Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron (2007)
Daniel Swensen
Back in February, I reviewed the unexpectedly excellent Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms, the first in what promised to be an ongoing series of animated Hellboy offerings from Starz. To the good fortue of Hellboy fans everywhere, Sword of Storms received enough attention to warrant a sequel, Blood and Iron, with promises of still more on the way. On June 12, Blood and Iron was released on DVD… and here’s the review!
Featuring new character designs, gorgeous animation, and a delightful trove of Japanese mythology, Sword of Storms came out swinging with both fists, as the titular character (voiced by the legendary Ron Perlman) hammered his way through foes with the Right Hand of Doom and recognizable Mignola wit. By their own admission, the creative minds behind Hellboy Animated chose a more traditional route for the follow-up, Blood and Iron, setting their latest tale in creaky graveyards and chilly corridors of an opportunistic billionaire’s Hamptons mansion.
If anything, the plot of Blood and Iron is a bit too familiar, being a fairly straight-up vampire-hunting tale, complete with empty coffins and bewildered, mustachioed constabulary. Led by Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, the BPRD gang — Hellboy, pyrotechnic Liz Sherman, the amphibious Abe Sapien, and “human metal detector” Sidney Leach (who should be familiar to Hellboy comic readers) — investigates the possible resurrection of the menacing Erzsebet Ondrushko, a vampiric analog of Lady Bathory whom Bruttenholm battled in his monster-stomping youth. Along the way, the BPRD battles ghosts, wolves, lycanthropes, the demon goddess Hecate, and an extremely post-modern minotaur straight out of the most ill-advised TSR monster manuals. (He has a metal fist that shoots out on a chain. Yes, really.)
As such, there’s little in Blood and Iron that will really come as a surprise. If you’ve read any of the Hellboy comics, much about this story will seem familiar somehow, especially Hellboy’s admittedly spectacular late-round wrangling with Hecate, who implores him to embrace his demonic destiny and hints at what will hopefully constitute a greater story arc as Hellboy Animated progresses.
Though it lacks the inspired originality and verve of Sword of Storms, Blood and Iron still has plenty to offer Hellboy fans. There is plenty of action, humor and spooky atmosphere to go around, and Erzsebet Ondrushko (whose voice sounds eerily like that of Molotov Cocktease from the Venture Brothers) is an engaging, often gruesome villain. Where Sword of Storms felt like a bold venture into uncharted mythological territory, Blood and Iron is far more in the vein of the fun, familiar romp — but it is fun, and really suffers only in comparison to its excellent predecessor, and is a worthy entry into what will hopefully be a long-running Hellboy Animated series.
Finally — and this is no small thing — the deluxe limited edition of the DVD (available only at Best Buy, apparently) comes packaged with an absolutely top-flight action figure, which will be reviewed here tomorrow. The figure alone is worth the purchase price of the DVD, making the movie itself practically icing on the cake.
Recommended. 7.5/10
June 21st, 2007 at 12:20 pm
Since you can’t shut up about it, I’ve added the first one to my Netflix queue.
June 21st, 2007 at 2:50 pm
What do you think of the animation style of these movies- it’s kind of a half japanese looking anime sort of thing-
I like it, but I was wondering if you thought it fit the subject matter.
June 21st, 2007 at 2:58 pm
I actually do like it, ace. It’s definitely the opposite of Mignola’s style — big, bright, and colorful, but maintaining some of the deep shadows and stark blacks of Mignola’s work. Hellboy Animated is not really heavy on the “horror” elements the way the comics are — there are lots of monsters and ghosts and such, but they’re usually presented in a very entertaining way, rather than something intended to chill or frighten. I really dig it, though. Not to sound like a broken record, but I found Sword of Storms to be far more inventive in terms of its animation than Blood and Iron.
June 21st, 2007 at 3:12 pm
I found Sword of Storms to be far more inventive in terms of its animation than Blood and Iron.
Well it was the introduction movie after all. and a departure from what we’re used to from Hellboy, so it seemed fresh and new.
I was unaware there was talk of a third one, this can only be described as ‘good.’
