Hellboy: Blood and Iron
Hellboy: Blood and Iron is the second in the Hellboy Animated series (the first being Hellboy: Sword of Storms), written by Tad Stones and Mike Mignola. It first aired on March 17, 2007 on Cartoon Network, and aired again on July 19, 2008 to promote the release of Hellboy II: The Golden Army, and was released on DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment on March 10, 2007. The film's storyline is based in part upon the Hellboy: Wake the Devil storyline from the original comics.[1]
The title is a reference to Otto von Bismarck's famous quote of "blood and iron."
Also included on the DVD is the short film Iron Shoes, which is based on the Hellboy story of the same name. The Iron Shoes demon is voiced by Dan Castellaneta.
Plot
In a series of flashbacks played in reverse chronological order it is related that in 1939, young Professor Bruttenholm investigated a series of murders in Eastern Europe. Erzsebet Ondrushko, a vampiress who bathed in the blood of innocents to stay young, and sold her soul to the Queen of Witches, the goddess Hecate, was responsible, and had just kidnapped the fiancee of one of the townsmen. When the search party confronted Erzebet in her castle, all members of the party were horribly killed, and Bruttenholm was left to face her alone. He tricked her into the sunlight, effectively destroying her.
In the present day, the elderly Bruttenholm, having stepped down as director of the BPRD takes an unusual interest in a supposed haunting in the Hamptons, on Long Island. Hotel mogul Oliver Trombolt (a close friend of the BPRD's budget controllers in the Senate) has asked for an investigation of a house he is renovating for use as a resort hotel. It is blatantly obvious that Trombolt is merely staging a publicity stunt, but Bruttenholm feels that something genuinely supernatural may be taking place there. He decides to investigate it himself, taking top BPRD agents Hellboy, Liz Sherman, and Abe Sapien along, together with a junior agent named Sydney Leach.
Much to Bruttenholm's horror, it turns out that the ghosts are Erzsebet's victims, and a plot is taking place to resurrect the vampiress from the grave. In this she has been unwittingly aided by Trombolt, who has in fact constructed a whole marketing campaign around Erzsebet to draw tourists to the castle, and assembled a large collection of torture devices from Erzsebet's castle in Europe in a display room of the house.
On the second day of their stay in the house, the inhabitants are all attacked, separately, by Erzsebet's servants. The crew must deal with everything from a pack of ravenous phantom hounds, a werewolf created from Bruttenholm's old friend Father Lupescu, and a pair of harpy-hags that created the werewolf, who are servants to Erzsebet and followers of Hecate. Hellboy is investigated by Hecate and must battle a mortal form of Hecate herself. Though she attempts to coax him to the dark side, he blatantly refuses. Hecate destroys one of the harpy-hags in a rage, but the other manages to escape. Bruttenholm proves himself yet again by outwitting Erzsebet, spiking her blood bath with holy water and causing her to wither and die shortly after rejuvenating herself. Hellboy manages to subdue Hecate by exposing her to sunlight, although he is severely injured in the process.
Characters
The Good
- Professor Trevor Bruttenholm (John Hurt): Former director of operations for the BPRD who is significantly older than he was on one of his first missions where he encountered the vampire Erzebet Ondrushko. Defiant in surrendering to his age, he rallies the BPRD on a strange hunch on a haunting that turns out to be an attempted resurrection of his dreaded worst enemy. James Arnold Taylor voices the young Trevor Bruttenholm.
- Hellboy (Ron Perlman): The BPRD's top agent, a demon discovered in the 1940s during an attempt for the Nazi regime to finally win World War II. He looks to Professor Bruttenholm as a father figure and seems to be the most worried about him being hurt on this mission. He is practically indestructible but is severely wounded during his fight with the evil goddess Hecate.
- Sydney Leach (Rob Paulsen): A newcomer and a junior agent in the BPRD. He is awkward, but reliable, and has an innate ability to detect metal by touch allowing him to find hidden doorways and switches, he is both nervous and excited to be with BPRD's "A-Team" for this mission.
- Abe Sapien (Doug Jones): An aquatic humanoid who seems completely out of his element here, he is made the victim of the harpy sisters and is nearly made into a fish fillet, he manages to escape using his athletic skills and is one of Hellboy's best friends.
- Liz Sherman (Selma Blair): A hotheaded pyrokinetic who can generate and wield fire at will. She is the voice of reason with the other agents, but often short changes her ability to maintain control of her fire. She manages to save all of them at one point or another throughout the film.
- Professor Kate Corrigan (Peri Gilpin)
- Tom Manning (Jim Cummings)
The Bad
- Hecate (Cree Summer): From the mythological goddess of witchcraft and sorcery, Hecate spends much of her time questioning why the powerful demon king's son Hellboy chooses to live in the world of men. Putting him through many tests and ultimately pitting herself against him. She has the ability to rapidly change form, and is very strong. Her chosen form is that of a Nāga or serpent and often summons other serpents to do her bidding.
- Father Lupescu (James Arnold Taylor): Though ultimately choosing the side of right, Father Lupescu was once a righteous man of the cloth whose faith was put into doubt through the actions of Erzebet Ondrushko. Though Professor Bruttenholm assured him that the faith of the one holding the cross gave him power over vampires, he ran, unwittingly becoming a victim in a plot to resurrect Erzebet. The harpy-hags transform him into a werewolf to do their bidding, and use it as a punishment when he tells the BPRD too much. He redeems himself after his death at the hands of Hellboy and is seen alongside Anna whose fate he believed was his fault many years ago.
- Erzebet Ondrushko (Kath Soucie): A selfish, vain and evil woman who is revealed to have been turned into a vampire by Hecate so she can revel in her beauty for eternity. She often bathed in the blood of her victims to restore any looks that wore away due to aging. She was destroyed by Trevor Bruttenholm in the 1930s, but eventually met resurrection. Thanks to his resourcefulness and willingness to be put into harm's way, he had the opportunity to destroy her again.
- Harpy-Hags (Dee Dee Rescher and Grey DeLisle) : Two old hags who are actually harpies and Erzebet's lackies devoted into bringing her back. They are also followers of Hecate and are as vicious as they are conniving. One of them was accidentally killed by Hecate.
Minor Characters
- Anna (Grey DeLisle): Erzebet's last victim, a blushing bride to be who is kidnapped when going to try on her dress, prompting a search party consisting of Trevor Bruttenholm. She is one of the ghosts seen haunting the house in the Hamdens many years later.
- Anna's Fiance (Rob Paulsen): Not named in the film, he is at first brave and dedicated to finding Anna when she is taken, but upon seeing her body he loses his nerve and runs only to be killed by wolves.
- Oliver Trumbolt (J. Grant Albrecht): A rich man who had purchased a "haunted" mansion in the Hamdens. He had requested BPRD agents to visit as a publicity stunt to promote the oddity of the residence and was more than surprised when Hellboy and the rest of their top agents arrived. At first skeptical of the actual paranormal activities he quickly turns around believing he landed a goldmine, but his greed led to his ultimate demise.
References
External links