KPop Demon Hunters review
And now for something completely different.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
KPop Demon Hunters
Directed by Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang
Screenplay by Danya Jimenez, Hannah McMechan, Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans
Starring Arden Cho, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, Ahn Hyo-seop, Yunjin Kim, Ken Jeong, Lee Byung-hun and Daniel Dad Kim
KPop Demon Hunters Review
If you’ve ever listened to our companion podcast, Scare Value Podcast, you’ll know that I am a sucker for a good musical. It’s unfortunately rare to see that interest cross into anything horror related. Kpop Demon Hunters isn’t the answer to that. Despite being full of demons and featuring an epic battle between good and evil…none of it is played for horror. So why am I reviewing this new Netflix animated release, you might ask? I would guide you to re-read the opening sentence of this review. Sometimes you just have to take what you can get.
Kpop Demon Hunters probably isn’t what you’d expect to see as the follow up from the animation studio behind Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. They’ve traded in their web shooters for Korean pop bands. Only briefly, of course. Beyond the Spider-Verse is currently in the works. It’s also interesting to see an animated film starring a K-pop girl group fully produced in English. Well…Kpop Demon Hunters is an interesting movie.
Into every generation a slay…er…trio of demon hunters is born. They fight to protect the world from the demons trying to break into our world. They use their voices to protect the Honmoon…a barrier to hold demons back. The latest iteration of the trio doubles as the K-pop band Huntrix. Rumi (Arden Cho) is their leader. She’s hiding a big secret from the others…she’s half demon. Mira (May Hong) and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo) round out the group. That may read like a dismissive way to introduce the rest of the band…but Kpop Demon Hunters is firmly a story about Rumi.
The Demon King Gwi-Ma signs off on a new plan to destroy the Honmoon. Demons will pose as a boy band and steal Huntrix’s fans. The Saja Boys, led by Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop) arrive with a smash single and become the talk of the…town? World? I never quite figured out how big this threat was. I’m pretty sure the whole human race was at stake. Jinu is a mysterious character with a lot more going on under the surface than appears at first glance. A fact that makes things difficult for Rumi…whose duty it is to defeat the Saja Boys, stop Gwi-Ma and protect the Honmoon.
If that all sounds ridiculous to you…it is. Delightfully so.
The animation in Kpop Demon Hunters is terrific, as you’d expect. It’s a high-quality production with great voice acting and a full array of musical numbers. The moments when the trio sing their way through some demon fighting are few and far between, however. It would have been nice to see some more action set pieces…Kpop Demon Hunters only skims the surface of what’s possible in that area.
What Kpop Demon Hunters does have, however, is a shocking amount of character depth. At least for Rumi and Jinu. Their stories don’t take any shocking steps off the expected paths…and everything culminates in ways you’d probably expect. The script really makes those moments work though. Kpop Demon Hunters paints three dimensional characters full of emotions. It’s all too bright and, well, poppy to be any kind of demon horror…but it’s also too stylish and entertaining to skip.
All roads lead to the Idol Awards, of course. Gwi-Ma and the Saja Boys look to put the final nail in the town’s (world’s?) coffin and destroy the Honmoon. Rumi must confront her inner turmoil, make peace with her bandmates and fight off a horde of demons. All while cranking out a showstopping musical performance. When the threads that Kpop Demon Hunters sews come together…the results can be spectacular. That’s how I’d describe the climax of this film…even if it races to an ending immediately after its creative peak.
Kpop Demon Hunters is a successfully entertaining feature film. It features excellent musical performances, a couple of shockingly deep characters, top-notch animation and voice acting equal to the task. Sure, you’d like a movie with the words “demon hunters” in the title to feature a bit more…demon hunting…but Kpop delivers on every note it wants to play.
Scare Value
For the purposes of this website…Kpop Demon Hunters could have used a lot more demon hunting. For my personal entertainment…it delivers some banger musical numbers mixed in with effective character work. The animation is strong, as you’d suspect the recent hit Spider-man animated movies. The demons never look to add any scare value…oh I just got it…to the proceedings…but the movie succeeds at everything it is trying to be.
4/5
KPop Demon Hunters Link
Streaming on Netflix
