The Gory Animated Film Ending That Haunts Viewers
Out of all the mature animated films I have ever watched, nothing has remained with me quite like the fear-filled finale of a graphically gory and overwhelingly transgressive film from 2022 The Unicorn Wars.
Back in the year 2015, this Spain-based writer-director created a dark, somber and often savage universe that included several minor , forlorn glimmers of optimism.
While Unicorn Wars appears as it originated from an impulse to push animation even more, the director explained that it was more a try to communicate a universal, multicultural message concerning “the common origin of every conflict.”
That message is communicated via a band of brightly hued teddy bears , openly modeled after a popular line of lovable characters.
Growing up in a society centered on warmongering and the military-industrial complex, many of these animals are fixated on slaughtering unicorns, because of a sacred text that claims them they used to be masters of the woods, before the horned beings drove them out.
Some haven’t fully fallen for the indoctrination, and would rather experiment with narcotics or engage sexually in the forest.
In contrast to their cuddly equivalents, these bright beings show sexual organs , clear libidos.
For one notably brutal, skeptical animal, the character Bluey, the war against the unicorns turns into a road toward dominance — and especially to dominance over his more tender, nicer brother the character Tubby.
Bluey behaves aggressively and an apparent antisocial figure , and while terror overcomes his unit and kills his comrades one by one, he seizes more and more control personally, via progressively gory, harmful methods.
Simultaneously, the horned creatures are enduring their own terror, through a spreading, harmful creature in their forest.
“Initially, it feels like a comedy,” the director commented. “However it turns into a more intense and sad movie. And ultimately, it transforms into a scary feature.”
Unicorn Wars begins similar to one of the most whimsical features from a renowned animator, that discover a mischievous joy in allowing drawn beings swear, fire weapons, or have intimate relations.
Subsequently it turns into something more like a darker movie from that artist, featuring progressively graphic violence , a tangible connection to the actual tragedy of battle.
In the finale, it’s a complete Grand Guignol bloodbath.
The horror that makes this a Halloween-friendly watch begins well before than that description suggests.
Unicorn Wars is ideal for the most dedicated lovers of violence, for enthusiasts of extreme cinema who wish to see a film they haven’t ever seen on-screen before, and who can handle a plot that offers unflinching brutality.
Watch it in a dimly lit space free from interruptions, and that ending will crawl under your skin and take up residence there.
How to view: Accessible via streaming or buying on various streaming sites.
