The Gory Cartoon Movie Conclusion That Haunts Viewers
Out of all the mature animated films I’ve ever viewed, nothing has lingered in my mind quite like the terror-laced conclusion of a viscerally violent as well as highly provocative film from 2022 Unicorn Wars.
Back in the year 2015, the Spain-based writer-director created a dark, somber , often savage universe with some tiny , desolate hints of optimism.
Although The Unicorn Wars seems like it stemmed from an impulse to advance the medium further, the director explained that it was actually a try to express a universal, multicultural theme concerning “the common origin of each battle.”
That idea is expressed through a band of colorful pastel bears , openly inspired by a popular series of lovable characters.
Maturing in a community built around warmongering and the defense industry, many of these animals are consumed by slaughtering unicorns, thanks to a religious scripture that claims the bears they were once masters of the forest, before these creatures forced them out.
Some haven’t fully fallen for the propaganda, and choose to experiment with narcotics and fornicate in the woods.
In contrast to their friendly equivalents, these bright beings display sexual organs , clear libidos.
For a particular especially vicious, cynical bear, Bluey, the war with the unicorns transforms into a road to power — and specifically to dominance above his softer, kinder brother Tubby.
Bluey is a bully , an obvious sociopath , and when horror overcomes his group and takes his comrades individually, he seizes progressively influence personally, through ever more gory, damaging approaches.
Meanwhile, these mythical beings are experiencing their own horror, in the form of an expanding, destructive monster in their habitat.
“At the beginning, it feels like a comedy,” the director stated. “But then it becomes a more intense and melancholic film. And ultimately, it’s a scary feature.”
The Unicorn Wars commences feeling a bit like one of the most playful films from an iconic animator, that discover a naughty glee in permitting animated figures swear, shoot each other, or engage sexually.
Afterward it becomes something more like a darker work from that director, featuring progressively graphic violence , a tangible relation to the actual suffering of battle.
By the end, it becomes an outright extreme drama bloodbath.
The fear which makes the film a perfect Halloween viewing starts a lot earlier than that description suggests.
The Unicorn Wars is one for the most dedicated fans of gore, for enthusiasts of intense movies who want to watch something they have not viewed until now, and are able to withstand a story that offers no restraint.
Watch it with the lights off free from interruptions, and that ending will dig deep within you and linger.
Where to watch: Accessible via digital rental or sale on several streaming sites.
