That Gory Cartoon Movie Ending That Lingers Viewers
Among every adult-oriented animated films I’ve ever viewed, no other has stuck with me quite like the fear-filled finale of the explicitly bloody as well as overwhelingly transgressive 2022 movie The Unicorn Wars.
Back in 2015’s, the Spain-based filmmaker crafted a dark, melancholy and frequently brutal universe with some tiny , desolate glimmers of hope.
While The Unicorn Wars feels like it originated from a desire to advance animation even more, the director clarified that it was rather an attempt to express a global, multicultural theme concerning “the mutual source of every conflict.”
This theme is communicated by means of a squad of vividly colored bears , clearly based on a famous series of lovable characters.
Maturing in a society built around militarism as well as the military-industrial complex, many of these creatures are obsessed with killing unicorns, because of a religious scripture which states the bears they were once masters of the forest, before the unicorns expelled them.
Others haven’t fully accepted the brainwashing, and would rather experiment with substances or engage sexually in the woods.
Unlike their friendly equivalents, these bright beings display genitals , obvious urges.
For one notably brutal, cynical bear, the character Bluey, the conflict with unicorns turns into a road to control — and specifically to authority above his softer, kinder brother the character Tubby.
The character behaves aggressively and a seeming sociopath , and when horror takes over his group and kills his fellow soldiers sequentially, he takes more and more control personally, through ever more violent, destructive ways.
Simultaneously, the horned creatures are experiencing their own horror, as a spreading, deadly beast in their woods.
“Initially, it feels like a lighthearted film,” the filmmaker said. “But then it evolves into a more dramatic and sorrowful film. And ultimately, it becomes a scary feature.”
The Unicorn Wars commences resembling one of the more whimsical movies from an iconic animator, that discover a wicked pleasure in allowing animated figures curse, fire weapons, or sex each other up.
Then it becomes closer to a bleaker film from that creator, with increasingly explicit brutality and a palpable link to genuine suffering of battle.
By the end, it is a complete theatrical horror carnage.
The fear that makes this a Halloween-friendly movie kicks in well before than that description suggests.
The Unicorn Wars is suited for the most dedicated fans of gore, for fans of graphic films who want to view a movie they’ve never watched previously, and who can handle a story that offers absolutely no punches.
See it in a dark room free from interruptions, and that ending will dig deep within you and stay with you.
How to view: Accessible via digital rental or sale on various streaming sites.
