It might sound unlikely but Charles Merritt shows how this latest film from Netflix is a great springboard for great family faith conversations
Film: KPop Demon Hunters
Age rating: PG
Runtime: 95 minutes
See this if you liked: Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse, Encanto
Synopsis:
Rumi, Mira and Zoey are the KPop girlband Huntr/x, selling out stadiums and winning pop awards, but they are also (you guessed it) demon hunters, killing demons who wish to steal people’s souls. Huntr/x are close to banishing the demons forever until a new boyband shows up on the scene and begins to steal their fans. It’s a battle of the popstars in a fight that will save or destroy the world as we know it.
What I liked:
This film may have a ridiculous title but it delivers so much more than you expect.
Yes, the songs are phenomenal. I’ve been listening to them all week and they’ve gotten me through some tedious workdays with a spring in my step. They’re catchy but also have brilliant lyrics that strike a lot deeper when you delve into them. The music video style sequences that complement the songs add a layer of awesomeness that makes you want to watch it again and again.
The art style also allows for something I think is groundbreaking
The animation is great too. I realise that the 2D/3D hybrid animation style divides audiences but here it really works to capture that KPop feel. The art style also allows for something I think is groundbreaking – there are moments where the female characters aren’t ‘pretty’. Don’t get me wrong, they are still made to be beautiful (they’re popstars after all) but the moments where they exaggerate the animation to make them look deranged and unhinged elicits a comedic effect I’ve not seen before with female characters.
The story is more nuanced than I had expected from when I saw the trailer. The characters feel fleshed out and they’re personal character arcs are well explored. My favourite character is a lovable blue tiger whose well-meaning attempts at putting objects upright after knocking them down are adorable.
What I didn’t like:
While the story is interesting, after the high energy, fast paced opening, the movie dips a little in the middle which might bore younger viewers until it picks up again.
Notes for parents:
Although the title and the film contain demons, I wouldn’t be put off by this – it deals with the subject in a way that I think is useful for Christian families. Read on to find out why!
Faith thoughts:
One concept I’ve always struggled to explain to children when leading Sunday groups is the Kingdom of God. It’s such an abstract piece of theology that can be difficult to grasp as a child. But this movie does the best visual representation that I’ve ever seen!
As the girls sing, they form what is called a ‘honmoon’, a sort of blue swirly pattern that falls over the world and prevents the demons from coming through. When the girls are working well together, the ‘honmoon’ is strong and the demons are kept at bay, but when they begin to fall out the ‘honmoon’ is weakened and the demons are able to enter and steal people’s souls. There have been other girl bands in the past who have managed to keep the ‘honmoon’ strengthened and they are the next generation to have inherited this mission.
The Enemy cannot control what is brought into the light, only what we hide in the shadows
This really conjures up the concept of the now and yet to come Kingdom imagery Jesus speaks of. There are moments and spaces where the Kingdom of God is strong and the forces of evil are weakened. But there are also moments and spaces where the Kingdom is not strong and the spiritual battle rages on. In the centuries since Jesus brought the Kingdom to Earth, there have been generations doing their best to bring the Kingdom ever closer.
Huntr/x are aiming to help the ‘honmoon’ to become golden where, if it happens, the demon realm will be permanently banished from the Earth. In the same way, we are waiting for Jesus to return to make the Earth entirely under the Kingdom of God.
At the head of the demons is a being called Gwi-Ma, a big flame demon who controls the other demons through voices in their heads. He plays on people’s insecurities and heightens their sense of shame by whispering lies. Sound familiar? The Enemy loves to do the same to us.
Rumi is secretly part-demon and has ‘dark patterns’ that show up on her body which she tries to keep concealed from her band mates. This shame eats away at her, even to the point where her voice starts to crack.
I really love the imagery of ‘dark patterns’. In the film, these are physical markings but in the real world, the dark patterns in our lives are the traps we fall into that cause us to sin. Sin leads to shame and vice versa. What is kept hidden in the darkness feeds more darkness. The demon hunters have a mantra which is ‘We are hunters — voices strong, Slaying demons with our songs. Fix the world and make it right, When darkness finally meets the light.’ Only when we bring our darkness to the light do we overcome them. The Enemy cannot control what is brought into the light, only what we hide in the shadows.
When we give our hearts to Jesus, he transforms our thinking, not so that we turn away from the world but from its patterns
Another theme the film plays into is the concept of ‘idols’. The competition for people’s adoration is at the forefront of the movie – although one band cares deeply for their fans, whereas the other band are there to feed off them. In the film’s finale, the Sanja Boys (the demon boyband) sing a song called ‘Your Idol’ and these lyrics stood out to me the most ‘You gave me your heart/Now I’m here for your soul’. How often we give things our heart only for them to steal our soul. Technology, celebrities, people. It’s why Romans 12:2 is so critical to the safeguarding of our hearts.
‘Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing, and perfect will.’ Romans 12:2.
Read more:
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Although it’s tempting to focus on the first sentence of this verse, we have to keep in mind the second. When we give our hearts to Jesus, he transforms our thinking, not so that we turn away from the world but from its patterns. There is still good in the world, and we are able to discern it because of the transformation of the mind that Jesus brings, but we need to keep an eye out for when those ‘good’ things become the main desire of our hearts.
The world can be a difficult place to stay true to God; the Kingdom of God often feels so far and distant. All the while, the Enemy delights in stealing our hope that things could ever get better. But, as Rumi says, ‘That’s the funny thing about hope, nobody else gets to decide if you feel it. That choice belongs to you.’
