There are a lot of superhero series out there, but none are quite like Hellboy. Created by Mike Mignola, and featured in four live-action films, Hellboy is unique in that each director seems to have a wildly different approach to presenting the character and his world.
Some of Hellboy’s films seem to lean more into the character and his relationships, while others lean more into the humor and creature-side of things. One movie even slides into full horror movie territory, a la The Evil Dead series.
But, whichever approach is taken one thing is certain with each film – it will definitely be a unique little ride. So, here are all four Hellboy movies, ranked.
4. Hellboy (2019)
Director: Neil Marshall
Cast: David Harbour, Milla Jovovich, Ian McShane, Sasha Lane, Daniel Dae Kim
What It’s About: Our hero, Anung Un Rama, a.k.a., Hellboy (Harbour), must stop a blood queen (Jovovich) before her powers get out of control and she takes over the world. The movie also operates as an origin story for the hero, as well as a partial retelling of Hellboy: The Wild Hunt comic book story arc.
Why It Ranks Here On This List: Our very own Eric Eisenberg said it best in his middling review of the film, but this reboot of Hellboy just isn’t very good. A major issue with it is the “humor,” as it tries (and fails) too often to be funny.
This isn’t the only issue, though, as the movie just feels way too busy for its own good. And, I understand what they were going for.
A great deal of it introduces you to the lead as a character, and we spend a lot of time getting a feel for him and his world. In this way, I think Neil Marshall and the writers were trying to separate this tale from Guillermo del Toro’s version. While that’s definitely admirable, I don’t really think they pulled it off, and this just ends up feeling like a lesser version of the character.
Also, they made a conscious effort to make this movie Rated-R, and it feels entirely unnecessary. The violence feels excessive and it isn’t very fun, and the dialogue is needlessly profane.
I do like that we get characters like King Arthur and Baba Yaga, and I also like that Harbour makes for an interesting contrast to Perlman, even though Harbour himself admitted that the movie had “major problems.” But overall, I think I’m in agreement with most people in that we really just wanted Hellboy III. Not this.
3. Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024)
Director: Brian Taylor
Cast: Jack Kesy, Martin Bassindale, Jefferson White, Adeline Rudolph, Leah McNamara
What It’s About: A young Hellboy and another member of the BPRD (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense) end up in the Appalachian area surrounded by witches. There’s a darker force, though, known as the Crooked Man who is in these parts, and Hellboy has to stop him.
Why It Ranks Here On This List: The Crooked Man is definitely the most different Hellboy movie we’ve ever gotten, and probably because its creator, Mike Mignolia, was so deeply involved with the screenplay. It closely follows the story (maybe a little too closely, actually) from The Crooked Man comic, and it has the most horror elements out of any of the movies.
I especially like Jack Kesy’s performance as Hellboy. Unlike Harbour’s, which felt like it was kind of angling for something similar to Perlman’s performance, Kesy’s portrayal feels completely different, and it’s mostly because this is a younger version of the character.
This greatly impacts the tone. In a lot of ways, I would compare it to the two Judge Dredd movies that we’ve gotten. The Sylvester Stallone movie was goofy, but also an interesting introduction to the character that I have a soft spot for.
However, in the Karl Urban Dredd movie (which I find to be far superior), the character and the world are just so much more lived in, which is how I feel about this Hellboy movie, which doesn’t take forever and a day to introduce us to the character.
If I have one complaint, though, it’s that the movie feels uneven. It starts out well, but then tries a bit too hard with the scares later on, which makes it not scary at all. Still, I enjoyed my time with this film for the most part.
2. Hellboy (2004)
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Karel Roden, Jeffrey Tambor
What It’s About: Serving as an introduction to the character, Hellboy joins the BPRD (which is apparently in Newark, New Jersey), and bands together with other weird agents in order to stop the forces of evil.
Why It Ranks Here On This List: Do you know why I love Guillermo del Toro? It’s because when looking at del Toro's best movies, you don’t feel bad about putting Hellboy on the same list as his Oscar-winning picture, The Shape of Water. They’re both great films! They also both distinctly feel like his pictures.
The first Hellboy succeeds where the 2019 film faltered because even though both work as origin stories, del Toro understood that getting to know the character could be accomplished throughout the film, and not have to take up the first hour or so.
It also helps that the entire cast was just phenomenal in their roles. Yes, Perlman makes for an excellent Hellboy, but I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up Doug Jones as Abe Sapien or Selma Blair as Liz Sherman. I also think the movie’s simplicity works in its favor, and it didn’t need to be rated-R to still feel engaging. The PG-13 rating worked just fine.
Overall, it’s just really a treat of a movie, and it would definitely be the best Hellboy film ever made, if not for its fantastic sequel.
1. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Luke Goss, Anna Walton
What It’s About: A prince holds a grudge against humans (think Magneto, but for magical people) and he wants to take over the world for other magical creatures. He plans to do so with an army of golden robots. But, here come Hellboy, Abe Sapien, and Liz to save the day again. Adventure and humor ensue.
Why It Ranks Here On This List: I think The Golden Army is my favorite del Toro movie. Either that or Blade II. (Another great comic book flick!) What makes this movie work is pretty much everything. The sense of adventure, the dynamics between characters (Liz is pregnant this time, but Hellboy doesn’t know that!), the special effects, the antagonist (Prince Silverlance is so cool!). Just everything is amazing with this film.
And, it moves so quickly! Pacing is extremely important to me, and this movie moves so briskly. It’s two hours long, but it feels like half that time, and I mostly think this is because the stakes are so high, but at the same time, it feels very personal, so you never lose track of anybody’s emotions (Abe Sapien is especially interesting this time around).
I also think it helps that this story isn’t heavily inspired by any previous Hellboy story arc like the other three movies. Instead, it seems like its own unique thing, and benefits from that.
The Golden Army still very much holds up today, and it’s one of my favorite comic book movies ever. They struck gold with this one.
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