Among every mature animated films I have ever watched, no other has remained with me as much as the terror-laced ending of a explicitly bloody as well as overwhelingly transgressive 2022 movie The Unicorn Wars.
Back in 2015’s, the Spanish writer-director developed a dark, melancholy and frequently brutal universe that included several minor , desolate glimmers of optimism.
Although Unicorn Wars seems like it came from an impulse to push the medium even more, the director explained that it was more a try to communicate a universal, cross-cultural message about “the shared root of every conflict.”
This theme is communicated by means of a group of vividly colored bears , obviously modeled after a well-known series of cuddly figures.
Growing up in a culture built around warmongering as well as the defense industry, many of these animals are fixated on slaughtering the mythical beasts, thanks to a sacred text that tells them they previously were masters of the woodland, until the unicorns expelled them.
A few did not entirely bought into the brainwashing, , would rather sample drugs and fornicate outdoors.
In contrast to their cuddly equivalents, these bright beings have visible sexual organs , obvious urges.
For a certain notably brutal, pessimistic creature, the bear named Bluey, the conflict against unicorns turns into a route to power — and specifically to dominance above his softer, kinder brother the bear Tubby.
The character behaves aggressively , an obvious psychopath , and as terror overcomes his squad and claims his fellow soldiers one by one, he seizes progressively influence for himself, via progressively gory, harmful methods.
At the same time, the unicorns are suffering their own horror, through an expanding, harmful creature in their habitat.
“Initially, it feels like a lighthearted film,” the director said. “However it turns into a more serious and sad film. And ultimately, it’s a horror film.”
The Unicorn Wars starts out similar to among the playful films by a renowned animator, which find a wicked pleasure in letting drawn beings swear, engage in violence, or sex each other up.
Subsequently it becomes more akin to a bleaker work from that artist, featuring progressively graphic violence and a tangible relation to the real suffering of battle.
By the end, it becomes a full-on extreme drama carnage.
The horror that turns the film a perfect Halloween viewing begins well before than one might expect.
The Unicorn Wars is ideal for the devoted lovers of violence, for enthusiasts of intense movies who desire to view a film they haven’t ever watched previously, and who can handle a story that pulls absolutely no punches.
Watch it in a dark room with no disturbances, and the conclusion will burrow under your skin and take up residence there.
How to view: Available for streaming or buying on various streaming sites.
