KPOP DEMON Hunters

WHAT STARTED AS A PASSION PROJECT BECAME A GLOBAL PHENOMENON

- BY ELIZA BERMAN

JUST AFTER LUNCHTIME ON A SATurday in November, a sea of purple braids bobs in unison, barely clearing the tops of the movie-theater seats behind them.

The high-pitched voices emerging from the violet-coiffed children sing softly at first, crescendoing as the animated character they're dressed as bares her soul: "No more hiding/ Now I'm shining/ Like I'm born to be!" But it's not just the kids whose attention is rapt. When the next song begins, a father announces, "This one's my favorite," and a few minutes later is telling his restless little one they can't leave yet. "No," he says, pointing at the animal sidekicks onscreen. "This is really funny."

The scene at this Brooklyn theater, during the second singalong event staged since Netflix released KPop Demon Hunters on June 20, laid bare what has made the movie the streamer's most watched title of all time. Not since Frozen in 2013 has an animated film been so omnipresent in our lives. Backed by an alternately catchy and profound pop soundtrack, the 95-minute Seoul-set film tells the story of a K-pop trio called Huntr/x (pronounced Huntrix) whose members, Rumi, Mira, and Zoey, protect the world from demons who feed on human souls. They use their music to strengthen the honmoon, an invisible shield that keeps the demons out. The secret that lead singer Rumi is hiding beneath her couture ensembles-that her skin bears the patterns of her demon father-gives way to a nuanced message of self-love over shame.

The movie's appeal seems self-evident in retrospect: cool girls in sick costumes, singing full-throated anthems about self-acceptance that also happen to be instant earworms, matched by inventive, vibrant visuals. And all those elements floated in on the still rising wave of Korean cultural exports enjoying global popularity, from BTS to Blackpink, Parasite to Squid Game.