KPop Demon Hunters is, while perhaps not the most imaginative title, exactly what it claims to be about: demon hunters that also happen to be K-pop stars. But don't let the straightforward title fool you; the new animated movie is an absolute musical blast, start to finish, and has quickly become my new Netflix obsession. This isn't even hyperbole for the sake of it, as I watched the screener four times before release and have seen the movie another four times since Friday.
The basic plot of the animated film is that for generations, a trio of Hunters have kept the world safe from demons through song, creating a barrier that demons are largely stuck behind. In the modern day, this responsibility falls to Kpop group Huntrix – Rumi, Mira, and Zoey. And just when they're close to keeping the demons out for good, a demon boy band comes on the scene to screw it all up.
It's a compelling premise taken to extreme heights by the nuances of the social dynamics between Huntrix members, some light exploration of Korean idol culture, catchy original music with slick beats and killer hooks, and captivating animation that blends 2D and 3D with obvious inspiration from fellow Sony films Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Across the Spider-Verse.
How it's done, done, done
I could go on and on about how the movie's love for going from serious, somewhat realistic expressions to cartoonish ones and back draws a straight line between it and Japanese anime, the clever ways it plays with camera placement to shift perspective, or even the wildly impressive tech that must be under the hood to deal with the various textures and dangling objects – seriously, zoom in on those clothes and count just how many bits and bobs the Huntrix girls have hanging from them in any given outfit.
But honestly? The strongest argument I can make is for you to take a moment and watch an early sequence from the film set to "How It's Done," one of several earworms from the soundtrack. Frankly, there are even more convincing segments, but the movie's songs are all narratively entangled to the point that anything beyond this would be a serious spoiler. (For my money, the final Saja Boys song has seen the most replay, but your mileage may vary.)
Now, admittedly, I am a sucker for much of what KPop Demon Hunters has to offer. I inherently love a smart musical, anything that plays with the boundaries and limitations (or lack thereof) of animation as a medium immediately piques my interest, and to top it all off, it's an original IP and not some adaptation of a toy or the like. Not that I'm against that on its own merits.
It's just nice to have variety, and KPop Demon Hunters often feels like an earlier draft of something that the system might normally water down for the sake of palatability. There are any number of potential quibbles that the hypothetical suits with control of the purse strings may have had. Just off the top of the dome, here are a series of examples that might have been uttered:
- It's too dark for an animated family movie and there are at least two or maybe three scenes that should be cut entirely
- It's too Korean and should have more broad appeal
- There should be less music overall or it should be downplayed in the marketing
- Is there some way to further center the male lead?
And so on and so forth. Instead, the movie is colorful and unique, funny and heartbreaking, with an incredible soundtrack and stellar animation. And while it's certainly standing on the shoulders of giants, there's nothing exactly like it out there, to its credit. In fact, my biggest problem with the movie (now that the soundtrack is officially released) isn't that big at all, but I sure do wish Netflix would pick a single stylization of the movie's name and stick with it. Is it Kpop Demon Hunters, KPop Demon Hunters, or K-Pop Demon Hunters? The world may never know.
KPop Demon Hunters is currently available to stream on Netflix. If you're still looking for more to watch on the streamer, be sure to check out our ranking of the best Netflix movies.
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