Death of a Unicorn, the latest release from acclaimed distributor A24, mines a simple if/then premise – what if unicorns were real? What if their biology held the cure to every human ailment? – for solid laughs andmoments of over-the-top gore. In terms of sociopolitical horror comedies, you could do much better (Get Out) or worse (Don’t Look Up) than director Alex Scharfman’s feature debut, a fine way to spend an hour and 44 minutes – though the experience might be more enjoyable with a slightly shorter runtime.
Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortegahead upDeath of a Unicorn’s impressive ensemble cast as Elliot and Ridley, a lawyer and his teen daughter who travel to a wealthy pharmaceutical CEO’s retreat to finalize Elliot’s promotion. The pair have become emotionally estranged following the death of Ridley’s mom, which has driven Elliot to become more obsessive about his career. On the way up to the rural estate, Elliot hits something with his SUV, and they quickly discover that, not only are unicorns very real, but they’re also powerful cosmic beings whose biological properties happen to hold the secret to curing everything from acne to cancer.
How Can a Film About Something So Rare Be So Predictable?
Death of a Unicorn
Death of a Unicorn, directed by Alex Scharfman, follows Elliot and his daughter Riley as they accidentally kill a unicorn while traveling to a work retreat. Elliot’s billionaire boss aims to exploit the unicorn’s curative properties, leading to unexpected consequences.
Once Elliot and Ridley reach the estate, we meet the true antagonists ofDeath of a Unicorn: insanely wealthy pharmaceutical CEO Odell Leopold (Richard E. Grant), his wife Belinda (Téa Leoni), and idiotic entrepreneurial nepo baby Shepard (Will Poulter). After awkwardly trying and failing to conceal their hit-and-run, Elliot and Ridley’s secret is revealed, and the greedy Leopold clan seizes on the unicorn, pillaging its corpse in pursuit of infinite wealth and power.
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If that sounds like a recap of the trailer, you’re not wrong.Death of a Unicornhas little in the way of surprising moments, aside from a couple of satisfying kills. Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega turn in capable performances as versions of characters we’ve seen them play many times before. Rudd is a well-meaning if misguided dad, a bit of an anxious nerd whose most humorous moments come from clumsy attempts to fit in with the elites. Ortega’s Ridley is not entirely dissimilar from Astrid inBeetlejuice Beetlejuice, right down to the ways in which Ridley struggles to connect with one parent while coping with the tragic death of another.
A Throwback to Much Better Movies
Death of a Unicorn’s comedy doesn’t fully kick in until they reach the Leopolds' retreat, where Grant and Leoni play familiar caricatures of wealthy capitalists. Dying of cancer, Odell seems plausibly harmless compared to his willfully oblivious wife, until the blood of the unicorn miraculously heals him in a scene evocative of – but not nearly as entertaining as – Gene Wilder’s cane-drop inWilly Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
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Scharfman’s film wears a few other influences on its sleeve, most notable among themJurassic Park, whichDeath of a Unicorninvokes on more than one occasion when a pair of bigger, gnarlier unicorns arrive to claim the body of what turns out to be their foal. Of course, the problem with invoking a masterpiece is that you rarely, if ever, live up to it. And like the recentJurassic Worldlegacy sequels,Death of a Unicornhas far too much CGI, and little of it is good.
Will Poulter & Anthony Carrigan Are Acting Unicorns
The real standouts in the film’s ensemble are Will Poulter and Anthony Carrigan, the latter of whom plays the Leopolds' quiet, put-upon butler, Griff. Unfortunately,Death of a Unicornunderutilizes Carrigan, who proved himself capable of a whole spectrum of humor and pathos in HBO’sBarry. That leaves Poulter wide open to steal every scene as Shepard (or “Sheppy,” as Belinda hilariously calls him), a spoiled rich kid with a “portfolio of diverse entrepreneurial interests,” who makes up for the worms in his brain by identifying and agreeing with the shrewdest voice in every room. Poulter’s hilarious performance might be revelatory if you haven’t seen his comedic chops before, though you’d certainly be forgiven for missing them in the forgotten Jennifer Aniston-Jason Sudeikis comedyWe’re the Millers– another film in which Poulter steals the show.
Performances aside, there’s not a whole lot going on under the hood inDeath of a Unicorn. The billionaires are bad people who would keep the cure for cancer to themselves if it meant they could get richer and live longer. Representing the ethical quandaries of the working class is Elliot, who spends far too long grappling with his conscience, for which Ridley is an obvious stand-in. As father-daughter movies go, there’s nothing particularly profound at play, which you could easily say about much of the rest of the film, which feels like it’s preaching to an agreeable choir. Take, for instance, when Ridley casually says, “Philanthrophy is reputation-laundering for the wealthy oligarchy.” Yeah, girl, we know.
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IfDeath of a Unicornhas anything going for it beyond Poulter and Carrigan, it’s the kills. Watching rich jerks get their comeuppance is undeniably gratifying in a cathartic sense, but even then, after the second goring-by-unicorn horn, you get it. Scharfman sticks the landing, however, with a conclusion that reminds viewers that unicorns are actually kind of metal as hell, which we tend to forget after decades of neon-drenched Lisa Frank stickers. Ultimately,Death of a Unicornfollows through on the promise of the premise. It’s just that the premise, just like the satire, is pretty slight to begin with.
Death of a Unicornhad its world premiere at the 2025 South by Southwest Film Festival.you may find more information here.
