Alright, it's another edition of Looking Back at the Films of 2024, but also my final review for this year's Halloween season.
Why Didn't I See Hellboy: The Crooked Man
I had no idea it existed. No for real, I had no idea this was a thing. I didn't find out about this until December of last year when I was doing a list of movies for this segment of then when scrolling down to October (that was when it was released in the U.S.) and then to my surprise boom! There I found it. Which I bet was the case for a lot of people because looking back at 2024, I don't recall ever seeing a single ad for this movie.
What is Hellboy: The Crooked Man?
Hellboy: The Crooked Man is a comic book movie based on the Dark Horse Comics character Hellboy. It not only adapts the Crooked Man limited series, but it's also the second reboot of the film series thus making it the fourth installment. The companies that produced this were Millennium Media, Dark Horse Entertainment, Nu Boyana Film Studios, and Campbell Grobman Films, with Ketchup Entertainment handling distribution. The screenplay was written by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, and Brian Taylor. The latter of who also directed.
The story is, in 1959 both Hellboy and rookie B.P.R.D. agent Bobbie Jo Song were escorting a mystical spider back to their agency, but then things went awry when the crossed the Appalachian Mountains and the spider grew to an enormous size and escaped. The duo then set out to get it back in doing so they came across a community led by a demon with a connection to Hellboy's past.
My Thoughts
The Good: Alright, let's get a big one out of the way, and that's the new Hellboy. First let me make some statements. Ron Perlman, until someone truly dethrones him, He'll always be the best Hellboy. Then there was David Harbour for the 2019 reboot. Now I didn't hate that movie was like everybody else does, but Harbour was easily the best thing about that whole movie. His performance was great. But what about the new guy Jack Kesy? Honestly, he was really good. His version of Hellboy is definitely more gruffer than Perlman and Harbour, but like those guys he does have a sarcastic wit to him. And I thought was pretty good, not incredible, for whenever Hellboy was dealing with his mother. Now while the three previous Hellboy films were big action flicks with world ending threats, this movie is more smaller scale with far more horror elements. Which I dug. I thought that was a great idea. Not every comic book movie needs to be world ending. Now for my last bit praise, that being it just a good job following the source material. Yes they did change somethings to make this more of a feature length movie, but I didn't feel like the changes really damaged the movie's story. Probably helps that Mike Mignola was involved.
The Bad: I've got nothing.
The Okay: One of two mix feelings I had with this was the pacing. It's not a very long movie, I believe it only clocks in at an hour and thirty-nine minutes. But there are times when things feel slower than they need to be. Then there's the special effects. Now the practical effects for both Hellboy and The Crooked Man are really good. Top notch stuff. But we do have some moments of...how can I put this without being a dick? Moments have not very good CGI. The spider effect being the least convincing. So yeah, there's times when you can feel and notice when the budget really wasn't up to par.
Final Verdict: Good.
Why Didn't I See Terrifier 3?
Well as much as I like the horror genre, I'm just not the biggest fan of the Terrifier movies. Yeah I'm not buying into the hype. Especially since a lot of it sounds made up. Like people were vomiting and passing out because of the violence. Okay maybe there were a few people with weak stomachs, but it just reminded me the older black and white horror films were the producers & movie theater owners would say people were passing out and had to be carried out of the theaters because the movie was just oh so scary. So I decided to skip this movie and save it for this segment. But I will say this, despite not being his biggest fan, I respect the fact that Damien Leone came out and said he wants to entertain with his films and not talk politics. Good on ya Damien. I wish more filmmakers would have your mindset regardless of what kind of movie they're making.
What is Terrifier 3?
Terrifier 3 is a slasher movie, the sequel to Terrifier 2 which in return makes this the third installment of the series. The companies in charged of production were Dark Age Cinema, The Coven, and Fuzz on the Lens Productions with distribution being handled by Cineverse through their Bloody Disgusting & Screambox label. Damien Leone once again writes and directs.
The story is, it's been five years since the events of Terrifier 2 and both Samantha and Jonathan are trying to move on with there lives after surviving their horrifying encounter with Art the Clown. But Art comes back and other then causing his usual brand of mayhem, he also seeks out to his revenge on Samantha. And this time, Art isn't alone.
My Thoughts
The Good: Alright let's go over some good aspects before I get into my slight issues. First thing is once again is the special effects. Much like with Terrifier 2 (I'm not counting the first Terrifier cause the effects in those weren't even close to convincing. Although a low budget is to blame), Damien and his crew do a fantastic job with the practical effects. Not to mention but thankfully with a bigger budget, the practical effects are way better this time around. The second had okay effects, but I felt like this way better. Another once again is David Howard Thornton. Regardless of how I feel about this franchise, I can't deny that David Howard Thornton is a very talented actor. He can do so much without saying anything.
The Bad: I don't have anything here.
The Okay: Okay, now this is probably gonna be very controversial part of my review if you're a Terrifier fan. First there's the gore factor. Now you're not gonna read anything about me wining and go "Oh my God! The violence it's so sickening! Why didn't the filmmakers think about how this was gonna gross me out! Why is Damien Leone so selfish!!" My slight is issue is while the kills are very brutal and creative, my slight problem is I think Damien Leone does too much. Because when 98% of the kills are the big over the top one, then none of them are. I get this franchise was built on walkout-level brutality and if Leone does scale it down for the upcoming fourth Terrifier movie then his audience will feel letdown. But I think he would benefit from taking a step back with some of these kills. But if he doesn't want to do that and wants to go even further, then by all means go right ahead. I may not agree with the decision, but I'll respect he wants to stick to his guns. Then there's the story. Now I do like that Damien touched on things like Sienna's PTSD. But once again he leaves us with more questions than answers. The thing I find the most frustrating is once again Damien teases Sienna's dad's connection to Art, but it's just another tease! In Terrifier 2 the dad had drawings of Art and stuff. Here, he somehow had a vision of things that were gonna happen in Terrifier 2. What? How?! I'm guessing it's some sort of supernatural thing, but how does it connect him and Art?! Now some of you are probably saying "I should calm down, Damien Leone said Terrifier 4 will explain Art's origin. So when that movie comes out everything will be explained". But guys, we've been teased twice now and Damien is playing a dangerous game of mystery box. And if the mystery box method was a big no no when J.J. Abrams did it in Star Wars, then you should hold Leone in the same regard.
Final Verdict: Okay.
Well, as a famous cartoon pig once said, that's all folks. That's the end of this year's Halloween season. I hope you enjoyed it. Come back on Monday, Nov 3rd, for my review of the second and final season of Peacemaker. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and tomorrow, have a Happy Halloween! 🎃
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