The Gory Cartoon Film Ending That Haunts Audiences
Among every adult-oriented cartoon movies I’ve ever watched, nothing has stuck with me quite like the dread-soaked ending of the viscerally violent as well as highly provocative film from 2022 Unicorn Wars.
Back in 2015’s, this Spanish writer-director developed a dark, melancholy , frequently brutal world with some tiny , forlorn twinges of optimism.
Although The Unicorn Wars feels like it came from an impulse to push the medium even more, the director clarified that it was more an attempt to convey a widespread, cross-cultural theme concerning “the common origin of each battle.”
That idea is expressed via a band of brightly hued teddy bears , openly inspired by a well-known line of lovable characters.
Maturing in a culture built around militarism and the war machine, many of these animals are obsessed with killing unicorns, thanks to a sacred text which states them they used to be masters of the forest, until these creatures drove them out.
A few haven’t fully bought into the indoctrination, , would rather sample narcotics or engage sexually in the forest.
In contrast to their cuddly equivalents, these vivid animals show genitals , clear sex drives.
For one particularly cruel, pessimistic creature, the character Bluey, the war against unicorns turns into a route to power — and especially to supremacy over his more tender, kinder brother Tubby.
The character behaves aggressively and a seeming sociopath , and while terror dominates his group and takes his fellow soldiers individually, he seizes increasingly control for himself, via progressively violent, damaging approaches.
At the same time, these mythical beings are enduring their own horror, in the form of an expanding, harmful creature in their habitat.
“At the beginning, it feels like a comedy,” the filmmaker commented. “But then it becomes a more serious and sorrowful movie. And ultimately, it’s a horror film.”
Unicorn Wars commences similar to one of the most playful movies by a renowned filmmaker, that uncover a naughty glee in allowing cartoon characters swear, engage in violence, or engage sexually.
Then it turns into closer to a more grim film by that same creator, including ever more graphic violence and a palpable relation to genuine tragedy of war.
By the end, it becomes a full-on theatrical horror carnage.
The fear that makes the film a Halloween-friendly movie begins much sooner than one might expect.
Unicorn Wars is one for the devoted fans of gore, for enthusiasts of extreme cinema who wish to watch something they haven’t ever watched previously, and are able to withstand a narrative which delivers unflinching brutality.
See it in a dark room without any distractions, and the conclusion will burrow deep within you and stay with you.
Where to watch: Offered for digital rental or sale on several digital platforms.
