July Review: K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025) (Patreon)

I want to start by putting myself on blast, I'm not a hug K-Pop, or really even Pop, fan. My listening tastes tend to trend more rock, alt, and R&B. Going into a film that from its very title advertises the type of music that would permeate it I was worried I would be biased against it, but I'm happy to report that while not a convert to the K-Pop train, I certainly enjoyed the little hit I got from K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025).

K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025), much like the genre it's based on, is incredibly catchy. Pop music, including K-Pop, is designed to be bright, to be driving, and to draw in the most possible listeners. While there have been artists who take the genre and create undeniably personal and artistic works within it, that core ethos of popularity is never one to be completely shaken, nor one to be slighted. There is nothing wrong with creating something designed to be enjoyed, though in the case of K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025), that may have come at the cost of narrative complexity.

K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025) takes this ethos of appealing to the widest possible audience and applies it to filmmaking. The story is straightforward, a girl-group of musicians effortlessly protect the world from demons through their song, until faced with their greatest challenge, a rival demon boy band. It's a well-executed story of good conquering evil, and has some interesting add-ins, like the main character's demon heritage, but is fundamentally a story that's been told before in a shiny new wrapper. It's a story affirming that no matter what you face, the best thing to be is yourself. It's incredibly easy to project whatever personal "demons" a viewer may be experiencing on to Rumi's journey, and as a result it is incredibly simple to pull in viewers despite how little demon-slaying experience the average fan has.

This narrative simplicity is not necessarily a bad thing. While not surprising, the plot is well-executed, and leaning into known tropes means that despite being an original world (something desperately needed in today's era of sequels and revivals) it's hard for a viewer to get lost in lore and proper nouns. Much like the music genre it's named for, K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025) is clear, approachable, and smooth. In its straightforwardness however, it can never surprise. There is a certain depth and complexity of character arcs and emotions that other Sony animated features have plunged, like Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse (2018), that K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025) can't quite express. The set-up is there, but without the potential roughness of other genres, it can be difficult to communicate more than surface-level thoughts. Characters may sing the song of their hearts, but punchy choruses mean they're always wrestled back into a much less expressive mold.

Speaking of singing their hearts out, K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025) is a great example of a musical! Musicals have a long history on-screen, with characters diegetically singing to express themselves and move the plot along, both of which are true of Huntrix and the Saja Boys throughout the film. While I may not be a convert to K-Pop, I can always appreciate when a movie does something interesting with it's format, and making a musical with K-Pop certainly qualifies. The songs themselves are fun and vocally complex, and paced well throughout, never overstaying their welcome or failing to deliver on promised high notes. There is some dissonance between the way K-Pop vocals demand to be sung and the amount of effort visible on the characters faces, but given this is an animated feature about fighting demons with the power of music I think we can hand-wave a lack of visible effort.

K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025) is animated in what has, since the aforementioned Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse (2018), become something of a house style for Sony. The 2-D emulating 3-D look remains visually cool, and the color palette of highly saturated cool tones with hot pink accents feels appropriately modern and bold. Since it is a house style however, the animation never becomes truly impressive, we've seen it done before. K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025) looks great, but it isn't reinventing the wheel, just using a popular style to convey its story.

Overall, I liked but didn't love K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025), but that isn't really what matters is it? This film is an undeniable sensation, reaching a global audience and connecting with millions of people. The title gives it away, K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025) is as much about the K-Pop as the demon hunting, and K-Pop is designed to be an undeniable sensation, reaching a global audience and connecting with millions of people. On this level, the film succeeds unquestionably. Maybe it lacks the depth to become a complex indie darling, but it never wanted to be, and despite what high school movies would have you believe, there is nothing wrong with the pursuit of popularity.

8 out of 10 lil bird hats (give my man another hat Jinu, you coward!)