Hellboy Film Analysis

When interviewed about the detonation of the first atomic bomb, Robert Oppenheimer, stated that witnessing the event brought to mind a quote from a Hindu scripture: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”. Numerous stories throughout history have been centered around the idea of internal human darkness, including the 2004 film Hellboy, directed by Guillermo del Toro with cinematographer Guillermo Navarro and supervising art director Simon Lamont. The film follows its namesake, a demon ripped from another dimension and brought to Earth by the Nazis. Professor Bruttenholm, a man well great knowledge of the occult, raises the young demon to protect humanity. In the climax of the movie, the Professor is shown a vision of the apocalypse that will result if Hellboy is forced to embrace his darkness and become Death. The scene that follows depicts a hunched over Hellboy, the horns that he normally files down to appear less demonic are regrown and a crown of fire is hovering …show more content…
Every person in the world has a dark side; sometimes it comes to the surface simply as a feeling of petty jealousy, but it can also manifest in more serious acts. It is the choices that people make that are the only defense against the inner darkness. Hellboy embraces his evil side to save the girl that he loves at the risk of slaughtering countless innocents. Yet, his defining moment as the harbinger is interrupted because he chooses to go against his evil nature. Because the audience is made to see themselves in Hellboy, the director imposes on the viewers the lesson that everyone must overcome what lurks inside by making choices that do not allow it to flourish. Due to the elements of the mise en scène, this scene especially shows Hellboy’s struggle with his inner darkness and creates a lasting impression that follows the audience not only to the movie’s conclusion, but long after the credits as