Sony Animations released their newest original movie, “KPop Demon Hunters,” on June 20 this year, and has since secured a spot as Netflix’s all-time most watched film. As with any piece of popular media, “KPop Demon Hunters” has found both a devoted fan base and a committed group of haters.
The movie follows the fictional K-pop girl group “HUNTR/X” — pronounced “Huntrix” — who have been tasked with defending the world from demons. Unfortunately, a demon boy band known as the “Saja Boys” has formed to rival the girls, with a demon named Jinu as their leader and frontman. HUNTR/X, with members Mira, Zoey and half-demon Rumi, must defeat the Saja Boys while using their musical talent to power the fictional Honmoon, which shields the human world from demons. But is it worth the hype? Today, two Life section writers tackle this question.
SPOILERS AHEAD.
Samantha Brody
I’ve found myself planted firmly in the first camp, and I will defend this movie until my last breath.
Let’s start with the music, which has arguably had the most influence on the public out of anything from this movie. We’ve experienced a real-life battle between HUNTR/X and the Saja Boys, with songs from both groups duking it out in the charts. HUNTR/X’s “Golden” currently sits in first place of the Billboard Hot 100, with the Saja Boys’ “Your Idol” and “Soda Pop” in the fourth and fifth slot, respectively.
The music of “KPop Demon Hunters” is ultimately K-pop with some American influences. It’s pop in every sense of the word, with the punchy “How It’s Done” setting the tone when the movie begins. Although this over-the-top K-pop aesthetic isn’t for everyone, it’s undeniably high quality and top-of-the-line, serving as a gateway drug into the world of K-pop.
The animation is also top-of-the-line in every sense of the word. The characters are fluid, dynamic and cartoonish when the scene needs it. The animation especially shines during performances, with my favorite being HUNTR/X’s opener, “How It’s Done.”
As for the plot, while I do have my gripes, I think it stands above the rest in terms of action, excitement, emotional depth and complexity.
Rumi and Jinu’s story is heart-wrenching, especially when the movie dives into their shared shame. Rumi is ashamed of her demon side, and Jinu is ashamed of his evil actions when he was once human. They both want to escape.
Unfortunately, not every character is built equally. The viewer is given no backstory on Rumi’s parents, whose love story is mirrored in their daughter, and we know nothing about the Saja Boys outside of Jinu.
The battle between the Saja Boys and HUNTR/X is also surprisingly meta. The two groups are a satire of K-pop culture and idol worship, with the good and bad competing against one another. HUNTR/X represents a perfect world in which K-pop idols are free from grueling hours, unrealistic body standards and toxic fan dynamics. Conversely, the Saja Boys represent the dark side of K-pop, with each member standing in for harmful behavior.
The two groups’ most popular songs represent this dynamic. “Golden” is about the members of HUNTR/X finding the authentic version of themselves that they want to be, whereas the Saja Boys spend “Your Idol” encouraging a parasocial form of fan worship.
“Your Idol” itself is also a standout song for the film. It is the only song that we see fully performed in a stadium. Apart from the Saja Boys’ teleportation and flight abilities, it’s just like a real K-pop performance.
The inherent cheesiness of “KPop Demon Hunters” is its greatest strength — its over-the-top nature is what makes it such a compelling movie, and its commitment to authenticity, while appearing cringe at first, is what makes it feel so grounded and emotionally impactful.
Ayyan Tamjeed
While Sam here is one of the many fans who love this movie, I’m still on the fence about calling this a good movie. Before I go deeper into what I think are flaws in this movie, I want to state that there are parts of this movie that deserve praise.
All the songs here are some of the best pop music released this year, especially “Golden,” purely because of how much Rumi sells that chorus with her glass-shattering vocals. “What It Sounds Like,” is another bright spot on the soundtrack. The buildup from Rumi singing quietly to herself to that final chorus where everyone in the stadium joined in? A moment of total catharsis.
The animation and design of this whole Honmoon world deserves its props as well. Some of the expressions Rumi, Mira and Zoey pull off add to the whole fantasy aspect of Honmoon. The “Into the Spider-Verse”-inspired animation creates some beautiful action scenes that are incredibly fast and fluid. The main K-Pop groups being exaggerated versions of the K-Pop girl groups and boy bands is a nice aspect as well. It provides some meta-commentary on K-pop stereotypes – apart from Jinu, the rest of the “Saja Boys” are one-note stereotypes.
Now, my gripes with this movie: why is the first scene a damn exposition dump on the whole premise and the three HUNTR/X singers? It just looks terribly lazy to me and broadcasts the message that Netflix believes their audience wouldn’t be able to pick up on information unless it’s told to them. There are also moments that felt like characters announcing what is happening or happened in the story, or just listing a character’s traits if the audience hasn’t picked up on it yet. There was an interview by filmmaker Justine Bateman where she said Netflix executives would give notes detailing that a show wasn’t “second screen enough,” which could explain these odd writing decisions.
The other big issue is pacing, although little can be done about that since it is an animated movie. I don’t know much about animation, but I do know that it takes more time and money to create 90 minutes of animation than live content. The team behind this project needed more time to cook. Though the climax was incredible, reaching it felt rushed. I think there needed to be one or two more scenes to highlight Rumi’s fall from grace and her subsequent coming to terms with her identity to make the arc more believable. Another issue with the pacing is that the supporting cast isn’t as fleshed out.
Even if the first scene may be a lazy exposition dump, the next scene engrosses you in HUNTR/X effortlessly killing some baddies and singing “Done, Done, Done” for a sea of screaming, adoring fans. While there are aspects of this film that irk me, I can’t bring myself to hate something called “KPop Demon Hunters.”