Guillermo Stories to Tell in the Dark

Remember that Goosebumps movie where all the monsters from the books came to life and attacked some kids? "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" is basically that without Jack Black. Although "Goosebumps 2" was that too. But this one has the 60s!

And Guillermo del Toro. I just love this dude's approach to horror. And I say that as someone who's not the most fervent horror fan. But he almost works in that Vincent Price tradition of infusing legitimate fright with a subtle soupcon of camp amidst all sorts of supernatural happenstance. That's a flavour I relish, and I can always count on Guillermo to serve it up.

Bonus Question!

Best Toro?

That dude from the Invaders.

Hella Boys

So. New Hellboy movie.

Here's the thing. Guillermo del Toro has inimitable charm, and the same can be said for Ron Perlman. Though the films they made together largely predated the modern superhero movie landscape and its fairly consistent ability to distill the outlandish glories of its source material into quality cinema, they were well made, well performed, and filled with the eccentric warmth of their director. It's hard not to want more of that.

But if you put that aside, 2019's "Hellboy" is a fun romp too.  Some of the marketing made it seem overly grom, which probably would have made me miss the Guillermo works, but honestly, the actual film didn't feel too different in overall tone from the previous stuff. The biggest difference was probably the preponderance of hard rock in the soundtrack, which seems like something Guill wouldn't do too much, but I don't actually remember. I walked in slightly late, but the first scene I saw was some sort of masked wrestling match, and professional wrestling is probably a good point of comparison for the film's feel. Machismo, hard rock, and a kind of endearing ridiculousness leavened by an implicit absence of self-seriousness.

Bonus Question!

Best boy from Hell?

Daimon Hellstrom, Son of Satan!

Not actually the son of Satan! But still the son of one of many demons who claim that name in the Marvel universe! Also probably has a portal to Hell in his kitchen or something! Also called Hellstorm!