You know, here at the Masked Medic, I like to pride myself on being fairly open to suggestions and recommendations. I very rarely follow through, but I do listen, aha. However, when it became apparent that this film was starting to gain notoriety, and I got several people telling me that I needed to watch this, I could no longer ignore the noise. So last weekend I sat down to watch Netflix’s latest project!
‘KPop Demon Hunters’ starts by telling us of a time when demons were able to feed on the souls of humans, offering those souls up to their leader, Gwi Ma. However, a trio of women became demon hunters, not only able to fight them, but also by using their magical voices to create the “Honmoon”; a mystical barrier that locked the demons away in their own realm. Over time, in every generation, a group of three was chosen to protect the world, and maintain the Honmoon, but also produce awesome music? The film then cuts to modern day, where the latest iteration of Demon Hunters is a KPop girl group called Huntrix, composed of lyricist and rapper Zoey, stylist and choreographer Mira and their leader, Rumi. Huntrix are finishing up a world tour, aiming to complete the “Golden Honmoon”, which would banish the demons forever. Their latest song, “Golden”, is ready for release, but Rumi strains her voice, and the girls attempt to come up with a plan to help her so they can complete the song. Meanwhile, Gwi Ma is approached by a demon named Jinu, who, along with 4 other demons, comes up with a devious plan: stop Huntrix by posing as a K-pop boy band and stealing their fans. Thus, the Saja Boys are born. Although Huntrix catch on pretty quickly that this new band is a group of demons, their plans all seem to go awry as Jinu seems to be one step ahead of them at all times. Can the girls band together to complete their mission? Or will the revelation of deep secrets undo everything that these opposing bands are trying to do?
Let’s talk cast. Before I get into the main cast, gotta give a shout out to some familiar faces/voices. Playing Bobby, Huntrix’s enthusiastic manager, was Ken Jeong. He’s a funny guy, and his humour definitely translated over into Bobby. You know, anywhere where there’s a doctor named Han, Daniel Dae Kim is never far behind. Although a very small role, he was good. Our main antagonist, Gwi Ma, needed brevity and presence, and Lee Byung-Hun was the perfect person to voice him. Playing the lead singer in the Saja Boys, Jinu, was Ahn Hyo-Seop. He was easily my favourite character, and there was a lot of range in his voice. But let’s talk about the stars of the film, Huntrix. Playing Zoey was Ji-Young Yoo, an American actress with a Korean background, very much like her character. Zoey was fun and quirky, and Yoo’s voice translated that well. Mira was played by May Hong. Again, Mira had a very distinct personality. She was reserved, and Hong’s voice was slightly deeper compared to her bandmates, which I think was very apt for the character. Finally, playing Rumi was Arden Cho. Now, out of all the main cast, Cho was the only one whom I’d seen before; She played Kira in Teen Wolf. From my understanding, she was cut from that show for some not-so-nice reasons, and I always felt that she deserved better. Well, if this film is anything to go by, she may well have more projects come her way soon!
I have been trying to dip my foot into the lake that is the anime/manga world. Whilst I have dabbled, when I heard about this film, I wondered if this could be my soft launch into that era for this website. So many people had recommended it to me, and I now thank each and every one of them. ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ may have some slightly darker themes in it, but ultimately, it’s a story about acceptance. There is a lot of character development, and I’m sure that every single viewer could relate to at least one, if not more, characters. The film is also well paced, there’s not so much of a buildup in the beginning, as there is a straight into the action kinda vibe. There’s a lot of heart and humour in the film too, so even the darker moments are balanced out nicely!
We have to talk about the cinematography because the animation team behind the ‘Spider-Verse’ films was responsible for this film, and they really did not come to play. The colours were vivid, the style very crisp in places, and then appropriately soft in others, leaving for a very aesthetically pleasing viewing experience. Even some of the animation pieces, like Mira and Zoey’s “popcorn eyes” when seeing the Saja boys, left me in hysterics, but also in awe of how good it looked. If there’s one team that needs a raise, it’s these guys. We also can’t ignore the music. The day after I watched this film, I downloaded the entire soundtrack. I loved every single song. I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed an album that much. A massive shoutout to the actors and actresses who provided the singing voices for the characters. Overall, the way that the characters come together and form a tight knit unit, to the catchy music and fun animation style, to the way that Korean culture was infused into the film, it all leads to one conclusion; ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ is without a doubt one of the better Sony and Netflix projects out there and if you’ve not seen it, you need to!
Rating:
Story: ★★★½
Voice Acting: ★★★½
Cinematography: ★★★★½
Music: ★★★★★
Enjoyability: ★★★★