The Gruesome Animated Movie Ending That Haunts Viewers
Out of all the mature animated films I’ve ever viewed, nothing has lingered in my mind as much as the dread-soaked ending of the viscerally violent and deeply subversive film from 2022 The Unicorn Wars.
In 2015’s, the Spain-based writer-director crafted a dark, bleak , frequently brutal world that included some tiny , desolate glimmers of optimism.
While Unicorn Wars feels like it stemmed from a desire to expand the medium even more, the director stated that it was rather an attempt to communicate a global, cross-cultural theme about “the shared root of each battle.”
This theme is expressed through a group of vividly colored bears , clearly based on a popular series of cuddly figures.
Being raised in a community focused on aggression as well as the defense industry, numerous the bears are consumed by slaughtering unicorns, thanks to a religious scripture that claims the bears they previously were masters of the forest, until these creatures expelled them.
A few haven’t fully accepted the brainwashing, , prefer to sample drugs and mate in the woods.
Unlike their gentle counterparts, these bright beings display sexual organs , obvious urges.
For one particularly cruel, cynical bear, Bluey, the war with unicorns turns into a route toward dominance — and especially to dominance over his gentler, nicer brother the bear Tubby.
Bluey is a bully and a seeming antisocial figure , and while horror dominates his unit and takes his comrades individually, he seizes increasingly power personally, in increasingly gory, destructive ways.
Simultaneously, the horned creatures are experiencing their own terror, in the form of a spreading, deadly beast in their forest.
“At the beginning, it appears as a lighthearted film,” the director said. “However it becomes a more intense and sad movie. And by the end, it’s a scary feature.”
The Unicorn Wars commences similar to among the playful films by a legendary filmmaker, that uncover a mischievous joy in allowing animated figures curse, engage in violence, or have intimate relations.
Afterward it becomes more akin to a darker film from the same creator, with increasingly explicit brutality , a tangible connection to the real suffering of battle.
Ultimately, it is a complete Grand Guignol carnage.
The horror that turns this an ideal spooky-season watch begins much sooner than one might expect.
Unicorn Wars is ideal for the most dedicated lovers of violence, for fans of graphic films who wish to see a film they’ve never viewed until now, and are able to withstand a story which delivers unflinching brutality.
See it in a dimly lit space free from interruptions, and the conclusion will dig under your skin and take up residence there.
Where to watch: Available for digital rental or sale on several online services.
