Daisy
‘Rich-people-suck’ cinema returns with A24’s Death of a Unicorn.
Since it’s premiere at the SXSW Film Festival, this absurdist horror/comedy has received mixed reviews.
But I had an absolute blast with this creature feature.
Death of a Unicorn features Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega as exactly who you expect them to be – the hard-working father and Gen-Z daughter duo. From the start, we see there’s a distance between them, due largely to the death of Ridley’s (Ortega) mother. But Elliot (Rudd) is on the cusp of signing a deal with his millionaire boss, Odell Leopold (Richard E. Grant). To seal the deal, Elliot and Ridley must present a united front on a weekend retreat at his boss’s estate.
All preparation is thrown out the window, when on their way they hit a baby unicorn.
In the essence of time, Elliot bludgeons the foal and stuffs it in the boot. However, it’s not that simple to keep a magical creature – and it’s powers – hidden. Upon uncovering the unicorn’s healing properties, the Leopold’s realise they can exploit this to their advantage. And when the foal’s parents come to rescue their baby, Eliott, Ridley and the Leopold’s find themselves in a battle for survival.
The film’s typecasting works in its favour. Instead of spending time introducing the Leopold’s, we know exactly who they are at a glance. From trophy-wife Belinda (Téa Leoni) to son Shephard (Will Poulter) – who fits the overly spoilt, finance bro persona.
And this works as a great juxtaposition to the liberal art student with a moral compass that is Ridley. While Jenna Ortega does fall into her usual cool girl role, she truly does deliver every time. There are some fleeting moments of genuine emotional depth, and she nails each one.
The comedy in this movie was spot-on for me, but I can see how it could fall flat for others. Ridley’s sneaky vaping, Shephard’s ever-changing hobbies and other titbits made each character more enjoyable. But my absolute favourite person in the film was Griff the butler (Anthony Carrigan). He truly understood the phrase ‘there are no small parts,’ creating a whole character from one liners and facial expressions.
To be completely honest, I had no clue this was a horror going in. So I was completely gobsmacked to see a unicorn pulling someone’s entrails from their body. The unicorns weren’t the most terrifying of creatures – the CGI and design were a bit funky – but it added to the absurd vibes of the film. Plus, there were some great Jurassic-Park-eque scenes to really get the blood pumping.
Sometimes you really need to just turn your brain off while watching a movie, and this film was great for that. It doesn’t try to be subtle or smart – it’s pure dumb fun. So if you want to see rich people getting absolutely clobbered by unicorns, this is your film.
Year: 2025
Rating: R
Running Time: 107 MIN
Genre: Dark comedy
Director: Alex Scharfman
Starring: Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, Richard E. Grant
Production Studio: Ley Line Entertainment
Distributor: A24