KPop Demon Hunters - Review: Don't Think TWICE about this BANGer New Animated Musical Adventure

 

You’ll be hard pressed to find an animation studio more in the good graces of the film community than Sony Pictures Animation. A handful of duds like “The Emoji Movie” and the live action/animated “Smurfs” movies haven’t dampened the acclaim given to the studio for innovating within their franchise films like “Hotel Transylvania” and the “Spider-Verse” series and championing more director driven creative fare like “The Mitchells vs. The Machines” and “Surf’s Up.” Now, the latest film is a combination of the same hyper-stylized animation the studio is known for and one of the fastest growing music genres worldwide to create a wholly unique blend to tell the story of a group of “KPop Demon Hunters.”

The film follows Huntrix, a KPop group made up of leader Rumi, played by Arden Cho (“Teen Wolf (2014),” “Partner Track”), writer/rapper Zoey, played by Ji-young Yoo (“Until Dawn (2025),” “Expats”), and aggressive vocalist Mira, played by May Hong (“Tales of the City,” “Full Circle”). While a world famous Kpop group on the surface, they secretly protect the world from demons seeking to invade and steal souls, led by the demon king Gwi-Ma, played by Lee Byung-hun (“Masquerade,” “Squid Game”). After years of failure, one of Gwi-Ma's demons Jinu, played by Ahn Hyo-seop (“Dr. Romantic,” “A Time Called You”), develops a new idea to take over the world: disguise a group of demons as a Kpop boy band to take attention away from Huntrix and slowly steal the souls of their fans.

Like virtually every single other film by the studio, this latest from Sony Pictures Animation is a visual feast for the senses. Just like “Spider-Verse” embraced the techniques employed by comics and “Mitchells” embraced the doodles from within a teen’s notebook, “Demon Hunters” fully embraces the techniques and style of anime and manga. Characters ebb and flow with detailed dance choreography, while also popping forth with exaggerated expressions and overacting that has been a staple of series like “One Piece” and “Dragonball Z” since their inception. The way these traditionally two-dimensional elements are brought into this three-dimensional world is just fantastic to watch. It also means the action is equally as great, with highly stylized fights working as music video sequences in their own right.

Those fights are legitimately blended with music, and the film’s attitude towards artistic expression and the power of music is fused through the entire project. It makes for a film that isn’t just funny and cool to watch but has something to say about the commercialization of the music industry and the fabrication of boy/girl groups. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it's just enough meat to go with the rest of the film’s blast of colorful fun. Directors/co-writers Chris Appelhans (“Wish Dragon”) and Maggie Kang and co-writers Danya Jimenez and Hannah McMechan put a lot into fleshing out the central conflict and the friendship between the central trio. Beyond the characters and world building, there’s also quite a bit of examinations about the power of music as a spiritual connection. The film shares a good deal of DNA with this year’s earlier hit “Sinners” in that way, and it makes the musical sequences and the usage of songs during the fight sequences stand out more.

Cho, Yoo, and Hong do a fantastic job at breathing life into these characters, running wild with their close-knit friendship and the film’s silly sense of humor. They work well together, and it's a treat to watch them bounce off each other in moments of borderline improv and then come back around for the film’s serious emotional moments. The way they embrace the wackier humor is truly endearing and makes each one of them stand out as a real, believable friend group. Hyo-seop also makes for an entertaining and sympathetic villain who clearly has more going on than just being a typical evil puppet. Byung-hun is a menacing treat used sparingly, and Ken Jeong (“Community,” “The Hangover”) appears as Huntrix’s manager Bobby in a role that makes great use of his comedic talents without relying on using his voice in a grating way.

Thanks to the world building and animation, “Demon Hunters” can easily be enjoyed by anyone whether they know BTS as a group of young musical heartthrobs or just the abbreviation for “behind the scenes.” It feels like the rare animated film that will catch people off guard and truly have something for everyone. With an excellent voice cast and a gorgeous aesthetic, toe-tapping tunes, and a quick pace, “KPop Demon Hunters” wields its style like a weapon as deadly as those used by its central trio. It’s another massive hit for Sony Pictures Animation and easily stands as one of the best animated films of the year. 4.5/5