KPop Demon Hunters
Written by Cameron Geiser
After many, many, coworkers hounded me to watch this, I have to say I’m happy they got me to devote time to KPop Demon Hunters, as it’s an impressive animated Musical. Running at a tight ninety minutes and change, Netflix’s latest hit wastes no time in introducing its core concepts and important players. From Sony Pictures Animation, who brought us the Spider-Verse films, KPop Demon Hunters focuses on Huntr/x a popular KPop trio in the form of Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong), and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo) who double as spiritual defenders of humanity. They maintain the safety of billions from demonic forces by maintaining a bond between their music and their fans, thereby strengthening the Honmoon, a magical barrier keeping demons at bay.
Speaking of Demons, in the film’s first act they’re all bumming around in the underworld, dismayed at their inability to thwart Huntr/x and their Honmoon. The Demon King, Gwi-Ma (Lee Byung-hun), is furious at his minions for failing to deliver him more human souls when one of the Demons proposes a new plan. Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop) along with several underlings, suggest forming a Demon Boy Band so they may steal Huntr/x’s fanbase and therefore the power of their Honmoon. Gwi-Ma, annoyed at the concept but having no better alternative, allows the group to proceed- hiding amongst humanity as the hit new Boy Band, The Saja Boys.
Huntr/x meanwhile has their own problems to handle as the de facto leader of the group, Rumi, has begun losing her voice at the end of their world tour. She believes they are very close to making the Honmoon go gold, permanently barring Demons from invading their world forever. Due to this anxiety Rumi pushes Mira and Zoey to drop their new single early and jump straight into the new promotional push instead of taking their much needed vacation. Thus when The Saja Boys arrive on the scene while Huntr/x isn’t at their best- they feel pushed into a corner. Despite this new challenge they keep striving to do their best and regain the loyalty of their fanbase.
Kpop Demon Hunters possesses infectious energy and electricity that will keep you engaged.
KPop Demon Hunters works well on many levels. The animation is fluid, expressive, and impressive. The writing is clever, but sly and snappy. The songs are catchy and narratively relevant, the energy is infectious, and the colors are vibrant and eye-catching. Besides the core cast of characters there is serious effort that went into the world building and how things operate. Personally my favorite recurring bit was the big blue demonic Cat that operates as an interdimensional mailman for letters between Rumi and Jinu. The Cat seems truly neutral but for some unknown reason, it cannot allow anything that has been tipped over alone. He *must* set things right. Which elicited the biggest laugh of the film for me when the Cat is about to leave Rumi’s apartment, before being seen by the others, when a wastebasket on its side catches its huge glaring eyes and he pauses.
KPop Demon Hunters was a delightful surprise, and with rumors of a sequel swirling I say greenlight that movie yesterday. I could watch three more of these bite-sized adventures right now. If you haven’t heard of it yet, I highly suggest checking it out!
Cameron Geiser is an avid consumer of films and books about filmmakers. He'll watch any film at least once, and can usually be spotted at the annual Traverse City Film Festival in Northern Michigan. He also writes about film over at www.spacecortezwrites.com.