History Film / Hellboy

* BiggerBad: The Ogdru Jahad.

* GoryDiscretionShot: The only way the [[StrippedToTheBone tooth fairy kills]] squeak by with a PG-13 rating is because the hapless BPRD redshirts are either 1) mostly offscreen when they're being disemboweled or 2) so covered up in tooth fairies that we can't actually ''see'' them being shredded.

* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Not as out-there as the ones from the comics, Angel of Death borrows from Arabic myth and has [[spoiler:[[EyesDoNotBelongThere its eyes on its six wings instead of its face]]]].

* DarkIsNotEvil: Hellboy himself, though the villains try to convince him that he ''should'' be evil. A few other things like the Angel of Death also count.

* {{Masquerade}}: The FairFolk and other supernatural elements walk around unseen protected by an aura of glamour.

* NoOSHACompliance: The furnaces of Bethmoora.

* CivilizationDestroyer: Hellboy is apparently the BeastOfTheApocalypse and is fated to destroy human civilization on Earth, which is what Rasputin wants in the first movie. It is also prophecied by the AngelOfDeath in the sequel tho, as a third movie was cancelled, [[LeftHanging we will never know]].

* AdaptationDistillation: ''Hellboy'' is a rough condensation of the plots of ''Seed of Destruction'', ''The Right Hand of Doom'', and ''Box Full of Evil'', with a sprinkle of ''Wake the Devil''. Hellboy's character design was also slightly modified, as in the comics he has cloven hooves instead of feet. The producers also worried about having to change the Right Hand of Doom to a ''Left'' Hand of Doom before casting Perlman, who is ambidextrous.

Instead, [[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/hellboy-reboot-works-stranger-things-star-david-harbour-1001462 a reboot of the series]], with the working title ''Rise of The Blood Queen'', is currently in the planning stages; the reboot is said to be R-Rated, indicating it may take a DarkerAndEdgier approach to the material than the more fantastical style of Del Toro's duology.

Creator/DavidHarbour is set to star in the titular role while [[Film/TheDescent Neil]] [[Series/GameOfThrones Marshall]] is attached to direct. Mignola will also be taking a more hands-on role this time around by writing the script.

Creator/GuillermoDelToro's films based on [[ComicBook/{{Hellboy}} Mike Mignola's comicbook series]], starring Creator/RonPerlman as the big red guy, Creator/DougJones and [[Series/{{Frasier}} David Hyde Pierce]] as Abe Sapien[[note]] Jones physically plays Abe in both films, while Pierce provided his voice for the first one; he refused to be credited out of respect for Jones' performance, and decided not to return for the second film, so Jones does Abe's voice in that one[[/note]], and Selma Blair as Liz Sherman. They take a lot of liberties with the source material (which Mignola himself was perfectly fine with), to the point where it's better to think of them as an AlternateContinuity rather than an adaptation.

* DullSurprise: Selma Blair's portrayal of Liz Sherman. Justified, as she's supposed to be depressed and heavily medicated due to her tragic past, and she gets ''much'' better in the second film, after she finally comes to terms with her emotions and powers.

* IgnoreTheDisability: Clay warns Myers not to stare at Hellboy's filed horns. With predictable result.

In the final days of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the Nazis and [[RasputinTheMadMonk Grigori Rasputin]] open a portal to the Void, attempting to summon the [[EldritchAbomination Ogdru Jahad]] to destroy the world. Allied soldiers, with the help of occult expert Trevor Bruttenholm, destroy the portal, but not before something comes through: A baby demon. Bruttenholm adopts him and the soldiers of the unit name him "Hellboy."

* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Grigori Rasputin as master mystic. Granted, even many of his contemporaries thought there was something weird about him. Also, Adolf Hitler as an accomplished mystic. Early in the movie, Bruttenholm briefs Myers on the Occult Wars which happened with the Nazis acquired mystical artifacts (such as [[TheLanceOfLonginus the Spear of Longinus]]) and ended when Hitler finally died in 1958. Myers corrects him, saying Hitler died in 1945; Bruttenholm simply gives an amused "Did he now?"

* IJustWantToBeNormal: Liz. Hellboy too, to an extent. He sands his horns to fit in and generally likes to pal around with the other B.P.R.D. agents when he's not working.

* InvoluntaryGroupSplit: A variation, with rising walls.

* "[[spoiler:YouKilledMyFather! [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Your ass is]] [[BondOneLiner mine!]]" ]]

* AliensInCardiff: In their search for the Golden Army, a force that can conquer the Earth, the protagonists end up in... ''[[UsefulNotes/NorthernIreland County Antrim.]]''

* IrishNames: Nuala is actually a real name, but it's not pronounced like it is in the film. The correct pronounciation sounds more like "Noo-la". The unusual pronunciation is justified by the fact it sounds more like Nuada.