When the 2019 reboot of the longtime Dark Horse character Hellboy was announced, the cast and creators stated that this incarnation would differentiate itself from the popular del Toro films by putting more emphasis on the horror and mythology of the comics. Although the first trailer last week had a mixed response with audiences, Stranger Things' David Harbour, who plays Big Red, stresses the film’s violent and gory content qualifies it as a horror movie.

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“There’s really a sense that you’re actually killing things, even if they are giants and monsters," Harbour told Empire. “You’re chopping their heads off, you’re bathing in their blood and you’re feeling the complex feelings of actually cutting the heart out of another thing.”

Hellboy is based on a script by creator Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, Aron Coleite and Andrew Cosby, and draws inspiration from the Hellboy storylines Darkness Calls, The Wild Hunt and The Storm and the Fury. The imagery Harbour references recalls moments from The Wild Hunt, where Hellboy finds members of a hunting party slaughtered by the giants they originally pursued. Despite having the ability to leave the slaughter unharmed, Hellboy chooses to attack the giants and in the battle, he loses his temper and massacres them without restraint.

The memory of such brutality would continue to haunt Hellboy throughout the storyline, as Big Red not only fought against the forces of the newly arisen Nimue, portrayed in the film by Mila Jovovich, but also about how his actions may or may not fulfill the prophecy he’s tried to avoid his entire life.

“We’re taking the time to deal with the fact that Hellboy is a killer," Harbour added. "He’s a weapon.”

Considering the strained relationship Harbour’s Hellboy has with Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, portrayed by Ian McShane, not only is Hellboy trying to save the world but also trying to figure out where he belongs, especially when he's armed with something that is foretold to usher in the apocalypse.

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Arriving on April 12, director Neil Marshall’s Hellboy stars David Harbour as Hellboy, Ian McShane as Trevor Bruttenholm, Milla Jovovich as Nimue, Sasha Lane as Alice Monaghan, Penelope Mitchell as Ganeida and Daniel Dae Kim as Ben Daimio.

(via Bloody Disgusting)