ABSTRACT
Hellboy, Guillermo del Toro's 2004 American horror/fantasy/action film, presents as protagonist not a heavenly redeemer nor a protecting angel, but a satanic savior and guardian demon who embodies our contemporary anxieties, desires, and guilt, a hybrid monster who cinematically mirrors our social liabilities and assets, our personal sins and virtues, and our individual and community aspirations and guilt. The Hellboy opens on "the Other side" where the Seven Gods of Chaos "slumber in their crystal prison, waiting to reclaim Earth and burn the heavens". Hellboy's narrative structure and subtexts declare that the demon is also "half human" and he is so by choice. His exercising his will against his fate and "origin" reflects our concern with our own use of torture, sabotage, and covert operations. Close analysis of four microcosmic scenes illustrates how these concepts are achieved cinematically. The film Hellboy extends and plays with the boundary between human and Other with the choice of villains as well as heroes.
