The Gory Cartoon Movie Conclusion That Haunts Viewers
Out of every adult-oriented cartoon movies I have personally watched, no other has remained with me quite like the fear-filled conclusion of the explicitly bloody and deeply subversive film from 2022 Unicorn Wars.
Back in the year 2015, this Spanish writer-director crafted a grim, melancholy , frequently brutal universe that included some tiny , forlorn hints of optimism.
Although Unicorn Wars feels like it originated from a desire to push animation even more, the filmmaker stated that it was more an effort to express a widespread, multicultural message regarding “the shared root of every conflict.”
That idea is expressed through a group of colorful pastel bears , clearly inspired by a famous line of lovable figures.
Maturing in a community centered on warmongering as well as the defense industry, many of the bears are fixated on exterminating the mythical beasts, because of a holy book that claims the bears they used to be rulers of the woods, before these creatures expelled them.
A few haven’t fully bought into the brainwashing, and choose to sample drugs and engage sexually in the woods.
Unlike their friendly counterparts, these colorful critters show sexual organs , obvious libidos.
For one particularly cruel, cynical bear, the bear named Bluey, the battle against unicorns becomes a path to control — and specifically to supremacy above his gentler, kinder brother the bear Tubby.
The character is a bully , an apparent psychopath , and while terror dominates his squad and kills his teammates individually, he takes more and more power on his own behalf, via progressively bloody, damaging approaches.
At the same time, the horned creatures are experiencing their own horror, in the form of a growing, deadly beast in their forest.
“Initially, it appears as a comedy,” the director stated. “But then it turns into a more intense and sorrowful movie. And in the finale, it’s a scary feature.”
Unicorn Wars starts out resembling one of the more quirky films by a renowned animator, which find a mischievous joy in permitting cartoon characters swear, shoot each other, or sex each other up.
Afterward it evolves into closer to a darker work from that creator, including ever more explicit brutality and a tangible relation to the actual suffering of war.
By the end, it is a full-on Grand Guignol carnage.
The terror that turns this an ideal spooky-season movie starts a lot earlier than one might expect.
Unicorn Wars is one for the most dedicated fans of gore, for enthusiasts of graphic films who desire to view a movie they’ve never watched previously, and are able to withstand a plot that offers no restraint.
View it in a dark room without any distractions, and the finale will dig under your skin and linger.
Where to watch: Accessible via rental or purchase on various online services.
