8 Hellboy fan films, ranked

If it's getting a bit hot in your room right now, blame it on the residual flames emanating from the fiery waves of critics and reviewers torching the new Hellboy feature film opening today and directed by Neil Marshall.

While some fans seem to be excited to watch Stranger Things' David Harbour inhabit the iconic horned demon costume, others are still miffed that Ron Perlman and Guillermo del Toro didn't return for the third outing. Wherever you fall in the debate, there's no doubt that the Mignolaverse is being given a rowdy treatment with plenty of guts and gore splattered across the big screen.

Credit: Lionsgate

To prime you to go witness Big Red's insane R-rated action, SYFY WIRE is aiming its ever-watchful eyes at the flourishing world of amateur fan films. Here in the creative realm of unauthorized, no-budget tribute shorts inspired by Mike Mignola's Hellboy, we might discover the core magic that makes this fantasy horror property so beloved.

Ignite these nine Hellboy fan films below and tell us which ones light your fire!

This striking animated entry from Japan is super short but packs a mean punch filled with Hellboy heart. Beautifully shaded and rendered using a fight sequence from Mike Mignola's Hellboy: Seed of Destruction, it briefly captures the true essence of what we love about Big Red and his Right Hand of Doom.

Look, it's a universal fact that everything is better with Batman in it, so why not mash up the Dark Knight with and even DARKER hero, Hellboy? It's directed by The Bat Trio and acts as a teaser for a future fan project clocking in at 10-15 minutes. The plot sees Batman gathering intel from Commissioner Gordon on a new theatrical crimefighter in Gotham. Discovering Hellboy's past, Batman decides Big Red is too much of a liability running loose in the streets of his city. Can you blame him?

Okay, so this is technically not a Hellboy fan film but it is a short doc chronicling Mythbusters' Adam Savage's incredible handmade Hellboy cosplay, so we were forced by underworld entities to include it in our ranking. Savage originally filmed this treat for Tested, his geeky science lab channel, for the inaugural Silicon Valley Comic Con back in 2016 and it's well worth inspecting his killer outfit!

We adore this black-and-white, Golden Age-styled gem from YouTuber RetroBuck, aka Mike Buckendorf, who is a drama/history teacher and WWII living history reenactor. Centered in the Mignolaverse, this project was crafted by his drama students and combines DC Comics' Sandman and Mike Mignola's Lobster Johnson teaming up to solve a Satanic paranormal case in 1943. Bravo!

Taken from the pages of Dark Horse's Hellboy comics, YouTuber CalicoGrace and her students' fantastic motion comic is layered with a loving attention to detail and reverence for the source material. A true collaboration exists in breaking up the imagery, adding voice, blending in music, then animating the sequence while retaining the raw original vibe.

David Harbour is the center of attention here as his Stranger Things' Sheriff Hopper does double duty as the gruff lawman and demonic antihero, Hellboy. This fun fan trailer mashes up two beloved properties and demonstrates how Hopper's Hellboy might help save Hawkins after all. Stitched together by Blake Condren, it's two great tastes that taste great together!

Fan trailers such as this one by Tim Gonzales are passion projects injected with creativity and patience. In recrafting an alternate promo for the Hellboy feature film, Gonzales was motivated to cut the footage into a "darker" teaser that's much less goofy and more atmospheric to better reflect his initial excitement when the Neil Marshall reboot was first announced. We think he nailed it!

This artfully arranged animated short is brimming with the haunted fairy tale quality that inhabits some of Mike Mignola's best work. Directed by Eric Stafford with a capable and delicate hand, this entry displays an uncanny knack for pacing and the power of story in retelling this compelling tale, which is based on Mignola's The Troll Witch. Takes home the gold!