That Gory Animated Film Conclusion That Haunts Audiences
Among all the mature animated films I’ve personally watched, nothing has remained with me quite like the fear-filled conclusion of the viscerally violent as well as deeply subversive 2022 movie Unicorn Wars.
Back in the year 2015, the Spain-based writer-director crafted a grim, bleak , frequently brutal universe with a few small , desolate hints of hope.
While The Unicorn Wars feels like it came from a drive to push the medium further, the director clarified that it was rather an attempt to convey a widespread, multicultural message concerning “the mutual source of each battle.”
That idea is expressed through a group of colorful pastel bears , obviously inspired by a well-known series of lovable characters.
Maturing in a community focused on militarism as well as the defense industry, a lot of these creatures are fixated on exterminating unicorns, due to a sacred text that claims the bears they previously were masters of the woodland, until the horned beings drove them out.
Some haven’t fully bought into the propaganda, , choose to sample drugs or engage sexually outdoors.
In contrast to their gentle equivalents, these colorful critters have visible sexual organs , obvious libidos.
For one especially vicious, skeptical animal, the bear named Bluey, the conflict against unicorns turns into a route toward dominance — and especially to dominance over his more tender, nicer brother Tubby.
Bluey is a bully , an obvious sociopath , and when fear overcomes his unit and kills his comrades individually, he seizes more and more control personally, in increasingly bloody, destructive ways.
Meanwhile, the horned creatures are suffering their own terror, as a spreading, deadly beast in their woods.
“Initially, it appears as a comedy,” the filmmaker commented. “But then it becomes a more dramatic and sad movie. And by the end, it becomes a terrifying movie.”
The Unicorn Wars begins feeling a bit like one of the more quirky features by a renowned animator, that uncover a mischievous joy in letting animated figures swear, fire weapons, or have intimate relations.
Subsequently it evolves into more akin to a darker film from the same creator, with increasingly graphic violence and a tangible link to the real tragedy of war.
By the end, it becomes an outright theatrical horror carnage.
The fear which makes this a perfect Halloween watch kicks in well before than one might expect.
Unicorn Wars is suited for the hardcore fans of gore, for fans of extreme cinema who wish to view something they’ve never seen on-screen before, and who can handle a story that pulls unflinching brutality.
See it in a dimly lit space free from interruptions, and the conclusion will burrow under your skin and take up residence there.
Availability: Offered for rental or purchase on multiple digital platforms.
