The Gory Animated Film Ending That Haunts Audiences
Out of every mature cartoon movies I’ve ever viewed, nothing has lingered in my mind quite like the terror-laced finale of the viscerally violent and highly provocative 2022 movie Unicorn Wars.
In 2015’s, the Spanish filmmaker crafted a dark, somber and frequently brutal universe with several minor , forlorn glimmers of hope.
While The Unicorn Wars feels like it stemmed from an impulse to expand animation even more, the filmmaker stated that it was more an effort to convey a universal, multicultural theme concerning “the shared root of all wars.”
That idea is conveyed through a squad of brightly hued teddy bears , clearly based on a famous series of cuddly figures.
Being raised in a community built around militarism as well as the military-industrial complex, a lot of these animals are fixated on slaughtering the mythical beasts, because of a holy book which states the bears they were once rulers of the woodland, before the horned beings expelled them.
A few haven’t fully accepted the indoctrination, , would rather experiment with narcotics or fornicate in the woods.
Unlike their friendly equivalents, these vivid animals display sexual organs and obvious sex drives.
For a certain especially vicious, cynical bear, the character Bluey, the war against unicorns becomes a route to power — and especially to supremacy above his gentler, nicer brother the bear Tubby.
This bear acts as a tormentor and an obvious psychopath , and while terror takes over his squad and claims his teammates one by one, he grabs increasingly influence personally, in increasingly violent, harmful methods.
Meanwhile, the horned creatures are suffering their own terror, in the form of a spreading, destructive monster in their woods.
“At the beginning, it appears as a humorous movie,” the director commented. “But then it turns into a more dramatic and melancholic film. And ultimately, it’s a scary feature.”
Unicorn Wars starts out similar to one of the most playful features by a renowned animator, that uncover a wicked pleasure in letting animated figures swear, engage in violence, or engage sexually.
Afterward it becomes closer to a more grim movie by that same artist, including ever more graphic violence and a noticeable connection to genuine tragedy of war.
Ultimately, it becomes an outright Grand Guignol carnage.
The fear that makes the film a perfect Halloween movie kicks in much sooner than that description suggests.
The Unicorn Wars is ideal for the devoted lovers of violence, for fans of extreme cinema who wish to see a movie they haven’t ever seen on-screen before, and who can handle a story that pulls absolutely no punches.
View it with the lights off without any distractions, and that ending will dig under your skin and linger.
How to view: Available for rental or purchase on various online services.
