The Grisly Animated Film Conclusion That Lingers Fans
Among all the adult-oriented cartoon movies I have personally viewed, nothing has lingered in my mind as much as the terror-laced ending of a viscerally violent and deeply subversive film from 2022 The Unicorn Wars.
In the year 2015, the Spanish writer-director developed a grim, melancholy , frequently brutal universe with some tiny , desolate hints of hope.
Although Unicorn Wars seems like it originated from a desire to push animation further, the filmmaker explained that it was rather a try to express a universal, cross-cultural message concerning “the shared root of every conflict.”
That idea is communicated by means of a squad of brightly hued teddy bears , clearly inspired by a famous series of cuddly characters.
Growing up in a community centered on militarism and the military-industrial complex, many of these creatures are consumed by killing unicorns, because of a sacred text which states them they used to be rulers of the woods, before the unicorns drove them out.
Others did not entirely fallen for the indoctrination, and would rather experiment with drugs and mate in the woods.
Unlike their friendly counterparts, these colorful critters display genitals , definite libidos.
For one notably brutal, cynical bear, the character Bluey, the conflict against unicorns transforms into a route to control — and specifically to authority over his more tender, nicer brother Tubby.
This bear is a bully and a seeming sociopath , and as terror overcomes his unit and claims his teammates one by one, he seizes increasingly power on his own behalf, in increasingly bloody, harmful methods.
Simultaneously, the horned creatures are experiencing their own nightmare, in the form of a growing, deadly beast in their forest.
“At the beginning, it appears as a humorous movie,” the director commented. “Yet it becomes a more intense and melancholic movie. And by the end, it’s a terrifying movie.”
Unicorn Wars begins feeling a bit like one of the more whimsical movies from a renowned filmmaker, that discover a naughty glee in allowing cartoon characters curse, fire weapons, or sex each other up.
Afterward it evolves into something more like a more grim movie from the same artist, with increasingly explicit brutality and a noticeable connection to the actual suffering of conflict.
Ultimately, it is an outright extreme drama carnage.
The fear which makes this a perfect Halloween watch begins much sooner than one might expect.
The Unicorn Wars is ideal for the hardcore gorehounds, for enthusiasts of extreme cinema who wish to see a movie they have not seen on-screen before, and are able to withstand a story which delivers unflinching brutality.
View it in a dimly lit space with no disturbances, and that ending will dig deep within you and stay with you.
How to view: Available for digital rental or sale on multiple online services.
