Death of a Unicorn (2025)

​“Death of a Unicorn” stars Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Richard E. Grant, Téa Leoni, and Will Poulter.  Released on March 28, 2025, the film has a father/daughter duo facing deadly consequences involving a unicorn.

The film was written and directed by Alex Scharfman in his feature directorial debut.  Scharfman is known for co-directing the short film “Passing Thru” and producing projects like “Blow the Man Down”, “Resurrection”, and “House of Spoils”.  Many fairy tales have depicted unicorns as harmless, magical creatures that make our hearts flutter like butterflies.  Whether big or small, unicorns are one of the elements that symbolize the pure innocence of our imaginations.  However, these unicorns are anything but magical and innocent.  In fact, they wind up being the exact opposite.  It goes to show that researching for the greater good isn’t without its share of consequences that’ll bite them in the butt or, in this case, shove its horn up in it.  This reflects the latest horror comedy that blends reality and social commentary with fictional fantasy with a gory twist, a commonly bizarre combination that only the likes of A24 would distribute.  Does it offer the magical and violent mayhem that’s as fantastical as its mythical creatures?  Let’s find out.

The story follows Elliot Kintner (Rudd), a widowed father en route to a crisis management summit with his estranged teenage daughter Ridley (Ortega).  During their trip, the two accidentally hit a mysterious creature with their car, which was later revealed to be a unicorn.  Elliot and Ridley then bring the unconscious unicorn to the summit, where the meeting is held by Elliot’s boss, Odell Leopold (Grant), and his family.  After discovering the unicorn inside Elliot’s car, the Leopold family seized it for experimentation, leading to a discovery of the creature’s supernatural abilities.  As the Leopolds and the scientists seek to exploit the unicorn for curative purposes, they suddenly come under attack by its less-than-magical parents, seeking to slaughter those involved in their foal’s death.  This puts Elliot, Ridley, and the Leopolds in a battle of survival against the not-so-friendly mythical creatures.

While this weekend had Jason Statham battling traffickers and a mysterious woman invading a family’s property, the film involving a murderous unicorn was the only thing that immediately caught my interest.  Well, that and its impressive lineup of actors.  Sure, it seems like another horror movie featuring characters getting killed off in horrific ways.  However, if it offered something bizarre and ridiculous to warrant the familiar approach, it automatically has my attention.  But what’s really important is whether its execution can maintain my attention and even improve A24’s troubling streak regarding the reviews and box office numbers.  The studio’s previous movie, “Opus”, crashed hard critically and financially despite its budget being smaller than most of the blockbusters we recently got.  So, I was hoping that “Death of a Unicorn” wouldn’t suffer the same fate, especially with a fun concept like this.  

While its box office numbers aren't looking too impressive so far, the reviews for “Death of a Unicorn” were a bit better than “Opus”, though not at the same heights as some of A24’s other cinematic classics.  But what really matters is how I thought of this latest creature splatter-fest.  Truth be told, I can see where the mixed reviews have been coming from regarding its storytelling and satirized commentary.  However, when looking at it as a creature feature that favors gory kills over conveying an Oscar-winning story, “Death of a Unicorn” is a somewhat magical time.  Obviously, this isn’t the type of fairy tale you would read to your kids before bedtime because, again, the unicorns in this film are anything but enchanting.  But when compared to other movies involving fairy tale elements turning deadly, like “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare”, “Death of a Unicorn” certainly has enough merits in its entertainment values and genre mixture to make this bedtime story delightfully nightmarish.

Regarding its plot, “Death of a Unicorn” is another survival horror film involving a group of people confronting a murderous being, human or otherwise, in a remote house.  Although it follows the familiar premise of other horror films, this movie is also a satire highlighting the most consequential aspect of the "human vs. nature" theme: profiting from nature.  In this case, the Leopolds attempt to capitalize on the unicorn’s healing capabilities through financial gain, with Elliot joining in to impress his boss.  But, like clockwork, they later discovered that these "delicate" creatures aren't something to be messed with, even if it’s for the greater good.  In a way, the film takes a more humorous and violent approach to this commentary, serving as a warning to those who dare to repeat this greedy action to the natural order.  Admittedly, the film has the right idea in its portrayal, especially with its ironically selfish characters, but it didn’t have the proper magic to fully utilize its potential.

