Hellboy poster

Hellboy (2004)

Film · 2h 2m · Rated PG-13

Action, Fantasy

A super-powered demon fights supernatural evil with brisk action, pulpy humor, and darkly-comic camp.

Big broad humor. A party watch at a brisk pace. Emotionally it carries some weight.

Streaming on Kanopy (free) and Hoopla (free).

Hellboy parents guide

For a PG-13, this one goes further: graphic gore. Beyond that, no sex or nudity and some strong language.

Our estimate: fine from about 16, higher than the PG-13 suggests, because of the gore.

Scare
Mildly scary
A few tense or eerie moments.
Jump scares
A couple
One or two sudden jolts.
Gore
Graphic gore
Blood and wounds shown clearly.
Violence
Strong violence
Violence is frequent or intense.
Sex and nudity
None noted
Language
Moderate
Some strong profanity, a few f-words.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

Is Hellboy scary?
Only a little. Hellboy has a few tense moments, nothing that follows you to bed.
How gory is Hellboy?
Graphic gore and strong violence. If graphic gore is a dealbreaker, skip it.
What is Hellboy rated, and is it OK for kids?
Rated PG-13. Expect some strong language, strong violence and graphic gore, so it suits teens more than kids.

What is Hellboy about?

In the final days of World War II, the Nazis attempt to use black magic to aid their dying cause. The Allies raid the camp where the ceremony is taking place, but not before they summon a baby demon who is rescued by Allied forces and dubbed "Hellboy". Sixty years later, Hellboy serves the cause of good rather than evil as an agent in the Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defense, along with Abe Sapien - a merman with psychic powers, and Liz Sherman - a woman with pyrokinesis, protecting America against dark forces.

Does it have a happy ending? (spoiler-safe)

Yes. It lands on a happy note.

Cast and crew

Directed byGuillermo del Toro
StarringRon Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, John Hurt, Rupert Evans, Jeffrey Tambor

More like Hellboy

Hellboy is on our Action on Kanopy, Fantasy on Kanopy, Action on Hoopla and Fantasy on Hoopla lists.

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Lists with the same feel: Party and Dark.

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Uses the TMDB API; not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Intensity, content, tone and pace tags are CouchRot's own.