Oh, The Horror! #10: Hellboy (film)

Well, after reviewing Hellboy vol. 3: The Chained Coffin and Others it only seems plausible to watch Hellboy and review it. Only, I didn't finish watching it again and I was actually going to write a review about it before my friend even let me borrow the Hellboy trade. But yes, anyhoo, my baby sister decided to put the DVD on so it played in the background while I surfed but still turned around to catch most of the movie. Damn good movie this is. The direction, the make-up, the actors, the characters, the score, everything! Heck, the score is playing in the background right now as I type this! My sister just let the credits play until it's now at the disc menu just replaying itself. But hey, I love the music, so I won't shut it off. And who doesn't love that magnificent score piece during the funeral of Hellboy's dad? That is just heart rendering.

Ron Perlman is much too awesome as Hellboy. He gives him such a charm that it's hard not to fall in love with him. The same goes to Abe Sapien who is played by Doug Jones and voiced by David Hyde Pierce. I love the two of them together in Hellboy 2 as they most certainly bring out such great laughs, especially their drunken scene when they sing Barry Manilow. But that's the sequel! This is about Hellboy 1! Once again, great movie. It's funyn how much I love this movie now as when I first saw it in theaters I didn't like it at all. My family did, but I didn't. When it came out on DVD I somehow ended up buying it, watched it again and still didn't like it, thinking I wasted my money. And SOMEHOW I watched it again and just fell in love with it. I dunno what it was. But I'm glad I did because now I love the character and the mythology around everything of his and his world. I love how the movie tries to depict Hellboy wanting to be a man and that's pushed even further in the sequel. I also love his love him/hate him relationship with John Mayers, played by Rupert Evans. It saddened me that Evans wasn't in the sequel but it's a little hard to wonder how he would have fit in. Especially given that he's not a character from the books. And of course we have Selma Blair as Liz, the firestarter! One of my absolute favorite scenes is when she gets kissed in her sleep which causes her to blow up a whole asylum!

The villains! How can you not love the villains?! You have Gregori Rasputin, who in this movie starts off working for the Nazis as he's a man of great knowledge of the occult and eventually brings Hellboy to our world as a cute lil' thing. He comes back later, hoping to bring the demons Ogdru Jahad to our world that brings Hellboy straight into the main plot where he has to stop him and over-come his destiny of being a God of Destruction. Then there's Kroenen who totally steals the movie for me. A deadly killing machine who's blood has turned into dust but just keeps on ticking. He is a victim of plastic surgery and has such a beautiful face. My oh my. And who doesn't love that creepy scene where he gently goes down those steps to kill Hellboy's father, Professor Broom played by John Hurt. And then later in the film you cheer on when Hellboy packs some much deserved pounds into Kroenen's face!

Great humor, great action, and great everything! Watch this movie and just let it take you into a magically world. Then catch the sequel which just multiples everything into total bliss! I can't wait to see the sequel again and review it.