That Gruesome Animated Film Ending That Haunts Audiences
Out of all the adult-oriented animated films I’ve personally watched, nothing has remained with me as much as the fear-filled conclusion of a graphically gory as well as overwhelingly transgressive film from 2022 The Unicorn Wars.
In the year 2015, the Spanish writer-director crafted a grim, bleak , often savage world that included a few small , forlorn twinges of optimism.
Although Unicorn Wars seems like it stemmed from a desire to expand the medium further, the director explained that it was more a try to communicate a global, cross-cultural theme regarding “the mutual source of every conflict.”
This theme is conveyed by means of a group of vividly colored bears , openly inspired by a well-known line of lovable characters.
Being raised in a community built around militarism and the military-industrial complex, a lot of these creatures are fixated on slaughtering the mythical beasts, thanks to a religious scripture that claims the bears they used to be kings of the forest, until the horned beings drove them out.
Some haven’t fully bought into the propaganda, , prefer to try out narcotics or fornicate outdoors.
In contrast to their gentle counterparts, these colorful critters display genitals and clear urges.
For a certain especially vicious, cynical bear, the character Bluey, the battle with unicorns transforms into a path to power — and specifically to dominance above his more tender, kinder brother the character Tubby.
The character acts as a tormentor , an apparent psychopath , and as fear overcomes his group and kills his fellow soldiers sequentially, he grabs more and more control for himself, via progressively violent, destructive ways.
Meanwhile, the horned creatures are experiencing their own horror, in the form of an expanding, harmful creature in their forest.
“At the beginning, it feels like a comedy,” the director commented. “Yet it evolves into a more serious and sad film. And by the end, it’s a horror film.”
The Unicorn Wars starts out feeling a bit like one of the more playful films by a renowned animator, that discover a wicked pleasure in allowing animated figures curse, engage in violence, or sex each other up.
Afterward it evolves into more akin to a more grim film by that same artist, featuring progressively explicit brutality and a tangible connection to the actual tragedy of war.
Ultimately, it becomes an outright Grand Guignol bloodbath.
The terror which makes this an ideal spooky-season movie kicks in a lot earlier than one might expect.
Unicorn Wars is ideal for the most dedicated lovers of violence, for enthusiasts of extreme cinema who wish to watch a film they have not seen on-screen before, and are able to withstand a narrative which delivers unflinching brutality.
See it in a dimly lit space without any distractions, and the finale will dig under your skin and stay with you.
How to view: Available for rental or purchase on various digital platforms.
