David Harbour of Stranger Things does a fine enough job as the brick-red man who emerged from the depths of hell with sawed horns on the forehead, a tail and a metallic hammer-like appendage for an arm.

An unmitigated disaster, may it rot in hell….Director Neil Marshall and star David Harbour take over from Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman, only to deliver an utter catastrophe.

If Marshall’s mere intent was to shock you with excessive gore and expletives, then he manages to do that. It isn’t quite enough, especially if you leave the theatre confused about what just happened, due to a ludicrous plot. Despite McShane and Harbour’s best efforts, this exhaustive ‘end-of-the-world’ story is unable to raise as much hell as it should.

Over populated, largely superficial and gory mayhem…David Harbour’s performance lacks the confident stamp of authority that Ron Perlman’s did. Even the other main characters don’t have smooth enough arcs. The narrative jumps from one plot point to another without acquiring much coherence

Hellboy needed to settle down and focus; it’s what makes the audience invest in the content, but the director goes for the cram-everything-in-the-folder-and-shove-the-folder-down-our-throats approach.