KPop Demon Hunters Review: Popping with style

Bursting with style yet smartly restrained in tone, KPop Demon Hunters is proof a simple concept and plot can be elevated with great execution.

Directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, KPop Demon Hunters follows the K-pop group Huntrix, consisting of Rumi (Arden Cho, of The Honor List), Mira (May Hong, of Adam), and Zoey (Ji-Young Yoo, of Until Dawn). Behind the scenes, however, they’re actually demon hunters tasked with keeping supernatural threats down through the support of their fans. Unable to beat them physically, the demons decide to fight fire with fire, pop with pop; they create their own boy band led by Jinu (Ahn Hyo-Seop, of A Time Called You), to steal Huntrix fans and weaken the boundaries separating them from the human world.

The premise sounds rather silly, bordering on parody depending on how you look at it. I approached this film with a hefty amount of caution. I couldn’t shake the creeping feeling that KPop Demon Hunters would be a shallow high concept project aimed to ride off of the wave of K-Pop super stans. I was afraid it would leave them to do the marketing while not having much substance besides quirky characters and songs aimed for newest Tiktok videos. Call me cynical, but that’s what modern Hollywood has conditioned me to feel.

However, my opinions were wrong, because that’s what happened with KPop Demon Hunters. It certainly has elements that I was worried about; the lessons presented here are quite predictable, as are its major conflicts such as characters’ secrets or lies leading to a breakup. And there are plenty of quirky moments by the three main girls, such as when they’re desperately trying to cook up instant noodles during a demon fight.

Those elements could have very easily become excessive and obnoxious. But KPop Demon Hunters surprised me with how well it balanced its tone. The quirky bits don’t overstay their welcome, instead popping in here and there just enough to give the main cast touches of humanity and friendship. In fact, this film ends up taking itself a lot more seriously than I thought. Now, it doesn’t go full Exorcist on us, but when it needs to set stakes or when a character is struggling, it tones down its wackiness and lets that moment sink in, even in its quick 95 minute runtime.

This allows for the aforementioned predictable lessons to feel impactful, because I could still see how it was visibly affecting the characters and ruminate alongside them. Thus I could get invested in them, and even though I could see the breakup routine coming, I genuinely felt bad for them when those moments hit. Rumi and Jinu get the best of this, as they’re the emotional centerpieces of the film. Their conflict about how much of their darker sides they should bottle down and what consequences it might lead to is something quite relatable regardless of whether you know K-Pop or not.

The nuance also extends to the cultural aspect. As a Korean viewer, I appreciated that it lets Korean folklore or culture seep through without becoming too stereotypical. There’s inspirations and some recognizable elements, but they remain as such: elements. The movie doesn’t go out of its way to flaunt its Korean-ness, which allows the cultural integration to feel organic.

Sadly, because the film is so short and because Rumi and Jinu are the main focus, it does mean it left me wanting a bit more with Mira and Zoey. I still found them likeable and again, nowhere near as annoying as I feared they would be. They’re relegated more to comic reliefs but they provide enough dramatic weight in their relationship with Rumi to make them feel like real people. Yet they also show glimpses of individual conflicts that are skimmed over rather than explored. If the film had devoted just a little bit more into those aspects, it could have made the Huntrix shine as three individuals, rather than as Rumi and her two friends/side vocals.

But speaking of vocals, the musical action sequences do not disappoint. Just as how the film knows when to keep things restrained, it also knows that when it cuts loose, it needs to go all out. Blending original songs with stylish action sequences, they’re catchy, rhythmic, and overall a visual joy. (Yes, I am humming some of their tunes while writing this.)

The movie’s style is also what elevates its simple premise and plot alongside its well-balanced tone. Many of its emotional scenes or the finale wouldn’t have hit so hard without the film committing to letting the colors and the soundtrack speak the characters’ hearts. Singing is how they solve their emotional conflict; on paper, that sounds fit for a sitcom episode. Yet when presented in such a striking manner, I couldn’t help but think, ‘Of course you can sing and let your insecurities heal! Why didn’t I try that before?!”

Is that a bit ridiculous? Yes. But that’s what well made movies do. They can make you invested and immersed in even the most ludicrous premises. And KPop Demon Hunters is one of those well made films. Parts of it still feel a bit too shallow, mainly on some characters and plot beats, but it treats its tone and themes with far more self respect than I initially gave it credit. In the end, this film proves that just like a good K-Pop performance, soul and presentation are what gets through to the audience.

KPop Demon Hunters is now available to stream globally on Netflix.