That Gruesome Cartoon Movie Conclusion That Stays With Viewers
Out of every mature cartoon movies I have personally watched, nothing has stuck with me as much as the dread-soaked finale of the graphically gory and highly provocative film from 2022 The Unicorn Wars.
In 2015’s, the Spanish filmmaker created a grim, bleak and often savage universe that included some tiny , forlorn hints of hope.
Although Unicorn Wars seems like it originated from a desire to push the medium further, the director explained that it was more an attempt to communicate a global, multicultural message regarding “the mutual source of all wars.”
That idea is conveyed via a band of colorful pastel bears , obviously inspired by a well-known series of lovable figures.
Maturing in a community built around warmongering and the military-industrial complex, many of these animals are consumed by killing the mythical beasts, due to a sacred text which states them they used to be rulers of the woods, until the horned beings forced them out.
Some haven’t fully fallen for the brainwashing, and prefer to sample drugs or mate in the woods.
In contrast to their gentle equivalents, these vivid animals have visible sexual organs , obvious sex drives.
For a particular especially vicious, pessimistic creature, the character Bluey, the battle against the unicorns becomes a route to control — and particularly to supremacy above his softer, kinder brother the character Tubby.
Bluey behaves aggressively and an obvious sociopath , and while fear overcomes his unit and claims his comrades sequentially, he grabs increasingly control on his own behalf, through ever more gory, destructive ways.
Meanwhile, the horned creatures are enduring their own terror, through an expanding, harmful creature in their woods.
“Initially, it seems like a comedy,” the director commented. “However it evolves into a more intense and melancholic film. And in the finale, it transforms into a terrifying movie.”
Unicorn Wars starts out feeling a bit like one of the most whimsical movies by a renowned animator, that uncover a mischievous joy in allowing drawn beings curse, engage in violence, or have intimate relations.
Then it becomes something more like a darker work by that same creator, with increasingly graphic violence and a noticeable connection to the actual tragedy of conflict.
By the end, it’s a full-on Grand Guignol carnage.
The horror that makes the film an ideal spooky-season viewing kicks in much sooner than indicated.
Unicorn Wars is suited for the hardcore gorehounds, for enthusiasts of intense movies who want to watch a film they have not watched previously, and can endure a plot that pulls absolutely no punches.
See it in a dark room free from interruptions, and that ending will dig deep within you and take up residence there.
Where to watch: Available for digital rental or sale on several online services.
