I fully expected to hate this film… because I haven’t liked ANY of the previous Hellboy movies. Yes, even Del Toro’s two and the much maligned 2019 David Harbour one. I thought I’d watch it half-jokingly for Halloween even though I figured it’d be a great big lumbering superhero movie. But the joke was on me since it’s a damn good folk horror film (but a terrible Hellboy one).

It’s set in the 1950s and follows Hellboy (now played by Jack Kesy) and an agent as they travel by train through Appalachia. Before you know it, they are mixed up with someone else’s storyline and they have to help fend off the devil, witches, zombies, and the like.

This flick has the feel of having been another script that they self-inserted Hellboy into (even if it’s based on an actual comic). He doesn’t matter to the story and doesn’t even get huge action set pieces to justify his big gun and even bigger fist. They could extract him and still have the same movie.

But, surprisingly, it’s a pretty terrific folk horror movie. Its dark foreboding Appalachian woodlands are represented well… and filmed on location in actual dark forests (in Bulgaria, but who’s counting?). They nail the oozing dread of mountain curses, encounters on dark nights, woodland witches, and the like.

The whole thing has an off-kilter eerie feel. They nail that ancient deep woods folklore feel as wrongness lurks behind every tree and log. It’s not a jump-scare movie but it’s plenty unsettling if you like your horror films oozing with atmosphere.

And, yeah, if you can ignore Hellboy, it’s a better movie. But they do eventually give him a psychological/emotional fight that might have actual character backstory importance. It’s pretty good if you don’t mind a Hellboy who doesn’t shoot or punch his way out of everything.

On the negative side, the film’s story is abruptly onboarded and some character get short shrift. I was sometimes confused over who they were and what their relationships were. It’s like they were too unsure of their premise that they charged right past the exposition.

Plus, clearly the budget was at an all-time low and you have to power through some remarkably shitty CGI sequences, especially in the opening five minutes. Its such an embarrassment you might even feel the urge to stop watching. Don’t… let it ride itself out and you’ll find the good movie on the other side.

Somehow – totally by accident of budget – this is my favorite Hellboy film… probably because it pulls back on the CGI overkill action. But if you give it a chance and try to ignore the terrible effects and a Hellboy idling in the background, you might like it too. This is a pretty terrific American folk horror that nails the oozing dread of the old hill country.

Score: 87