The Gory Cartoon Film Conclusion That Stays With Fans
Among all the mature animated films I’ve personally watched, nothing has remained with me quite like the terror-laced conclusion of the graphically gory and highly provocative film from 2022 The Unicorn Wars.
Back in the year 2015, the Spain-based filmmaker created a grim, bleak and often savage universe with some tiny , desolate glimmers of hope.
Although The Unicorn Wars appears as it came from a desire to push animation even more, the director explained that it was actually an attempt to convey a widespread, cross-cultural theme concerning “the shared root of all wars.”
This theme is expressed through a squad of brightly hued teddy bears , obviously based on a popular series of cuddly figures.
Being raised in a society focused on warmongering as well as the military-industrial complex, many of the bears are obsessed with slaughtering unicorns, because of a religious scripture that tells the bears they used to be kings of the forest, before these creatures forced them out.
Others haven’t fully fallen for the propaganda, and would rather sample narcotics and engage sexually in the forest.
Unlike their cuddly equivalents, these colorful critters have visible sexual organs , obvious libidos.
For a particular particularly cruel, cynical bear, the bear named Bluey, the battle against unicorns transforms into a road to power — and particularly to supremacy above his more tender, more compassionate sibling the bear Tubby.
This bear is a bully , a seeming psychopath , and when fear takes over his squad and kills his fellow soldiers individually, he seizes increasingly influence personally, in increasingly violent, damaging approaches.
Simultaneously, the unicorns are suffering their own terror, in the form of an expanding, deadly beast in their woods.
“In the early stages, it appears as a lighthearted film,” the director said. “Yet it becomes a more intense and melancholic film. And ultimately, it’s a scary feature.”
The Unicorn Wars commences feeling a bit like one of the most quirky movies from a legendary animator, which find a mischievous joy in allowing drawn beings swear, fire weapons, or engage sexually.
Then it evolves into more akin to a darker work from the same director, with increasingly explicit brutality and a tangible link to the actual tragedy of battle.
By the end, it is a complete theatrical horror bloodbath.
The terror which makes this a Halloween-friendly movie starts a lot earlier than one might expect.
Unicorn Wars is suited for the hardcore gorehounds, for lovers of graphic films who wish to view something they’ve never viewed until now, and are able to withstand a narrative which delivers no restraint.
Watch it in a dark room without any distractions, and the conclusion will dig under your skin and take up residence there.
Availability: Offered for digital rental or sale on various online services.