Alex Scharfman’s screenplay certainly has satirical moments that warrant plenty of chuckles, especially the Leopolds’ sleazy dynamic and its commentary.  However, I can somewhat agree that some of those moments were more evident than subtle.  This was due to the script galloping freely through the genre elements we’ve seen in other horror movies, including the character arcs and the creatures’ lore, instead of emphasizing its idea in twisty and bizarre ways.  Combined with its restricted location, the screenplay offered more of the same we expected from other creature features of years past, with the satire not being quite as sharp as a unicorn’s horn.  The unicorn may be majestic, but that thing on its head should be considered a safety hazard.  Fortunately, this is one occasion where its entertaining merits make its familiarity bearable, with Elliot and Ridley’s relationship being the film’s heart.  Most horror movies tend to provide the emotional core of the protagonist’s arc amid their confrontation against an unstoppable threat but wound up falling flat amid their cliched and scare-free shenanigans.  “Death of a Unicorn” broke free of the genre’s curse by making the father/daughter rapport more convincing than painfully manipulative.  They may not be memorable in their arcs, but at the very least, they’re pure enough to make me care for their survival.

As for Scharfman’s direction, he did a fair job making this simple and limited concept and tone amusingly enjoyable.  While the comedy is more dumb than witty, which was enough to generate some laughs, I’d credit Scharfman primarily for handling its horror elements.  This is another horror movie that doesn’t rely heavily on cheap jump scares to frighten its audience.  Instead, the true horror of “Death of a Unicorn” originated from the consequences of provoking nature’s natural order for profit and the suspense of its build-up.  I only counted one jump scare in the film, which took me by surprise despite knowing what to expect.  It’s no “Jurassic Park” in terms of the natural scares, but when it comes to the kills the unicorns performed, the film can be a weirdly fun and horrific experience with the right mindset.  Unfortunately, the only flaw I had with the movie besides the script was the CGI effects, mainly for the unicorns.  While the designs for these majestic creatures were decent in reflecting their black and aggressive sides, the visuals couldn’t quite convey their believable existence.  Most of the time, the CGI looked a bit janky and rough when contrasting with the creatures’ swift movements and the film’s environments.  It’s far from an eyesore, but it does showcase the effect of lacking time and effort to create competent visuals, regardless of the budget.

The film’s cast successfully accompanied its entertainment values, humor, and heart through their performances, with some actors carrying it more than others.  Paul Rudd was admittedly enjoyable as Elliot, showcasing the actor’s talents outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  However, Jenna Ortega rightfully took control of the spotlight easily as the struggling father’s daughter, Ridley.  Despite her gothic teenage appearance, Ridley is seen as the most sane of the group, with enough pureness in her heart to elevate her personality.  Unsurprisingly, Ortega adeptly maintained the acting aura of her previous roles to effectively convey Ridley’s straightforward personality, further underscoring the young actress’s considerable talent.  Richard E. Grant had a lot of fun portraying Odell Leopold as an ailing boss eager to share the unicorn’s magic with the rest of humanity, while Will Poulter provided a delightful performance as Odell’s self-indulgent son.  Finally, I would credit Anthony Carrigan, best known for playing NoHo Hank in “Barry”, for being the movie’s underdog regarding the cast.  His performance as the Leopolds’ butler, Griff, not only provided some unexpected laughs but also made me feel bad for how the character’s been treated.  Carrigan will make his next appearance in James Gunn’s “Superman” as Metamorpho, so I’m interested in seeing the direction he’ll take for this role.

Overall, “Death of a Unicorn” is a delightfully bloody and nightmarishly fun fairy tale that mostly pokes its horn into its genre elements and commentary.  It may not succeed in delivering a perfectly sharp jab at its satirical approach to its “profiting from nature” topic.  However, when it focuses more on its identity as a contained yet gory creature feature, the film becomes a gleefully entertaining splatter-fest with just enough humor and heart to inject some deranged magic into its concept.  The cast, mainly Jenna Ortega and Richard E. Grant, consistently provided charismatic vibes into some of their unlikable characters, and Alex Scharfman did a suitable job balancing the laughs with its horror elements.  Although its hit-and-miss satirical moments, genre tropes, and rough visuals kept it from being truly special, the film is another horror experience that’s more magically insane than make-believe.  For those looking for another entertaining horror film this year, this one may make them believe in fairy tales.

B-