KPop Demon Hunters

Note: I became massively in love with this movie and everything down below is basically me just adding onto what I thought as I kept rewatching it. I keep it as is instead of going through it all and cleaning it up so I can see the growth. Plus, it's kind of amusing to see my random musings.

If I had to sum up the movie it's like this:

Kpop Demon Hunters goes so hard right from the beginning. It doesn't have to go so hard, nor does it have any right to go so hard, but it does it anyway. And then it says "fuck it" and asks, "why stop?" When Rumi says "You want it? Okay," while doing a Rider Kick during "How It's Done," that basically sums it all up. Though one could argue the "Okay, let's do this" gets to that point first, I just love the Rider Kick moment.

- The biggest compliment I can give this movie is that it's so ridiculously easy to watch. Every time I get to the final act I can't believe that we're already there. It's not a long movie by any means, but everything about it is so pleasant that it's an absolute breeze.

- The relationship between the members of HUNTR/X is so believable it hurts. Very endearing people. Obviously Rumi's arc is given the most attention, but Mira and Zoey (who I have a soft spot for) are given enough that they are also great characters with authentic growth/personalities. The movie depended on them being a believable, likable, trio. I mean, when your whole premise is that you have 3 girls who are SO loved and literally have songs that ignite their audiences' souls, you have to bring the heat with these girls or it feels false. And the writers did.

- My god the music is powerful here. I'm not saying I'm bumping every single song on repeat, though I am with some of them (specifically Golden, Free and What It Sounds Like), but I say in my mini-review that the music actually drives the plot, and I'll go one step further now and say that it's basically essential to the experience. Yes, I know that narratively that has always been true, but it's one of the only musicals I've seen where I prefer it as a musical. (Edit: I have since started bumping the whole soundtrack on repeat, though the songs I mentioned still get the most play)

So the way the songs drive the action is important, but another core reason why I love this musical while not loving musicals in general is that the musical sections are like music videos, as opposed to something like live theatre. No hate to live theatre, but I'm not a fan unless you count pro wrestling as live theatre (I do). I love music videos though.

And the way the action syncs up with the songs is so brilliant. The best example of this is the "heels, nails, blade, mascara" part that goes so hard it hurts, but everybody talks about that. I'll give a less common example. There's a really short shot after Jinu gives Rumi his soul, where the camera's behind her, and she's holding her sword kind of behind her as she looks up at Gwi-Ma. The shot itself is unbelievably epic, badass and cathartic, but the specific spot in "What It Sounds Like" that's playing as it happens makes that second of aura farming even better.

I also think it's important to give credit to Marcelo Zarvos, because even though songs like Golden get talked about, we have Zarvos out there making music that runs the gamut:

1. Absolutely, heartwrenching haunting/devastating, such as "Rumi Confronts Celine" and "Rumi's Signs," with the latter being used in that one scene where she runs down the street after Golden, which I think is one of the most underrated scenes in the movie. But obviously when Rumi confronts Celine it's heartbreaking.

2: Odd/otherwordly, like "Rumi Meets Derpy" which was a track that stuck out to me even on the first watch.

3: Monster movie shit, like "The Disaster," when Rumi's exposed on stage.

4: Cool and badass, like "Bathhouse Fight."

Etc.

Point is, I just want the man to get his flowers because his work is maybe the least flashy (or least talked about) aspect of the movie, but it's no less potent.


- It's also legitimately funny. On my first watch I laughed but I just rewatched it and I forgot how funny it really is. Some actual laugh out loud moments. A lot of the jokes that work as is, but they occasionally do this thing where they dig themselves a hole and then instantly work their way out of it to make the joke work (or they just go the extra mile to make an already funny joke funnier).

Two examples of this:

1. The cut to the security guards basically being like, "there are 10,000 screaming fans and they're scary and we can't handle it." It's not the funniest joke, honestly, but they add in the part right after where one of the security guards takes a selfie of them, which makes the joke at least worth a smile. That's an example of digging themselves out of a hole.

2. When Jinu makes fun of Rumi's train and teddy bear pajamas. By itself, it's not a terrible joke by any means, but really just worth a smile. But then the movie goes the extra mile and adds the "choo chooooo" and that makes it hilarious.

I guess what I'm saying is, the movie understands layers in comedy and the jokes land at an incredible percentage. I gotta say, it's my favourite comedy of the year and it's not even primarily a comedy.

- And then it hits you with the sadness, followed by the empowerment. Yeah, the movie is really silly. A Kpop group singing as they're fighting demons could have gone so much worse, but it's crucial to the crescendo. Sometimes it pays to really lean into ridiculousness. It's impressive that while being one of the better comedies, it's also one of the most emotional movies of the year.

- A good example of why it's so emotional is "What It Sounds Like." Many movies go for a powerful final battle, and to be fair, many do succeed, but this is one of the most emotional, powerful final battles ever, which is wild considering it's a song and there's not really a ton of awesome fighting. The girls mostly cut through demons, then there's the badass single sword slash on Gwi-Ma, then they fly and poof he's gone... and yet, due to the power and escalation of the song, the hug between the 3 of them and the epic walk up, it hits on a level that few movies really can.

- I'll be honest, on first watch I wasn't that into the animation style. This anime/manhwa influenced 2D/3D style isn't necessarily a preference over some other styles (just in a purely visual sense), but after rewatching it and being able to take in more stuff, things I wasn't paying as much attention to the first time around, it has grown on me hard. I'm not saying I hated it or anything originally, but I definitely like it a lot more now. I see the intricate details and whatnot now and enjoy watching animators break down scenes.

I think a main reason for like it works in Kpop is because of how expressive the characters are. There are a lot of great visual gags that work just by themselves (but are helped by great voice acting), such as Rumi interrupting COUCH COUCH COUCH. Her holding their costumes with this huge grin on her face and then the other crying is hysterical. Or when Zoey pulls the string on Rumi's hoodie and knocks her down. Or really any time Zoey does anything. But even things like the action or little touches here and there in the downtime appeal to me a lot more now.

- I saw some criticism of the pacing but I actually dig it. This movie does not want to waste your time at all. It's Immediate Gratification: The Movie. Situations get mentioned and then instantly resolved constantly. It's wham, bam, thank you ma'am for an hour and a half, never slowing down (not even in the slower moments). I understand that the story is pretty simplistic and that there are things they could have explored, and I would have taken an extra 15 minutes or so if the quality remained the same, but I also don't think that's necessary.

Film tackles narrative and characters differently than artforms like books, video games or television, which all have a lot more time. Writers for movies are forced to hit key points in a more concise manner because they have limited time. Kpop Demon Hunters doesn't NEED more exploration because the writers did exactly that.

- Re: Rumi's heel turn, if you can call it that, after she's been exposed as half-demon, since I've seen people criticize how fast she goes back to being good. I've thought about this extensively and I can see why people criticize it, especially if you think that the movie goes too fast in general. But I realized, what would I want from this if not what I got? Do I WANT to watch Rumi, a legitimately pretty pure, lovely human, go rogue? Do I need to watch her fight Zoey and Mira or wreck stuff in general? No. She already did all that. The betrayal of her girls is heartbreaking. It's enough conflict, enough damage.

Sometimes watching a good character have a brief heel turn is satisfying, but it wouldn't have added anything. The directors/writers left us hanging just long enough with the "twist." The entire mood of the movie is ultimately uplifting. Wallowing in this would have hurt it. Besides, one of the most powerful moments in the movie is when they walk to each other and hug, so the quicker I can get to that the better.

- Zoey and Mira are real ones.