Movie Thoughts: KPop Demon Hunters (2025)

• Released: June 20th, 2025
• Directed by: Chris Appelhans, Maggie Kang 
• Running time: 1h 35min
• Rating 3.5/5

Synopsis

Three KPop singers are tasked with keeping demons at bay. But then it turns out one of them is half-demon herself, and the group's popularity is being threatened by a boy-band of demons.

My Thoughts

I had no expectations going into this one, going in completely blind. I haven't even watched any of the trailers or anything. And honestly? It rocks. This was legitimately a really enjoyable movie.

I just liked the story, I liked the characters, and I liked the execution. It's a fun, engaging and badass movie. Visually and musically it's a threat. It uses some clichés and familiar plot beats, sure, but it executes them in a unique and enjoyable manner so these tropes didn't bother me in the slightest.

The main draw really is the characters for me though. I liked the main three girls especially. Rumi has the most interesting arc of the three, being the real protagonist, but Zoey and Mira also were equally enjoyable and their friendship feels real and genuine. Also, the tiger is great.

What I cared a little less about was Rumi's relationship with the boy-band, particularly their leader, the demon Jinu. They're fine and all and it was nothing bad, but their relationship was just less interesting to me than that of the girls. Aside from the fact that they're both demons (or at least partially), I didn't find their bond to be all that engaging, neither did I particularly care about Jinu as a character. His death didn't do much for me.

I also feel this Celine character is a bit underdeveloped. She shows up a few times and is made out to be quite an important figure in the girl's (especially Rumi's) lives, but then in the actual movie she barely shows up outside of a few flashbacks and one confrontational scene. I feel that this was a character with pretty interesting setup, being an ex-demon hunter and a maternal figure to Rumi, but in reality she barely shows up or does anything. I'd have liked a little more out of this character for all the interesting things they could've done with her.

But that said, the rest of the movie is a treat. I also love how it looks visually, having some neat somewhat stylized animation and some great expressions and fight scenes. And of course the songs rock.

Not perfect, but overall a really fun and neat movie! I had a blast with this one.