That Gruesome Animated Film Conclusion That Stays With Fans
Out of all the adult-oriented cartoon movies I have personally viewed, no other has remained with me quite like the fear-filled conclusion of the viscerally violent and highly provocative film from 2022 The Unicorn Wars.
Back in the year 2015, the Spanish writer-director developed a dark, bleak , frequently brutal universe with several minor , desolate glimmers of optimism.
Although Unicorn Wars feels like it originated from an impulse to push animation further, the director clarified that it was rather an attempt to communicate a widespread, multicultural theme concerning “the shared root of every conflict.”
That message is conveyed through a band of vividly colored bears , clearly based on a well-known series of cuddly figures.
Maturing in a community focused on militarism as well as the military-industrial complex, many of these animals are obsessed with exterminating unicorns, due to a holy book that tells them they previously were rulers of the woods, before these creatures expelled them.
Some haven’t fully accepted the propaganda, and choose to experiment with narcotics and fornicate in the forest.
In contrast to their cuddly counterparts, these colorful critters display sexual organs , clear sex drives.
For one especially vicious, cynical bear, the bear named Bluey, the battle against the unicorns transforms into a path toward dominance — and especially to dominance over his gentler, kinder brother Tubby.
This bear is a bully and a seeming sociopath , and while fear takes over his group and takes his fellow soldiers one by one, he takes progressively influence for himself, via progressively violent, destructive ways.
Meanwhile, the unicorns are enduring their own nightmare, in the form of a growing, deadly beast in their forest.
“In the early stages, it feels like a lighthearted film,” the director said. “However it turns into a more dramatic and sorrowful film. And ultimately, it transforms into a scary feature.”
Unicorn Wars begins feeling a bit like one of the more playful movies from an iconic filmmaker, which find a naughty glee in letting drawn beings swear, fire weapons, or engage sexually.
Afterward it evolves into something more like a bleaker movie from the same artist, with increasingly explicit brutality , a noticeable relation to genuine suffering of war.
Ultimately, it is a complete theatrical horror massacre.
The terror that turns this an ideal spooky-season watch starts a lot earlier than one might expect.
Unicorn Wars is ideal for the most dedicated gorehounds, for fans of extreme cinema who want to view a film they’ve never viewed until now, and can endure a plot that pulls absolutely no punches.
View it in a dimly lit space free from interruptions, and the finale will dig into your mind and take up residence there.
How to view: Available for streaming or buying on several streaming sites.
