Death of a Unicorn tries to be a number of things but never quite hits the mark, as I discovered upon going to see it.
*warning: minor spoilers below for Death of a Unicorn
The idea of a film exploring the idea that unicorns actually do exist certainly caught my attention. With the trailers heavily implying that this film would be a discussion of how humans, especially the rich ones, use and abuse anything that might make them money, it seemed like a film that was certainly worth checking out.
If only the film could’ve followed through on that initial sense of promise.
Death of a Unicorn presumably takes place in the present day and follows estranged father and daughter duo Elliot (Paul Rudd) and Ridley (Jenna Ortega) as they go to spend the weekend at the remote estate of Elliot’s employers, the ultra-wealthy Leopold family, who head up a pharmaceutical company among other concerns.
Death of a Unicorn
Directed by: Alex Scharfman
Starring: Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, Richard E. Grant, Anthony Carrigan
Release Date: March 28, 2025
What promises to be an uncomfortable trip at best roams into the bizarre when Elliot accidentally strikes and seemingly kills an honest-to-goodness unicorn. When everyone stumbles upon the realization that the unicorn’s blood and, more importantly, the unicorn’s horn can cure just about anything, the stage is set for a bloody conflict as the dead unicorn was a baby and the parents aren’t happy about what’s been done.
This story is so close to being great. All the elements are there: solid cast, a bizarre-yet-believable premise, even a great soundtrack. And yet…Death of a Unicorn doesn’t quite hit the mark at any given point. It’s not for lack of trying on the part of the cast: Jenna Ortega in particular is magnificent as Ridley, seemingly the only sane one in a group of money-hungry individuals. Richard E. Grant is also perfectly despicable as family patriarch Odell Leopold. Paul Rudd is clearly doing his best in the role of Ridley’s father, but I wish the writing had committed his actions one way or another, he spends way too much time on the fence of “am I a decent person or do I want the money this could get me?”
Being on the fence is really what does Death of a Unicorn in. This film, for all its good elements, does not know what it wants to be. It’s part comedy, part horror film, part family drama, but because the story is split into so many genres, it doesn’t really succeed at any of them. I left the theater with the distinct feeling that had the film leaned more heavily into “just” the horror element or “just” the comedic potential, then the story would have gone over better. Films that combine comedy and horror really have to be firing on all cylinders to work properly and Death of a Unicorn is most certainly not.
Then there’s the design of the unicorns themselves. I can appreciate that the filmmakers wanted to create a unique design for these creatures, to further the idea that unicorns are a separate species and not just a horse with a horn CGI’d onto its forehead. The thing is, that might have worked better, because the unicorns being wholly CGI creations did not do the film any favors. It was hard to get into the horror section of the film when it was beyond obvious that the unicorns weren’t real. This is one film that could have benefited from some practical creature effects.
In conclusion, Death of a Unicorn is a pretty decent film as there are a number of things to enjoy about it. However, the flaws make it so that the film will be almost impossible to rewatch without noticing everything wrong with it. This is the kind of film that frustrates me the most: it’s so close to being good, but there’s just a hair too much wrong with the film as a whole.
