Neil Marshall's R-Rated HELLBOY reboot starring David Harbour

[Victοr]

You know, say what you will, but I never felt the GDT flicks captured the essense of Hellboy. Del Toro has a certain style that carries over most his films, for better or worse, but when it came to Hellboy, it just... felt wrong. The costumes were impressive, but they looked "plastic". The world itself had a... "plastic" feel to it as well. When watching them I didn't feel as if I was watching Hellboy, but rather "The Adventures of Hell-Boy", you get me?

The thing with the HB comics is that they have a very distinct look themselves, due to Mignola's art & writting, and they flawlessly manage to put together humor, horror and that mythological aspect. GDT's flick IMO skipped the horror part, and delivered super-natural adventures. Which isn't really Hellboy. You need a "grittier" style for it. It's the fact that the world is bleak, scary and disturbing, and yet, despite all that, Hellboy is a good-natured "kid-in-a-man's-body" character, that makes the stories work. In GDT's flicks, the world wasn't really that dark. It was just... eh. PG-13 Lovecraft and plastic sets.

As for this Reboot, dunno. That Marshall guy has directed some pretty well-known horror flicks, but I'm not really sold on Harbour. Generally, I think you need someone with an eye for camera tricks and shadows. The HB saga has never been touched by another person, so if you can't translate Mignola's style, you essentially lose the game.

 

[EVILFACE]

Meh, other than visuals and creature designs, the 2 movies were mediocre at best. And the first, just fighting those silly zombie dogs over and over and over......

 

[crows]

You know, say what you will, but I never felt the GDT flicks captured the essense of Hellboy. Del Toro has a certain style that carries over most his films, for better or worse, but when it came to Hellboy, it just... felt wrong. The costumes were impressive, but they looked "plastic". The world itself had a... "plastic" feel to it as well. When watching them I didn't feel as if I was watching Hellboy, but rather "The Adventures of Hell-Boy", you get me?

The thing with the HB comics is that they have a very distinct look themselves, due to Mignola's art & writting, and they flawlessly manage to put together humor, horror and that mythological aspect. GDT's flick IMO skipped the horror part, and delivered super-natural adventures. Which isn't really Hellboy. You need a "grittier" style for it. It's the fact that the world is bleak, scary and disturbing, and yet, despite all that, Hellboy is a good-natured "kid-in-a-man's-body" character, that makes the stories work. In GDT's flicks, the world wasn't really that dark. It was just... eh. PG-13 Lovecraft and plastic sets.

As for this Reboot, dunno. That Marshall guy has directed some pretty well-known horror flicks, but I'm not really sold on Harbour. Generally, I think you need someone with an eye for camera tricks and shadows. The HB saga has never been touched by another person, so if you can't translate Mignola's style, you essentially lose the game.

Theres no way in hell that the studio would have greenlit a rated r movie back then....that would have been impossible.

Also saying that hellboy 1 didnt have horror elements is not true. The movie was one of the darker comic movies at the time.
Compare hellboy with any marvel movie and you see just how dark hellboy was. Come on...

 

[Victοr]

Meh, other than visuals and creature designs, the 2 movies were mediocre at best. And the first, just fighting those silly zombie dogs over and over and over......

I know, right? I liked them well enough, but they never truly felt like Hellboy to me. The books relied heavily on folklore, old myths and of course Lovecraftian entities, but the flicks were... mostly Del Toro being... Del Toro.

Theres no way in hell that the studio would have greenlit a rated r movie back then....that would have been impossible.

Also saying that hellboy 1 didnt have horror elements is not true. The movie was one of the darker comic movies at the time.
Compare hellboy with any marvel movie and you see just how dark hellboy was. Come on...

Darker than the rest =/= "Dark"

That's like saying because Batman: TAS is darker than Peppa the Pig, it can be called a "horror show". I agree on the R-Part, but let's not pretend the GDT were perfect adaptations. They were good for their time, but since Mignola himself opted for a darker reboot, I imagine he felt the same. Those flicks just didn't do the source material justice.

 

[ironwez20]

One thing I hated about the first movie is they made some random detective dude the main character instead of hellboy.

 

[crows]

I know, right? I liked them well enough, but they never truly felt like Hellboy to me. The books relied heavily on folklore, old myths and of course Lovecraftian entities, but the flicks were... mostly Del Toro being... Del Toro.



Dark than the rest =/= "Dark"

That's like saying because Batman: TAS is darker than Peppa the Pig, it can be called a "horror show". I agree on the R-Part, but let's not pretend the GDT were perfect adaptations. They were good for their time, but since Mignola himself opted for a darker reboot, I imagine he felt the same. Those flicks just didn't do the source material justice.

Would you call sleepy hollow a dark movie? Or sweeny todd? What about the crow or spawn?
Does constantine have horror elements?

If for you, an eyelid-less corpse waking up and killing an old guy is not horror material then i dont know what is...

The beginning sequence alone in the rain with the nazis could easily fit in a Hammer horror movie...
The movie is NOT a full horror movie and it has humor that movies like constantine or the crow didnt have, but to say that hellboy 1 doesnt have elements of horror is just absurd bro...

 

[Victοr]

Would you call sleepy hollow a dark movie? Or sweeny todd? What about the crow or spawn?
Does constantine have horror elements?

