Hellboy: The Crooked Man

This film has an unique place in my cinema viewing history. It's the only series I've ever seen on a big screen where I've been the only person in the auditorium for each one. This latest episode sees the eponymous devil (Jack Kesy) escorting a lethal spider on a train with aspiring para-psychologist "Bobbie Joe" (Adeline Rudolph) when an accident sees them deposited into the middle of the Appalachian forest. Here they encounter long-since abandoned coal mines and an equally out-of-touch community that smacks a great deal of "The Deliverance" (1972). With little sign of their spider, they encounter the returning local lad "Tom" (Jefferson White) and are quickly helping him repatriate his dad to the cemetery and keep his ex-girlfriend/local ...

I didn't think it was possible to make Hellboy boring but as has often been the case with cinema in recent years, I was wrong, very wrong.

Whilst this film starts off well, with typical Hellboy style action involving a train and a giant spider, it doesn't take long before it devolve's into a languid affair.

The atmosphere and handling is reminiscent of Tim Burton's work but that's where the similarities end. The script lacks pace, momentum and the frenetic, supernatural action, which has come to characterise the Hellboy franchise. Even the climax to this film felt inconsequential.

In summary, decent cinematic's, combined with sound acting can't fix the marked absence of the horror action elements viewers have come to expect from the Hellboy franchise.