“KPop Demon Hunters” tells the tale of the Korean all-girl trio pop band known as Huntrix. They consist of Zoey (Ji-Young Yoo), Mira (May Hong) and the lead vocalist Rumi (Arden Cho). The young trio is a global sensation, but they also serve as demon hunters, slaying soul-sucking creatures from another dimension. But their job isn’t a cover: turns out that their singing actually has supernatural properties, forming a shield that protects the earth from invading demons. The demon’s leader, Gwi-Ma (Lee Byung-hun) is at his wit’s end, so he takes the suggestion of an underling named Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop). The suggestion: form a competing KPop group to erode Huntrix’s fan base and, thus, their power. Jinu and four other demons form a KPop group called Saja and soon the competition between the two groups begins.
The girls find out that Saja is comprised of demons, but they have a problem of their own: Rumi is half-demon and has been hiding that fact from her two friends. The demon-half is affecting her voice and her temper is causing her to accidentally lash out and damage the shield she and her friends have worked so hard to put up. The only one who knows about Rumi’s condition is their mentor Celine (Junjin Kim) who’s duty it is to mentor generations of musical trios as demon hunters. Huntrix is in for the fight of their life as they try to save the world and their friendship all at the same time.
In lesser hands “KPop Demon Hunters” would be a potential trash-fire of a movie. But co-directors Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang keep the film moving with amazing speed and energy without sacrificing the story or the characters. The movie balances the silliness of the concept with enough emotion to really make the finale kick. And the musical numbers really pop. I’m serious: I do not like bubblegummy pop music normally, but the songs and music in “KPop Demon Hunters” are the type of infectious earworms that will stay with you long after the credits roll.
The animation is from the same studio that brought you “Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse” so the quality is naturally outstanding. That unique comic-style animation in the Spiderverse movies prevalent all throughout the film, combined with some nifty anime touches that add to the film’s unique style. The action beats and, surprisingly, the performance scenes are all wonderfully kinetic and the film moves like an entertaining freight train.
The voice cast is all uniformly excellent, with Cho doing wonderful work as Rumi. Hong and Yoo add terrific support as Mira and Zoey. The three work well together and even in the little scenes (“Cooouch”) the connection is evident. Hyo-seop takes what could have been a cardboard hearthrob villain in Jinu and gives him some depth. And Ken Jeong gets most of the laughs as Huntrix’s constantly exasperated agent Bobby.
Interestingly enough, “KPop Demon Hunters” has become such a sensation that it’s going to be released in theaters in the coming weeks to capitalize on the the film’s current popularity. It’s a film that deserves to be seen in a big theater, as it’s as good as many of the other big studio releases in the last few years. The scares are low grade, so the kiddies should enjoy this film and it’s clever and catchy enough for the adults to bop along to. With vibrant animation, and original story, and some really good music, “KPop Demon Hunters” is a wonderful animated film. 4 Out Of 5 On Kendog’s Barkometer! So Sayeth The Kendog!
