The Gory Animated Movie Ending That Haunts Viewers
Out of all the adult-oriented cartoon movies I’ve personally viewed, no other has remained with me as much as the dread-soaked conclusion of a graphically gory and overwhelingly transgressive 2022 movie The Unicorn Wars.
In 2015’s, the Spain-based filmmaker crafted a dark, bleak and frequently brutal universe that included a few small , forlorn twinges of optimism.
Although Unicorn Wars seems like it stemmed from an impulse to expand animation further, the filmmaker clarified that it was rather a try to communicate a universal, cross-cultural theme regarding “the common origin of each battle.”
This theme is expressed via a squad of vividly colored bears , obviously based on a popular series of cuddly characters.
Maturing in a society centered on aggression as well as the defense industry, many of these animals are obsessed with killing unicorns, because of a holy book that tells the bears they used to be masters of the forest, before the unicorns drove them out.
Some have not completely bought into the propaganda, and prefer to try out drugs and mate in the forest.
In contrast to their friendly counterparts, these bright beings have visible sexual organs , obvious libidos.
For a certain especially vicious, skeptical animal, Bluey, the battle with unicorns becomes a road toward dominance — and specifically to supremacy above his softer, nicer brother Tubby.
The character acts as a tormentor , an obvious sociopath , and as horror dominates his unit and kills his fellow soldiers individually, he grabs increasingly control on his own behalf, through ever more gory, harmful methods.
At the same time, the horned creatures are suffering their own nightmare, in the form of a growing, deadly beast in their woods.
“Initially, it feels like a humorous movie,” the filmmaker said. “Yet it turns into a more intense and melancholic film. And ultimately, it transforms into a scary feature.”
Unicorn Wars begins similar to one of the more playful films from a renowned filmmaker, that discover a naughty glee in allowing animated figures swear, shoot each other, or engage sexually.
Then it becomes closer to a bleaker work by that same artist, including ever more visual gore and a tangible relation to the actual tragedy of war.
By the end, it’s an outright theatrical horror massacre.
The horror that makes this an ideal spooky-season movie kicks in well before than indicated.
The Unicorn Wars is ideal for the most dedicated gorehounds, for fans of intense movies who desire to view a film they have not viewed until now, and who can handle a story which delivers no restraint.
View it with the lights off without any distractions, and that ending will crawl into your mind and linger.
Where to watch: Offered for streaming or buying on several online services.
