That Gory Cartoon Movie Conclusion That Haunts Viewers
Among all the mature animated films I have personally viewed, no other has remained with me quite like the fear-filled finale of a viscerally violent and overwhelingly transgressive film from 2022 The Unicorn Wars.
Back in 2015’s, this Spanish filmmaker crafted a grim, bleak , often savage world with a few small , forlorn glimmers of optimism.
Although Unicorn Wars seems like it came from a desire to push the medium further, the director stated that it was rather an attempt to express a widespread, cross-cultural message concerning “the shared root of every conflict.”
This theme is communicated by means of a band of colorful pastel bears , clearly inspired by a popular series of cuddly characters.
Growing up in a culture focused on militarism as well as the defense industry, numerous the bears are obsessed with exterminating the mythical beasts, due to a sacred text that tells the bears they used to be masters of the woodland, until the horned beings drove them out.
Some have not completely fallen for the brainwashing, and would rather experiment with substances and mate outdoors.
In contrast to their gentle counterparts, these vivid animals display sexual organs , clear libidos.
For a certain notably brutal, cynical bear, the bear named Bluey, the conflict with unicorns turns into a road to control — and specifically to supremacy above his more tender, more compassionate sibling the character Tubby.
The character is a bully , an apparent antisocial figure , and when fear dominates his unit and takes his teammates sequentially, he seizes more and more influence for himself, in increasingly gory, destructive ways.
Meanwhile, the unicorns are enduring their own nightmare, in the form of a growing, harmful creature in their habitat.
“At the beginning, it seems like a lighthearted film,” the filmmaker commented. “However it evolves into a more dramatic and melancholic movie. And in the finale, it transforms into a scary feature.”
The Unicorn Wars begins resembling one of the more quirky movies from an iconic filmmaker, which find a naughty glee in allowing cartoon characters swear, shoot each other, or sex each other up.
Afterward it turns into something more like a darker movie by that same creator, including ever more visual gore and a palpable relation to the actual horror of conflict.
In the finale, it’s a complete extreme drama bloodbath.
The horror which makes the film a perfect Halloween movie kicks in much sooner than indicated.
The Unicorn Wars is one for the most dedicated fans of gore, for lovers of intense movies who wish to watch something they’ve never viewed until now, and who can handle a story that offers absolutely no punches.
See it in a dark room free from interruptions, and that ending will burrow into your mind and linger.
Where to watch: Accessible via digital rental or sale on multiple streaming sites.