KPop Demon Hunters

Zooey (Ji-young Yoo), Rumi (Arden Cho) and Mira (May Hong) are KPop Demon Hunters.Netflix photo via IMDb.com 

Bet you never expected to find a glowing review of something called “KPop Demon Hunters” in this space.

Me neither.

But if you've got preteen kids or grandkids, you get it.

Or, if you noticed last weekend's box office numbers, or music charts, or show-biz news that this animated PG-rated Korean musical is the most successful project Netflix has ever produced, your interest might be piqued, too.

I have our grandson Niko, now 11, to thank for already knowing a bit about demons in various Asian cultures and the intrepid young warriors – often barely more than children – who fight them.

My filmmaking buddy Tom Vendetti has climbed some of the highest mountains in the Himalayas to shoot Buddhist monasteries celebrating colorful multi-day festivals depicting monks locked in eternal battle against the demons of illusion.

Same song, different verse.

Under his soccer-playing, gadget-building, latter-day Huck Finn demeanor, our grandson is actually a Japanese artist at heart. As opposed to many members of his demographic, he loves to read … as long as what he's reading is Japanese comics known as manga.

You read manga right to left, from what we would consider the back of the book forward. He's got the complete Demon Slayer series, which he would loan to me one at a time, insisting that I read them.

When I did, I discovered the crusaders against these shape-shifting foes – punctuated by all manner of OOF! KERPOW! GRRR! THUNK! sound effects – fit pretty neatly into the framework Joseph Campbell called The Hero's Journey. 

So does “KPop Demon Hunters.”

The heroes this time are a K-Pop supergroup trio of girl singers – Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong) and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo). Like Taylor Swift times three, they fill gigantic stadiums and arenas with adoring fans … even though their real job, as we know, is fighting forces of evil that are liable to show up at any time in any form. Their group is called HUNTR/X – get it?

Their – and the film's – superpower is its amazingly catchy music track. Between HUNTR/X and The Saja Boys (a rival boy band of demons in disguise), the film has four songs in Billboard's Top 10 this week, including “Golden” in the number one position. The music is designed for kid viewers to sing and dance along with. When Netflix opened the sing-along version in 1,800 theaters last weekend, it topped the box office charts.

While the film hit a musical bull's eye with its young audience, parents and grandparents are equally susceptible, risking chiropractic peril from too much head bobbing.

Older viewers will find other delights, too. Maggie Kang shares writing and directing credits for a smart, funny script that satirizes cult stardom at the same time it makes its computer-generated characters surprisingly human. 

As many Eastern cultures have long known, the most dangerous demons are the ones inside us all. Under all the music, action and epic battles, the breezy script cleverly masks deeper themes. One is a Romeo and Juliet love story arising between members of warring factions. Another is about facing, rather than trying to hide from, our fears and weaknesses. It's reminiscent of Leonard Cohen's line, “There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in.” 

Rather than providing chuckles for parents that sail over the kids' heads, the film's humor is broader, more empathetic and universal, laughing with rather than at its characters' struggles. A broad range of animation styles gives more emotional heft than a typical 'toon.

As opposed to the mayhem of the Marvel Universe that has long dominated the summer movie season, “KPop Demon Hunters” takes its place in a different genre. It's the latest example of East Meets West on movie screens, broadening awareness in the process. It's amazing company to be in, encompassing “Seven Samurai,” “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon,” “Crazy Rich Asians” and Everything Everywhere All At Once,” to name just a few.

It proves that summer hits don't always have to be about the lowest common denominator. 

Sometimes huge popular success signals that the filmmakers got it right. And accidentally created a phenomenon.