That Grisly Cartoon Film Conclusion That Haunts Audiences
Out of every adult-oriented animated films I’ve ever viewed, no other has stuck with me as much as the terror-laced conclusion of the viscerally violent as well as overwhelingly transgressive film from 2022 The Unicorn Wars.
Back in 2015’s, the Spanish filmmaker created a dark, somber , often savage world that included several minor , forlorn hints of optimism.
While Unicorn Wars feels like it originated from a drive to push the medium even more, the director stated that it was actually an attempt to express a global, cross-cultural message about “the common origin of all wars.”
This theme is communicated via a band of brightly hued teddy bears , clearly modeled after a well-known line of lovable characters.
Being raised in a culture focused on aggression and the war machine, a lot of these animals are obsessed with killing unicorns, due to a holy book that claims them they were once kings of the woods, until the horned beings forced them out.
Some haven’t fully accepted the brainwashing, and would rather sample drugs and mate in the forest.
Unlike their friendly counterparts, these bright beings show sexual organs and obvious urges.
For one especially vicious, cynical bear, the bear named Bluey, the battle with unicorns turns into a road to control — and particularly to supremacy over his softer, nicer brother Tubby.
The character is a bully , an apparent antisocial figure , and as fear takes over his unit and takes his fellow soldiers sequentially, he grabs increasingly control for himself, through ever more bloody, damaging approaches.
Meanwhile, the unicorns are enduring their own horror, through a spreading, deadly beast in their forest.
“In the early stages, it feels like a humorous movie,” the director commented. “However it becomes a more serious and sad film. And ultimately, it becomes a horror film.”
The Unicorn Wars starts out similar to one of the more playful films by a renowned animator, which find a wicked pleasure in letting drawn beings swear, engage in violence, or engage sexually.
Subsequently it becomes more akin to a more grim work from that director, with increasingly visual gore and a palpable relation to the real suffering of battle.
In the finale, it’s a full-on Grand Guignol carnage.
The horror which makes this a perfect Halloween watch kicks in well before than that description suggests.
The Unicorn Wars is ideal for the most dedicated lovers of violence, for lovers of intense movies who desire to watch something they haven’t ever seen on-screen before, and are able to withstand a plot that pulls absolutely no punches.
See it in a dimly lit space free from interruptions, and that ending will crawl into your mind and linger.
How to view: Accessible via digital rental or sale on several streaming sites.