June 21st, 2007 at 3:18 pm
True, but it’s not just that it’s a second entry in a series; Blood and Iron is really a lot more traditional. Another review pointed out (rather snarkily) that Blood and Iron basically takes its cues from the Scooby Doo playbook, which I can’t altogether disagree with. (I only mostly disagree.)
There are actually two new ones in pre-production — after Iron Shoes comes The Phantom Claw!
At the risk of sounding like a shill, the production of new movies depends on the sales of the existing ones, so if you want more Hellboy Animated, be sure to pick up a copy
June 21st, 2007 at 3:31 pm
See, I thought this was superior to the first in a lot of ways. But then, I’m all about old school.
I don’t think there are two in pre-production; just The Phantom Claw. The Iron Shoes already exists in its entirety, as a short, on the extras of this disc.
June 21st, 2007 at 4:07 pm
Oh, my bad. Well, shows what I fuckin’ know!
June 21st, 2007 at 4:30 pm
You probably shouldn’t mislead people about that action figure. It’s only available in a special package of Blood & Iron that Best Buy is selling. There are a bunch of different B&Is at various chains packaged with some Hellboy merchandise. But the figure itself is amazing, with a limited variant head smoking a cigar!
As far as Blood & Iron goes, I loved it even more than you did (yes, even more than Sword Of Storms) and would easily give it a 9 at least. Strange how they went out of their way to be faithful to the Hellboy comic and lots of the Wake The Devil series (an approach I’d think pleasing to fans) but you penalized them for unoriginality. The chain-fist weapon has been used by Mignola a couple times, including in Hellboy, so it seemed a very appropriate and faithful detail. Also, I’d imagine that the gorgeous Hammer gothic-horror tribute scenes would be something people would want. Familiarity isn’t always a bad thing.
I also think both animated films have plenty of freaky and frightening moments, especially the second one. I mean, they killed a &$%# baby! How nasty do they need to get?
June 21st, 2007 at 4:37 pm
Thanks for commenting, Bill. I did try to point out that it was the “deluxe edition” of the DVD that shipped with the figure. But I wasn’t aware that it was only available at Best Buy, especially after I saw it listed on Amazon. So thanks for the clarification.
Also, please don’t get me wrong; I don’t consider familiarity a big liability of Blood and Iron. I commented on it, yet, but I’m not complaining about it. But I’d be lying if I said I found it as engaging or spirited as Sword of Storms. I appreciated the foray into the issues of Hellboy’s origins and destiny, but we’ve already seen it in the comics and in the movies — I don’t count it as a big strike against the episode, but it doesn’t exactly set my world on fire, either.
As for the chain-fist weapon… indeed, you’re right, Mignola did it first, but I thought it was goofy then, too.
Thanks again for commenting!
June 21st, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Cool, man. I really dig that you’re getting the word out there about this sweet DVD. It’s my current top “nerd” movie, so I get a little passionate defending it. I’m also looking forward to your Best Buy figure review. Gentle Giant outdid themselves… it’s a beaut.
I agree with you totally that Erzsebet Ondrushko is a great villain. Very Barbara Steele-like, with Transylvanian flavor. Any chance for some more screen captures of her, when she’s looking a little fresher? I can’t find a pic of her anywhere online.
Thanks again for the review!
June 21st, 2007 at 5:39 pm
Anything for a fan, Bill. I just so happen to have a few on hand. Enjoy.
June 21st, 2007 at 9:35 pm
Erzabet looks rather Disney, in a Disney about to get it on kind of way…
June 21st, 2007 at 10:23 pm
My God… Marvelous! Thank you so much, sir!
Consider the depths of Erzsebet’s vanity… She slaughters hundreds to remain young & beautiful, never spends time with others or is regularly seen, and she can’t even admire her beauty in a mirror. The importance to Erzsebet is the ideal of beauty, regardless if no one can appreciate it. I guess she got cozy with some talented painters.
June 25th, 2007 at 8:33 am
Worth noting:
IMDB is lying to you again. “The Phantom Claw” is not, in fact, in production. They’re waiting for the green-light still, and that appears to be based entirely on DVD sales. So do us all a favor: Don’t Netflix it - buy it.