobbie Jo Song (Adeline Rudolph), a character found in the original graphic novel, is wrapped in Tom (Jefferson White) a soldier returning home to face the twisted man (Martin Bassindale) and reconcile with his ex-girlfriend. Tom explains that the demonic entity provides a power at a high price, and although it is a younger version of the hero since the film takes place in 1959, the BPRD agent experienced one thing or two on contracts with demons.
The local witch clan, disciples of the twisted man, is involved, while the Reverend Nathaniel Watts (Joseph Marcell) lends his blessings to good. As with each good story Hellboy, The twisted man Culminates in a final battle in a decaying Gothic structure as real and imagined threats swallow up the heroes. It is a satisfactory and fairly comical story that delighted most fans of the original series, but it is by no means perfect.
No budget, no problem
From the opening scene aboard a train, you can say that Hellboy: the twisted man Will not be as visually interesting as the two films by Del Toro. Everything seems washed out and if you didn’t know better, you might think it was an original Mid-2000 Syfy film. To say that the film is carried by the force of the dialogue, of which some are of the word of the comic strip of Mignola, is an understatement, and it is before the twisted man himself appears.
Martin Bassindale plays the monster of folklore with the good amount of goosebumps, accentuated by the sounds of the cracked bones and readjusts each time he moves, but it is difficult not to imagine how much he looks better with something that looks like a budget behind the film. Shot by cheap by director Brian Taylor (director of Crank,, Playerand creator of the Detective Bonkers series, Happy),, Hellboy: the twisted man The appearance of a fan film, in the best possible way, and was clearly a work of love for source material and not an attempt to blockbuster. It was intended to be a streaming success, and fortunately for BPRD fans, that’s exactly what it is today.
Not only is Hellboy: the twisted man Proof that a film of overlapping superheroes can work if the expectations are kept, it is also a love letter to the offbeat supernatural gothic comic strip which has never completely struck the dominant current. The film has more in common with Bad that it does Doctor Strange and the Multative of madnessBut thanks to everyone who gives everything, it is one of Hulu’s best films, and if the streaming numbers impress good people, there is a chance that he can even relaunch the dormant franchise.
Hellboy: the twisted man is now streaming on Hulu.
