The first reviews of the new Hellboy: The Twisted Man directed by Brian Taylor have arrived as the film arrives on VOD in the United States.
Hellboy is back and no one cares. In any case, this is the impression we have when faced with the fourth film, on the verge of becoming a non-event in 2024. Launched after the monumental failure of hell boy of 2019 (55 million at the box office, for an official budget of 50 million), Hellboy: The Twisted Man should however be a return to the sources, with the creator Mike Mignola involved as co-writer.
The release planned for 2024 took time to become clear, until the ax fell in September: the film will not be released not in theaters in the United States, but directly on VOD. A first for Hellboy, and perhaps a confirmation that there was reason to be afraid in the trailer. Arrived this October 8 in the United States, Hellboy: The Twisted Man was therefore entitled to the first returns to celebrate the arrival of Jack Kesy as the anti-hero. Press review.
HELLBOY BURNED BY CRITICS
“As brave as this attempt to recover Hellboy on the cheap is, it unfortunately lacks the narrative and stylistic know-how to ignore the more than obvious limitations of the budget. »
Empire
“No budget could make up for this messy script or the deadpan expressions of the actors. Except Adeline Rudolph, who lets herself be watched from start to finish. »
The Guardian
“Hellboy versus witches in a haunted house, from the director of Hyper Tension and Ghost Rider 2, should have been a no-brainer. This is exactly why it’s so frustrating that Hellboy: The Crooked Man is such a generic and forgettable experience. »
Bloody disgusting
> “Hellboy: The Crooked Man is a surprisingly fun little horror film. »
Dread Central
Not surprisingly, these early reviews are far from mixed, to put it politely. As a reminder, Hellboy: The Twisted Man would have cost $20 million. We are far from the budgets of Guillermo del Toro’s films, boy from hell (around 60 million) and Hellboy II: The Golden Legions of Doom (more than 80 million) or the film directed by Neil Marshall which was entitled to 50 million. However, this remains a fairly substantial sum for a film which will not benefit from a theatrical release on American soil.
At this point, Hellboy: The Twisted Man was released theatrically in a few territories, including Belgium and the United Kingdom, and grossed just over $1.5 million. Suffice to say that it is the Bérézina, as one might imagine. No word on a French release date, whether in theaters or on VOD.
