The Gory Animated Movie Conclusion That Haunts Fans
Out of all the adult-oriented cartoon movies I have ever watched, no other has stuck with me quite like the fear-filled finale of a viscerally violent as well as overwhelingly transgressive film from 2022 The Unicorn Wars.
Back in the year 2015, this Spain-based writer-director created a dark, bleak and often savage universe that included some tiny , forlorn hints of optimism.
While The Unicorn Wars seems like it came from an impulse to expand the medium even more, the director explained that it was rather an attempt to communicate a widespread, cross-cultural theme regarding “the mutual source of every conflict.”
That message is communicated through a band of colorful pastel bears , obviously modeled after a famous series of lovable figures.
Growing up in a community built around militarism and the military-industrial complex, a lot of these creatures are fixated on slaughtering the mythical beasts, because of a sacred text that tells the bears they previously were kings of the woods, before the horned beings drove them out.
Some have not completely fallen for the propaganda, , prefer to sample narcotics and fornicate in the forest.
Unlike their friendly equivalents, these bright beings show genitals , obvious libidos.
For one especially vicious, skeptical animal, Bluey, the conflict against unicorns becomes a route to control — and especially to supremacy above his softer, more compassionate sibling Tubby.
This bear is a bully and an obvious psychopath , and as terror overcomes his unit and claims his comrades one by one, he grabs increasingly control personally, through ever more bloody, damaging approaches.
At the same time, these mythical beings are suffering their own nightmare, through an expanding, harmful creature in their habitat.
“In the early stages, it appears as a lighthearted film,” the filmmaker stated. “But then it evolves into a more intense and sorrowful film. And ultimately, it’s a terrifying movie.”
Unicorn Wars starts out feeling a bit like among the quirky movies from a renowned animator, which find a mischievous joy in letting drawn beings swear, shoot each other, or sex each other up.
Subsequently it evolves into something more like a bleaker film from the same director, featuring progressively graphic violence and a palpable link to the actual horror of war.
By the end, it becomes a full-on Grand Guignol bloodbath.
The horror that makes this a Halloween-friendly viewing kicks in a lot earlier than indicated.
Unicorn Wars is suited for the most dedicated fans of gore, for fans of graphic films who wish to view something they haven’t ever watched previously, and can endure a narrative that pulls absolutely no punches.
See it in a dark room with no disturbances, and that ending will dig deep within you and stay with you.
Availability: Accessible via digital rental or sale on various streaming sites.
