DEATH OF A UNICORN (2025) review
written by: Alex Scharfman
produced by: Lucas Joaquin, Tyler Campellone, Drew Houpt, Lars Knudsen, Alex Scharfman, Tim Headington & Theresa Steele Page
directed by: Alex Scharfman
rated: R (for strong violent content, gore, language, and some drug use)
runtime: 107 min.
U.S. release date: March 28, 2025
For those concerned, no unicorns were harmed during the making of “Death of a Unicorn,” despite the title. The movie offers a different take on the legendary mythical beings, presenting them as bloodthirsty monsters on top of their reputation as magical, elegant, horse-like creatures. The horror comedy is the feature-length debut of writer/director Alex Scharfman, and it’s one of those movies that’s easy to laugh along with while cheering for the rampaging unicorns fatally plowing through self-absorbed, greedy humans. Scharfman offers a serious take on a satirical story with dementedly humorous and ridiculous situations, and that’s much of its appeal. That being said, the material is likely only for a select albeit specific type of audience.
The titular event occurs within the first 10 or so minutes of the movie, but more importantly, what transpires minutes before and what occurs after is a look at human behavior.
The story opens with a father-daughter road trip. Widowed Elliot Kintner (Paul Rudd) is behind the wheel with his teen daughter, Ridley (Jenna Ortega), heading to a remote destination in the Canadian Rockies. They could use the time together, considering he lost his wife and her mother, but sadly, this is a business trip, not a leisure one. Elliot is a tightly wound attorney who’s been invited to join the wealthy Leopold family for a long weekend to solidify plans to become a proxy for ailing pharmaceutical billionaire Odell Leopold (Richard E. Grant). Distracted by unreliable cell service and an allergy attack, Elliot hits an animal in the middle of the road with his rental.
When he and Ridley get out of the car to examine what their SUV hit, Elliot is stunned to see what looks to be a unicorn lying on the road. While Elliot searches for a way to put the near-dead creature out of its misery, Ridley leans in close, showing compassion, and winds up forming a psychic link when she touches the unicorn’s glowing horn. This action sends her on a cosmic journey of the mind she can’t possibly process or explain. That rapport is broken when Elliot suddenly finishes off the young creature with a tire iron, getting its purple blood everywhere.
Shaken by the event and realizing they’re running late, Elliot stuffs the dead beast in the trunk with the intention of burying it later. When they arrive at the Leopold estate, Elliot and Ridley are met by Odell’s arrogant wife, Belinda (Téa Leoni), and his obnoxious son, Shepard (Will Poulter, rocking pleated shorts throughout), and have to act as if nothing happened, despite being still dazed. As they meet Odell who uses a wheelchair (due to final stages of cancer), as well as the family’s gruff personal assistant Shaw (Jessica Hynes) and put-upon butler Griff (Anthony Carrigan, a clear highlight), they soon realize that the unicorn wasn’t dead. Now, everyone has to figure out what to do.
Everything changes when they learn of two significant revelations: 1. the unicorns contain miraculous healing properties in their DNA and 2. the creatures parents are nearby and are pretty angry about what’s happened to their offspring. Soon enough, Elliot finds himself stuck between the insufferable billionaires who aim to profit from the unicorn’s restorative abilities and Ripley, who wants to leave the creatures alone and get out of there.
Scharfman’s screenplay gets off to an engaging start, offering distinct characterization. Unicorn rage turns up the intensity, setting an inevitable clash between the affluent and the horned. Of course, we know humans don’t have a chance. Still, the movie’s demented sense of humor and lively performance from the fun ensemble cast give the material an extra oomph of ridiculous entertainment. “Death of a Unicorn” takes pride in how it gleefully lacks subtlety, keeping the premise and its execution pretty straightforward.
There’s a curious bit of far-fetched weird science going on in “Death of a Unicorn” that you just have to go along with, which is part of the humor of it all. Because of his wealth in Big Pharma, Odell has a complete medical set-up at the estate, overseen by two scientists, Dr. Bhatia (Sunita Mani) and Dr. Song (Steve Park), who’ve monitored Odell’s cancer and go along with the prospect of mining baby unicorn into a lucrative future. Unfortunately, these two characters are the flimsiest of all the cast. Granted, every character is one-dimensional, save for Ortega’s Ridley, who isn’t as self-absorbed as everyone else and winds up being the only one who does not think of grinding down and snorting unicorn horns. Her deep-dive Google search into 15th Century unicorn tapestries delves into how to handle the savage creatures that are usually considered all rainbows and stardust.
It’s not hard to root for the unicorns in a movie where most humans are pathetic and awful. It doesn’t take long after meeting the Leopolds that you wish you’d never met them. This isn’t a dig at the performances of these characters. Actually, Grant, Leoni (it’s great to see her again), and Poulter are pretty good. It’s just that a little of their family goes a long way. Sure, there’s not much to their one-dimensional roles, which is why they’re funny…until they’re not. That’s why “Death of a Unicorn” gets a needed boost when momma and poppa unicorn come galloping to the Leopold property. Scharfman never hides the fact that the parents are coming, and we know the humans will get their comeuppance, so when the insanity of bloody and gruesome violence kicks in, it’s a reminder of what we signed up for.
RATING: ***
