That Gruesome Cartoon Movie Ending That Lingers Viewers
Out of every mature animated films I’ve personally viewed, no other has lingered in my mind quite like the fear-filled conclusion of the graphically gory and highly provocative 2022 movie Unicorn Wars.
Back in 2015’s, the Spain-based filmmaker developed a dark, bleak , frequently brutal universe that included some tiny , desolate hints of hope.
Although Unicorn Wars feels like it stemmed from an impulse to push animation even more, the director explained that it was rather an effort to express a widespread, cross-cultural message regarding “the common origin of all wars.”
That message is expressed through a group of brightly hued teddy bears , clearly based on a famous series of lovable figures.
Growing up in a community focused on warmongering and the military-industrial complex, numerous the bears are obsessed with exterminating unicorns, due to a religious scripture which states them they were once masters of the forest, before the horned beings expelled them.
Others have not completely bought into the brainwashing, , prefer to sample narcotics and engage sexually in the woods.
Unlike their gentle equivalents, these bright beings have visible sexual organs and clear urges.
For a certain notably brutal, pessimistic creature, the bear named Bluey, the conflict against unicorns turns into a route to control — and specifically to supremacy over his more tender, kinder brother the bear Tubby.
Bluey behaves aggressively and an apparent antisocial figure , and when terror takes over his group and kills his comrades one by one, he grabs more and more influence personally, through ever more gory, destructive ways.
Meanwhile, the horned creatures are enduring their own nightmare, through a growing, destructive monster in their forest.
“At the beginning, it feels like a comedy,” the director said. “However it turns into a more intense and sad movie. And in the finale, it’s a terrifying movie.”
Unicorn Wars begins feeling a bit like one of the more quirky features from a renowned filmmaker, that discover a naughty glee in allowing cartoon characters curse, engage in violence, or have intimate relations.
Then it evolves into something more like a bleaker film from the same director, including ever more visual gore and a tangible link to the actual suffering of conflict.
In the finale, it becomes an outright Grand Guignol massacre.
The fear that makes the film an ideal spooky-season movie starts a lot earlier than one might expect.
The Unicorn Wars is one for the most dedicated fans of gore, for fans of extreme cinema who wish to view something they’ve never viewed until now, and who can handle a plot which delivers no restraint.
Watch it in a dimly lit space with no disturbances, and the finale will burrow under your skin and stay with you.
Availability: Accessible via streaming or buying on several digital platforms.
