KPop Demon Hunters (Christian Movie Review)
With a fun, unique story, an abundance of earworm songs, and a mature message about guilt and shame, KPop Demon Hunters is a hit that lives up to the hype.
About the Film
KPop Demon Hunters is a full-blown phenomenon, an unheralded streaming film that burst into the pop culture consciousness. The film earned record-setting streams on Netflix, hit #1 at the theatrical box office, and has dominated the music charts. Despite a quirky and seemingly niche story, the film has resonated with audiences like few other movies this year. In hindsight, perhaps the film’s meteoric success isn’t all that surprising. With a fun, unique story, an abundance of earworm songs, and a mature message about guilt and shame, KPop Demon Hunters is a hit that lives up to the hype.
As a personal disclaimer, the musical tastes of this metalhead reviewer place me firmly outside the K-pop target audience. But perhaps one secret to KPop Demon Hunters’ success is its ability to transcend its individual genre elements. The music, animation medium, and anime-inspired tropes all serve the story’s relatable human messages and themes.
The “animation for adults” trend has been growing in recent years. KPop Demon Hunters is an animated film that will appeal to older audiences while remaining accessible to younger viewers. In fact, there is arguably less concerning content in this film than there has been in many recent Pixar or Disney movies. Rather, the storytelling demonstrates maturity. Yes, there is plenty of campy fun surrounding a girl pop group slaying demons, but the film also conveys a surprisingly deep message about guilt and shame. It doesn’t sugarcoat that message, and its third act features some raw and emotional moments.
Before continuing, I should address the horned elephant in the room. Many Christians are understandably cautious about any entertainment that features a demonic aesthetic or spiritual themes from outside an overtly Christian worldview. A world where soul-stealing demons are kept at bay by the power of catchy K-pop music is obviously not biblical, nor does the film suggest it to be anything but a fiction. On a deeper level, the demon aesthetic functions more in a metaphorical sense of “inner demons” and addresses themes of shame, guilt, and brokenness. Beneath the surface of its imaginative worldbuilding, the film provides a powerful—if incomplete—echo of the Christian gospel (see themes section below).
For all its deep themes and mature storytelling, KPop Demon Hunters offers fun entertainment, although the actual “demon hunting” feels almost like an afterthought. The action sequences in which the hunters take down the demons are arguably some of the least memorable portions of the film, with the action serving mostly as choreography for the music. The film is less about demon-slaying spectacle than about the characters and their journeys. The three members of the pop group Huntr/x are endearing, and the relationship dynamic between the trio is the beating heart of the film, which is as entertaining when the three girls are hanging out and bantering as when they are cutting down legions of demons together.
Speaking of the music, even a narrow-minded metalhead like myself can admit that the soundtrack is filled with some certified bangers. The songs are catchy, but the real power is in the way they are incorporated into the storytelling. During “Golden,” the juxtaposition of the lyrics and the actions being portrayed on screen demonstrates nuanced visual storytelling. The songs are also maddeningly catchy. “The Takedown” and “Your Idol” are musical standouts, and “What it Sounds Like” is a powerful anthem that effectively encapsulates the film’s message.
KPop Demon Hunters has snowballed into something far beyond merely another dime-a-dozen streaming film. It’s not just a flukey flash in the pan either. In many ways, KPop Demon Hunters is the type of film many people have been craving, an original, inventive story that explores hopeful themes. The presence of demons may spook some Christians, but the story offers a powerful reminder of the demons and brokenness inside us all. No, the film may not provide the full gospel answer to that problem, but it points audiences in the right direction.
For Consideration
Language: No profanity, but there is a scattering of words like “idiot,” “jeeze,” and “freaking.”
Violence: All of the film’s violence is directed toward inhuman demon characters who burst into a pinkish haze when destroyed.
Sexuality: Several girls ogle boys, referring to them as “so hot” and giving special focus to their chiseled abs. Several scenes take place inside a public bathhouse, although the characters in the water are shown only from the neck up, and those out of the water are clothed or wearing a towel.
Other: Spiritual elements are prevalent.
Engage The Film
Guilt, Shame, Confession, and Hope
KPop Demon Hunters is not really a story about external demons. It’s a narrative about shame and the liberating power of confession. As the film opens, the Huntr/x trio appear to be stereotypical pop idols, talented and confident. But each harbors insecurities and pain. The hit song “Golden” declares, “I’m done hidin’, now I’m shinin’ like I’m born to be.” Yet even the girls’ costumes are covering up shameful secrets. Thus, the primary demons slain in the film are not the ugly monsters but the characters’ internal shame and brokenness.
Gwi-Ma, the Satan-like tormentor figure in the film doesn’t seek to dominate people through power or might but by keeping them in bondage to their own shame. One demon declares, “It’s all demons do. Feel. Feel our shame. Our misery. It’s how Gwi-Ma controls us. Do you not hear him in your ear?”
Humanity’s longing to be free from shame is a universal struggle, and it harmonizes with biblical teaching. A prerequisite for salvation is recognizing and openly acknowledging our sin: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9) and “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16). KPop Demon Hunters doesn’t overtly point toward Jesus as savior, but it affirms the biblical understanding of fallen human nature.
The song “Free,” voiced by two characters in bondage to shame, includes the lines, “We can’t fix it if we never face it/ What if we find a way to escape it? /We could be free, free / We can’t fix it if we never face it / Let the past be the past ’til it’s weightless.” Later, the triumphant anthem “This is What it Sounds Like” features the lyric, “Why did I cover up the colors stuck inside my head?/ I should’ve let the jagged edges meet the light instead.”
The film’s answer to the question of how we can escape our sinful human condition and what “light” brings salvation is admittedly more humanistic than biblical. In the film, freedom results from embracing who you are rather than hiding beneath a mask of outward perfection. While KPop Demon Hunters may not lead audiences all the way to Jesus and the empty tomb, Christians can affirm its vivid imagery, commentary on human nature, and message about confession.
