A Kpop Demon Hunting movie? Yeah that could work, and it did. Kpop Demon Hunters has a straight-forward title and just as clear plot, yet it pulled viewers with its smooth animation, catchy songs, and relatable characters that can work their way into your heart even if they have one line in the entire movie.
This Netflix original was developed and written by Maggie Kang and co-directed by Chris Appelhans. Maggie Kang grew up in Toronto, Canada and was scouted by Dreamworks, Blue Sky, and Nickelodeon. She got interviews with each of them but got recruited by Dreamworks in the end. She directed and helped story-board The LEGO Ninjago Movie in 2017, Kung Fu Panda 3 in 2016, Rise of The Guardians in 2012, Puss in Boots in 2011, and finally our beloved Kpop Demon Hunters in 2025. Her co-director, Chris, came out of his long break after just 10 minutes of her making the pitch to him.
As you may have guessed by the title, Kpop Demon Hunters is about three Kpop idols who hunt demons. Yet, the way they hunt and protect others against demons is creative to say the least. They use their songs to bring people together, harmonizing the power in their souls to create a magical shield called the Honmoon. The Honmoon keeps demons under the surface of it and allows the hunters to do a multitude of crazy things. Not only is it a giant pleasing-to-look-at shield, it manifests weapons, augments the hunter’s abilities, and makes them look extremely cool while fighting.
Huntr/x is a kpop trio made up of Mira the baseline, Zoe the rapper, and Rumi the leader. Bringing the fans together is Huntr/x’s whole objective. By the start of the movie they’re already the number one Kpop group in the entire world and yet this isn’t enough to turn the Honmoon golden. Once the Honmoon turns golden the demons will be sealed away for a whole year, giving the hunters time to recover and find apprentices to take up their mantle.
The fans are the key to both powering and sealing the Honmoon, so when a demon boyband, the Saja Boyz, is created and starts stealing the fame from Huntr/x, everything starts coming undone. Demons begin to find tears in the Honmoon, Huntr/x loses their popularity, and people start going missing like a wildfire raging through the city. Worst of all, Rumi is losing her voice and can’t sing their latest song Golden. A cancelled show allows the Saja Boyz to make their debut, and the tension forming between the girls takes our heroes down a dark path.
It’s a tale of faked happiness, rejection, generational trauma, redemption, and acceptance. You can’t just cover up who you are and this movie states that loud and clear. Repression and hiding what or who you are from others only leads to lies building up against you, guilt eating away at you, and torn relationships that you can never repair. Kpop Demon Hunters is a lesson and an eye opener that people may not always be what’s on the surface, whether for the better or worse. Sometimes even you’re not what you thought until someone else makes you see the light.
So in my opinion, Kpop Demon Hunters is a valued watch. It swept the nation and will most definitely be worth your time. So go ahead and give it a try if you haven’t. Go face your demons with some world top songs, eye-candy animation, and well placed jokes that’ll make the later parts of the movie hit you even harder.
