Five years after Neil Marshall’s Hellboy reboot bombed at the box office, leaving Marshall to call the film “the worst professional experience of my life,” Hellboy is heading back to the movies. Hellboy: The Crooked Man aims to make good on the “horror version of Hellboy” that Marshall was promised. Directed by Crank and Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengence co-director Brian Taylor, Crooked Man is a scaled-down version of Big Red. This latest spot, released for Comic-Con, looks a little better than the first, adding a few more effects to the palate. But, man, that grey color grading gives off the vibe of a direct-to-video Crow sequel. That doesn’t have to be a bad thing (we say, trying to be optimistic about what is probably the most reasonably budgeted superhero movie of the decade).
Taylor’s film is a prequel. Set in the 1950s, Hellboy, on one of his earliest missions, finds himself in an Evil Dead situation, trapped in a cabin and stalked by ghouls. Jack Kesy stars as the latest iteration of the character, co-written by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and based on one of Mignola’s most renowned works. Though it has a very fan-film vibe, there’s no reason a smaller version couldn’t work. After all, Hellboy isn’t a DC or Marvel property. Mignola started the comic independently, and it’s honestly nice to see the character return to those roots. Plus, it’ll probably be pretty short. Knowing exactly how to plug his movie, Taylor started his Comic-Con interview with The Hollywood Reporter by blue-skying how much Deer Hunter “would’ve cooked” had it been 87 minutes. But Taylor said he made this movie for an audience of one: Mike Mignola. “This is a true adaptation of, really, one of the most beloved and iconic pieces of comic book literature,” Taylor said. Consider our big red fingers crossed.