If we're talking the flicks, they're just PG-13 Horror, so in reality, they're action flicks with supernatural/paranormal elements.

If for you, an eyelid-less corpse waking up and killing an old guy is not horror material then i dont know what is...

Context is everything. That scene was devoid of any suspense of dread because it was filmed face-front, with no "unique" lightning or atmosphere. You just saw a gross guy killing an old guy, after a Russian guy spoke to him and gave him a "lel, generic hell vision".

The beginning sequence alone in the rain with the nazis could easily fit in a Hammer horror movie...
The movie is NOT a full horror movie and it has humor that movies like constantine or the crow didnt have, but to say that hellboy 1 doesnt have elements of horror is just absurd bro...

The point is, as adaptations of the Hellboy mythos, they just weren't up to par. They had elements of the supernatural, the paranormal, all that jazz, yes. You can call them horror elements, sure, no disagreement there. But they never managed to capture the atmosphere of the books, mainly because Del Toro's style, despite all the cobwebs and skeleton designs, is too clean. Too plastic. Too fake.

Hellboy needs a grizzled look to work. Dark shadows and wide shots. Claustrophobic scenes and unsettling characters. To do all that you need to obstruct them from full view, you need to make them feel "unknown". You need someone with an eye for both the camera and atmosphere. GDT might be good at ideas and comign up with wacky stuff, but his work is suited for "dark fairy tales", and not really something like Hellboy, which is rooted into the darkest corners of folklore. It's not bloody or gorry, but it's... "surreal"...

 

[Seph Stampede]

This is great news. I love the GDT films and Perlman played him wonderfully, but as a fan of the comic those movies just never lived up to the essence and atmosphere of Hellboy. If this new film can embrace the pulp, hardcore Lovecraftian/Gothic horror elements of Mingola's books, then I'm in 100 percent. David Harbour will ****ing own it, too. Here's hoping we get a shorts-wearing, hoofed Hellboy!

 

[Sweet Rabbit]

Who??

 

[YoNoSe]

This feels like a desperate grab now that R rated CBMs are hot.

 

[karamazov80]

I've never read Hellboy comics, so I can't speak to the source material. But those films worked really well on their own merits. Horror they weren't, though.

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[Captain Clown]

This feels like a desperate grab now that R rated CBMs are hot.

That's kinda what I was thinking too. It's nice that they get more creative freedom, but not when they're using an R rating as a selling point, ala The Killing Joke animated movie.

 

[YoNoSe]

I've never read Hellboy comics, so I can't speak to the source material. But those films worked really well on their own merits. Horror they weren't, though.

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I read almost everything before Mignola went Mcfarlane and handed off the pencils. The comics are much more eerie/weird than what you'd consider R rated horror. Ghosts, talking animals, folklore creatures. There's definitely blood but I see no need for an R other than the gimmick.

 

[YoNoSe]

That's kinda what I was thinking too. It's nice that they get more creative freedom, but not when they're using an R rating as a selling point, ala The Killing Joke animated movie.

Yup. But here's hoping. Marshall has made some decent stuff but also nothing at all like the most tone of HB comics that I've seen. Harbour was serviceable in Stranger Things. I'll wait and see and hope it generates some new comic figures. I still want Baba Yaga.

 

[karamazov80]

I'm very familiar with Mignola's art style, and the films never conveyed that to me, anyway.

 

[FLOSI]

Meh, other than visuals and creature designs, the 2 movies were mediocre at best. And the first, just fighting those silly zombie dogs over and over and over......

Agree... I liked two quite a bit, but one was less than spectacular... I don't think of Marvel-esque New York city settings when I'm thinking of Hellboy either. Del Toro is a fantastic director, but I'm happy it's out of his hands. I'd also be happy with less of the stupid love story/Barry Manilow crap too. More weird demons and horror will make me happy.

 

[FLOSI]

This is great news. I love the GDT films and Perlman played him wonderfully, but as a fan of the comic those movies just never lived up to the essence and atmosphere of Hellboy. If this new film can embrace the pulp, hardcore Lovecraftian/Gothic horror elements of Mingola's books, then I'm in 100 percent. David Harbour will ****ing own it, too. Here's hoping we get a shorts-wearing, hoofed Hellboy!

Agree on all accounts.

 

[YoNoSe]

I'm very familiar with Mignola's art style, and the films never conveyed that to me, anyway.

There are elements in both movies that evoke his art, and were in fact designed by him. But his style is gloriously 2D. His pacing is often glacial as well. I doubt it will get more Migolaesque with Marshall at the helm aiming for an R rating but I'd love to be pleasantly surprised.

Where GDT went a little too Looney Tunes with the tone I would guess we'll get something more like Norrington's Blade with Marshall.

 

[GeneralZodLives]

Could be good, could be ****. I'm not invested enough in the license to really care until I see for myself what they do with reboot. Regardless of the quality of the two Hellboy films, I did like Perlman as Hellboy so Harbour has some big shoes to fill.

 

[ridetofight]

I'll save everyone the ear twisting and say i thought GDT's Hellboy was a parody of the characters at best and a blatant insult to fans of the comic at the worst. I don't know that you can translate HB to cinema without losing a lot of what makes it unique, but I've liked everything Mignola and Golden have done together. (really though, New York City, sunglasses, cats and candy bars, weightlifting, riding around in a garbage truck?? what the fork, man?!)