That Grisly Animated Film Conclusion That Haunts Fans
Out of every adult-oriented animated films I have personally viewed, no other has stuck with me as much as the fear-filled finale of a viscerally violent and overwhelingly transgressive 2022 movie The Unicorn Wars.
Back in 2015’s, the Spain-based writer-director developed a dark, somber and often savage universe with several minor , forlorn twinges of optimism.
While The Unicorn Wars seems like it originated from an impulse to push the medium further, the filmmaker explained that it was more an effort to express a global, cross-cultural theme concerning “the shared root of all wars.”
That message is communicated through a squad of colorful pastel bears , obviously modeled after a popular line of cuddly characters.
Maturing in a culture centered on militarism and the war machine, many of the bears are obsessed with exterminating unicorns, thanks to a religious scripture which states them they previously were masters of the woods, until the unicorns expelled them.
Some have not completely bought into the indoctrination, , choose to experiment with substances or mate in the forest.
In contrast to their gentle counterparts, these colorful critters show sexual organs and obvious libidos.
For one especially vicious, pessimistic creature, the character Bluey, the conflict with unicorns transforms into a route to power — and particularly to dominance over his softer, nicer brother the bear Tubby.
This bear behaves aggressively and a seeming antisocial figure , and when terror dominates his unit and takes his fellow soldiers individually, he seizes increasingly control on his own behalf, through ever more gory, harmful methods.
At the same time, the unicorns are enduring their own terror, in the form of a growing, deadly beast in their habitat.
“At the beginning, it feels like a comedy,” the filmmaker said. “Yet it becomes a more intense and melancholic film. And by the end, it’s a scary feature.”
The Unicorn Wars begins similar to one of the most quirky films by a renowned animator, that uncover a wicked pleasure in letting drawn beings swear, fire weapons, or have intimate relations.
Then it becomes more akin to a more grim film from the same artist, with increasingly explicit brutality , a tangible connection to the actual horror of battle.
Ultimately, it becomes a full-on theatrical horror carnage.
The horror that turns the film a Halloween-friendly watch kicks in much sooner than indicated.
Unicorn Wars is suited for the most dedicated lovers of violence, for enthusiasts of extreme cinema who wish to view a movie they have not seen on-screen before, and can endure a plot that offers unflinching brutality.
Watch it with the lights off without any distractions, and the conclusion will burrow deep within you and take up residence there.
Availability: Available for rental or purchase on various digital platforms.