That Gruesome Cartoon Movie Conclusion That Lingers Audiences
Out of all the adult-oriented cartoon movies I’ve personally viewed, nothing has remained with me quite like the dread-soaked ending of a graphically gory and deeply subversive film from 2022 Unicorn Wars.
Back in 2015’s, the Spanish filmmaker developed a grim, somber , frequently brutal world with some tiny , forlorn glimmers of optimism.
Although Unicorn Wars feels like it originated from a desire to expand the medium even more, the filmmaker clarified that it was more a try to express a universal, multicultural message regarding “the common origin of each battle.”
That message is communicated via a squad of colorful pastel bears , openly based on a well-known line of lovable characters.
Being raised in a society centered on warmongering and the defense industry, a lot of these animals are consumed by exterminating unicorns, due to a sacred text that tells them they previously were kings of the woodland, before the unicorns forced them out.
Some did not entirely fallen for the propaganda, , would rather experiment with narcotics or engage sexually outdoors.
In contrast to their cuddly equivalents, these bright beings display sexual organs , definite sex drives.
For one notably brutal, pessimistic creature, the bear named Bluey, the battle against unicorns turns into a path to power — and especially to supremacy above his more tender, nicer brother the character Tubby.
This bear acts as a tormentor and an obvious psychopath , and as terror takes over his group and claims his comrades individually, he seizes progressively power on his own behalf, in increasingly bloody, destructive ways.
At the same time, the horned creatures are experiencing their own terror, through a spreading, harmful creature in their woods.
“Initially, it appears as a humorous movie,” the filmmaker stated. “Yet it becomes a more dramatic and sorrowful movie. And in the finale, it transforms into a scary feature.”
The Unicorn Wars starts out feeling a bit like one of the most playful films from a legendary animator, which find a wicked pleasure in allowing cartoon characters swear, fire weapons, or have intimate relations.
Then it evolves into more akin to a bleaker film by that same creator, featuring progressively visual gore and a palpable relation to the actual horror of war.
In the finale, it becomes an outright theatrical horror bloodbath.
The horror that makes the film an ideal spooky-season movie begins a lot earlier than one might expect.
Unicorn Wars is suited for the most dedicated fans of gore, for fans of graphic films who want to view a film they’ve never viewed until now, and can endure a plot that offers absolutely no punches.
View it with the lights off without any distractions, and that ending will dig under your skin and linger.
Availability: Available for rental or purchase on several digital platforms.
