Death of a Unicorn (2025)
Directed by: Alex Scharfman
Premise: A lawyer and his daughter (Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega) visit the isolated home of a wealthy pharmaceutical CEO. They hit a unicorn with their car and discover that its body has miraculous healing properties.
What Works: Death of a Unicorn has a unique pitch. The movie combines satire, fantasy, and horror in a way that mostly coalesces. Fantasy and satire tend to create their own internal logic and Death of a Unicorn exists on an overlap of fantastic and satirical styles. The movie is frequently funny especially the performance of Will Poulter as the n e’er-do-well son of a pharmaceutical CEO. Poulter projects the confidence of an idiot who thinks he’s brilliant and he’s well paired with Richard E. Grant and Téa Leoni as his parents. The wealthy family contrasts with the lawyer and his daughter, played by Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega. They have an antagonistic relationship, in part because the father is knowingly selling out and does not listen to his daughter. The contrast between the families is effective and Rudd’s character must choose between financial success and integrity. Death of a Unicorn draws upon ancient myths about these creatures. Today they have been imagined as docile and kid-friendly creatures but unicorns were traditionally mysterious and violent. Death of a Unicorn taps into that history and the movie has an unusual regard for the mythology. The unicorns are never fully benign or horrific and in that respect Death of a Unicorn has an interesting take on fantasy and by extension the natural world. The tone and visual style give the fantastic a sense of wonder that’s often missing from today’s fantasy movies.
What Doesn’t: The filmmakers never quite commit to the satire or the politics. The wealthy family are presented in a cartoonish fashion and they intend to exploit this magical creature for profit. That’s not a new idea and the satire often feels a bit restrained. The storytelling flirts with ridiculousness and Richard E. Grant, Téa Leoni, and Will Poulter play up the arch quality of their characters but the story doesn’t give them enough to do. Death of a Unicorn makes none too subtle commentary about the exploitation of the natural world but that part of the story isn’t saying anything new and doesn’t take advantage of the fantastic elements to push the story into the ridiculous. The special effects are inconsistent. Some of the effects are great but the unicorns occasionally look like cartoons.
Bottom Line: Death of a Unicorn has a lot to recommend it. The filmmakers’ satirical intentions come up short but this is a unique picture and a mostly successful combination of humor, fantasy, and horror.
Episode: #1042 (April 6, 2025)