When I first saw the trailer for, Nay, the name KPop Demon Hunters, I had low expectations. The animation and character expressions showcased in the trailer were very impressive, but a big animation budget doesn’t mean the story will be engaging. At the time of writing this, KPop Demon Hunters is the most viewed movie on Netflix of all time, so I think it’s safe to say I was proven wrong, and happily so, but I am disappointed that I wasn’t more wrong.
KPop Demon Hunters follows three Korean pop (K-pop) singers who hunt demons. Simple is best, as they say. Though the singers (idols), Zoey, Mira and Rumi make up the group Huntr/x, and instead of just travelling around Korea to slay the demons, they have a long term goal of gaining enough love and adoration from their fans to permanently seal the Honmoon. This is the supernatural barrier that keeps demons from entering the human world. Right away I love the set up. One of the strengths of this movie is that while it’s very action packed, it never favors that action over its emotional core. This is because being in harmony is literally where their powers come from. The main trio are forced to prioritize their relationships with both their fans and each other in order for the plot to progress. This method is far stronger when it comes to solidifying the themes of the movie.
Those who have little patience for relationship centric movies can relax, because even with its emotional focus, KPDH isn’t boring or slow in the slightest. It is quite the opposite actually. I always knew the visuals would be striking, but Sony actually managed to exceed my incredibly high expectations. The script takes advantage of the fact that the girls need to sing to activate their powers to turn their fights into cinematic music videos where they pose at the camera and sync their attacks with the music. Speaking of the camera, it is so dynamic in these sequences. The way it moves really sells the idea of the girls shooting a music video while they brutally overpower their enemies. Aside from the fights, the girls are also really compelling in their own ways. They each have their own personality quirks and struggles that make their relationship drama more investing than one might think.
This movie has a lot of strengths baked into its DNA, but it doesn’t get a chance to fully express all of those genes. There have been rumors floating around that KPDH was supposed to be three hours long and got cut short, but I couldn’t find any evidence to back up those claims. That said, I do wish it was at least two hours long. The current hour and a half runtime leaves certain characters begging for more time to have their personalities explored. The most egregious victim is Huntr/x’s mentor Celine who plays a crucial role in the narrative, but only appears in one scene that isn’t a flashback. Arguably more disappointing are the characters who do get the screen time, but have their arcs sped through. There is literally a scene early on where the main trio have their flaws blatantly spelled out to the audience by another character that never appears after that scene. To the writers’ credit, while the pacing is almost neck breaking at times, they still managed to give at least the main girl, Rumi, a satisfying, complete arc. The other two more so have their arcs unfold in the background, but given the constraints, I’m actually quite impressed with how they pulled that off. I will say, I’m a bit disappointed with the main villain, Gwi-Ma. He’s very threatening and imposing throughout the film, but once he rises to power the most he does is some hype pyrotechnics. I wish I was joking.
Musical haters might also struggle with this one. Make no mistake, this film is a full fledged musical. The fight scenes are shot like music videos, but there are also just straight up music video sequences á la High School Musical. I must confess even as a true musical enjoyer, the way the characters voices are autotuned sometimes did take me out of the film, specifically during this one song that’s meant to be very somber and emotionally moving. But even with the film’s shortcomings, I do believe that it’s deserving of every ounce of praise it’s getting. I hope we’re able to get an appropriately long sequel so these characters and concepts can be explored to their full potential.
