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Hellboy: Neil Marshall’s film shot at site of England’s most notorious witch trials

Hellboy production designer Paul Kirby reveals the challenges of creating sets inspired by Mike Mignola’s Hellboy comics

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There’s no denying that the upcoming Hellboy is one of the most-awaited films to release this season. Directed by Neil Marshall, the trailer and the teasers of the newest reboot of Hellboy have impressed cinema-lovers and franchise fans across the globe. And naturally the excitement is only getting higher as the dark fantasy superhero film readies to release on April 12. What has been catching the most attention apart from the high-octane action sequences that the film promises and stunning looks of the film is the fact that the latest offering has easily up-scaled the fierce factor of the story and the characters. Darker and scarier, David Harbour as Hellboy and Milla Jovovich as Nimue – the Blood Queen look set to give you spine-chilling moments all through. And not just the characters, the massive sets complement the comics perfectly, creating an eerie atmosphere that makes the film a cinematic treat for the fans.

Talking about the production of Hellboy, the makers reveal that production designer Paul Kirby and director of photography Lorenzo Senatore worked with director Neil Marshall to devise a colour palette based on the Hellboy comics created by Mike Mignola. “The original material Mike Mignola produced has a brilliant palette,” says Kirby. “When you see Hellboy, he’s the only red in the frame. When he’s not in frame, something else is red — a fire, the Blood Queen’s costume. All of the rest of the colors are these muted tertiary colors. That was something we really strove to do in the design.”

Kirby’s overall approach revolved around creating mostly realistic-looking sets that contrast sharply with the film’s supernatural elements and characters. “I think when fantasy is a little more grounded, it feels stranger, in a way,” he explains. “It’s like if you saw a giant or a monster in your house. It’s the balance of something that’s out of place that makes it look weird and scary.”

Out of all of the film’s intricate sets, Kirby says he’s proudest of the environment he created for the climactic sequence between Hellboy and Nimue, set on Pendle Hill, the site of England’s most notorious witch trials in the 17th century. “There are some scenes viewers might expect would be shot on a set, but when Hellboy’s standing on a hill with the Blood Queen, you don’t imagine the landscape has been created,” he says. “Sometimes, you want to feature design, knowing that people are going to see it and relate to it as such. But sometimes, you want design to be invisible. You don’t want people to question, ‘Is that a real tree?’ ‘Is that a real rock?’ ‘Is that on a stage?’ You just want them to enjoy the story.”

And by the looks of it, enjoy they will! A Lawrence Gordon/Lloyd Levin productionPVR Pictures and MVP Entertainment will release Hellboy in India in Hindi, English, Tamil and Telugu on April 12.

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