KPop Demon Hunters (2025)

The Netflix sensation that's been driving everyone loopy, K-Pop Demon Hunters has become one of the biggest original hits in the history of the streaming service. As we all know, this isn't necessarily a good thing. When films are trending in Netflix's Top Ten, or have been produced specifically by Netflix, there are very few that I will rush to see. Indeed in the case of K-Pop Demon Hunters, I appear to be one of the last remaining people on the planet not to have seen it. My daughter has seen it 463 times, and I know the soundtrack almost by heart from her singing it. She finally got her way and made me sit down to watch it this week. The film opens with a bast of energy, introducing us to the hit girl group Huntr/x; Rume (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong), and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo); one of the most popular trios in world pop, who blast their way through gigs and kill demons in their spare time. The film is not only a huge heap of fun, but is also steeped in Korean mythology, something that the majority of people who've seen it might not be aware of. But that hasn't done anything to stop the snowballing success of the film. Tensions rise when a demon called Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop) convinces the big bad demon Gwi-Ma to let him form a boy K-Pop band named the Saja Boys, and soon the two groups are fighting each other to rule the charts- but with a lot less cocaine than the battle of Blur and Oasis during the nineties. There's some interesting ways to read the film; on the one hand you could see K-Pop itself as the ultimate enemy, but by the same token you could read the exact opposite, and these sort of contrasts are what make the film work so well. In the opening gig (and those that follow) it's refreshing to see not a single phone in sight, with everyone completely immersed in the music, but again, the whole success of the two bands is driven by social media. Ultimately what makes these types of films work for people is the music, and K-Pop Demon Hunters has some absolute bangers. It reminds you of peak Justin Timberlake at times, with one tune in particular, 'Soda Pop' a welcome reminder of 'Strawberry Bubblegum' from Timberlake's 20/20 Experience album. The animation is gorgeous, with Seoul animated beautifully and the visuals throughout the film are impressive, drawing you into the frenetically paced story. It's not all flawless, there are some gags that feel particularly dated and one or two lines that feel somewhat generic but for the most part this is one of the surprises of the year. A film that everyone watches is often a cause for concern- but in the case of K-Pop Demon Hunters, a sequel would be very welcome. 7.5/10