A world-renowned K-Pop girl group balance their lives in the spotlight with their secret identities as demon hunters.

K-Pop is taking over the globe, or at least it feels that way, and ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ is another piece of evidence. I say “latest”, but this landed on Netflix nearly six months ago, so I’m very much behind the curve! Directed by Maggie Kang (her feature debut) and Chris Appelhans, the film draws on Kang’s Korean heritage, both ancient and modern, to craft a very entertaining animated movie.

The story centres on Huntrix, an insanely popular K-Pop girl group who are secretly demon hunters protecting the world, using their voices to banish demons from the human realm for good. Their mission is thrown off course when one of the band members, Rumi, loses her voice, just as a rival K-Pop act appears and starts matching their popularity. The twist is that this new group, the Saja Boys, are an all-male band who may actually be demons leading a fightback against their hunters. There’s a whole mythology underpinning this “battle of the bands”, and if the film weren’t as energetic and infectious as it is, that might have felt like hard work. But first and foremost, this sets out to be fun, and mostly succeeds.

The blend of Korean folklore and the modern K-Pop phenomenon is well handled, helped by fast-paced action, bright, appealing character designs and some genuinely funny moments. It’s also refreshing that this isn’t a Hollywood production: the tone, humour and the balance of the fantastical elements in this world feel slightly off the beaten path in a good way, and that gives the film its own identity rather than feeling like a template-driven studio product. And then there are the songs, which are incredibly catchy and haven’t left my head since seeing the movie. Having just seen ‘Wicked: For Good’ and finding most of the songs surprisingly forgettable, it’s a relief to watch a musical that has such unabashed fun with its music. ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ isn’t perfect, but it’s hard to resist a film that commits so fully to its style as this does.

Rating: 4/5

Directed By: Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans

Starring: Arden Cho, Ahn Hyo-seop, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, Yunjin Kim, Daniel Dae Kim, Ken Jeong and Lee Byung-hun

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt14205554/