That Grisly Cartoon Movie Ending That Haunts Viewers
Out of every mature cartoon movies I’ve personally watched, nothing has remained with me quite like the fear-filled ending of a viscerally violent as well as deeply subversive film from 2022 Unicorn Wars.
In the year 2015, this Spain-based writer-director crafted a dark, melancholy , frequently brutal universe that included several minor , desolate twinges of optimism.
Although The Unicorn Wars seems like it came from a desire to push animation even more, the director stated that it was more a try to convey a widespread, cross-cultural message regarding “the common origin of each battle.”
That message is expressed through a band of brightly hued teddy bears , openly inspired by a well-known series of cuddly characters.
Growing up in a society built around militarism as well as the military-industrial complex, a lot of these creatures are fixated on killing the mythical beasts, thanks to a religious scripture that tells them they used to be rulers of the woodland, before these creatures drove them out.
A few have not completely fallen for the brainwashing, and would rather sample substances or engage sexually in the woods.
Unlike their friendly counterparts, these colorful critters display sexual organs , obvious sex drives.
For one especially vicious, cynical bear, the character Bluey, the war against unicorns becomes a path to power — and particularly to supremacy above his more tender, more compassionate sibling Tubby.
Bluey acts as a tormentor , an obvious sociopath , and while terror overcomes his group and kills his teammates sequentially, he seizes progressively control on his own behalf, via progressively gory, damaging approaches.
Meanwhile, the horned creatures are experiencing their own horror, in the form of an expanding, destructive monster in their habitat.
“In the early stages, it appears as a comedy,” the filmmaker commented. “However it becomes a more dramatic and melancholic film. And ultimately, it becomes a horror film.”
Unicorn Wars begins feeling a bit like one of the more quirky features from a renowned filmmaker, that discover a wicked pleasure in permitting animated figures swear, engage in violence, or have intimate relations.
Then it turns into closer to a darker movie from that artist, featuring progressively explicit brutality and a palpable relation to the actual suffering of battle.
Ultimately, it’s an outright extreme drama carnage.
The terror that makes the film an ideal spooky-season watch starts much sooner than that description suggests.
The Unicorn Wars is one for the devoted gorehounds, for enthusiasts of extreme cinema who wish to view a film they have not watched previously, and are able to withstand a plot which delivers unflinching brutality.
See it with the lights off free from interruptions, and the conclusion will dig into your mind and linger.
Where to watch: Available for rental or purchase on multiple streaming sites.
