Friends, I love a good trailer. I am shameless. I make sure to be at the movie theater in time for the coming attractions. Sometimes, one comes along, leaving you giddy with anticipation. This was Death of a Unicorn for me. With a whip-smart comedic cast and a biting tone to match, the fantastic comedy showed glimmering promise. Is Death of a Unicorn the magical creature we thought it was? Or should this one just get the horn?
Death of a Unicorn
Death of a Unicorn follows a father and daughter (Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega) on their way to spend the weekend with a wealthy pharmaceutical magnate (Richard E. Grant) and his family in hopes of landing a promotion. As they drive, they accidentally run over a strange-looking horse crossing the road. Could this be a unicorn? Well, it had family, and it turns out they want vengeance. Téa Leoni, Will Poulter and Anthony Carrigan co-star in the movie. Alex Scharfman directs Death of a Unicorn from his own script.
Death of a Unicorn is an ambitious film that ultimately isn’t sure what it wants to be. There are quite a few interesting pieces in this horror, slasher, creature-feature, family comedy that wants to skewer the rich. However, that is also precisely the problem. Death of a Unicorn attempts to do far too many things and, in that, doesn’t do any of them really well.
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The Standouts
That said, Will Poulter should be arrested for theft. He steals scenes like a bandit. Poulter and Anthony Carrigan are the two shining stars in Death of a Unicorn. These performers, it seems, are the two (along with the always-watchable Richard E. Grant) who most understand where this story is at its best. They feel the narrative’s hardcore, biting nature intimately and easily sell moments with simply a line or even a look.
For much of its runtime, Death of a Unicorn is at its best as a Saltburn-esque critique of the wealthy. This comparison is made all the more noticeable by the presence of Richard E. Grant in a role not entirely dissimilar from the one he played in the 2023 Emerald Fennell thriller.
The problem is, while Saltburn is fully committed to the unhinged wackiness of its narrative, it takes Death of a Unicorn far too long to lean into the weirdness. For long stretches of the movie, I found myself wondering how I wandered into a PG-13 family film. Now, don’t get me wrong, things get crazy in the final act … it just takes a bit to get there. With a cast that includes solid comic talent like Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega on top of Grant, Poulter and Carrigan, it frankly shouldn’t take that long.
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The Stars
It’s unfortunate to say that Rudd, and to a lesser extent Ortega, struggle mightily to stand apart and establish themselves in the narrative. Ortega comes out a bit ahead by the mere fact that Rudd’s Elliot is so utterly spineless; she looks amazing in comparison. She wins the sympathy vote.
Paul Rudd has spent a few years transitioning into a lovable but awkward “Dad” phase. Sure, he’s usually a bit “cringe,” but you can’t help but love him because Paul Rudd brings inherent charisma. Heck, even in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Rudd reaches a different emotional level as his character struggles with how to be a dad.
Rudd aims to tap into this internal conflict again in Death of a Unicorn but struggles against the colorful characters surrounding him. His character is not likable and ultimately ends up feeling frustratingly lackluster. It’s really hard to waste Paul Rudd, and Death of a Unicorn manages to do just that. Ultimately, it’s hard for the film’s family drama elements to land when the family struggles to stand apart.
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The Creature Effects
Okay, now let’s get to the part everyone is wondering about. The creature effects. I don’t ask for much with my creature effects. Yours truly loves a delightful ping-pong ball-eyed monster. It gives me such joy.
However, there’s something so impossibly frustrating when CG effects just don’t land for me. With practical effects, it’s possible to see the effort even if it isn’t quite right. With iffy CG effects, though, you only see something that doesn’t quite work, and often, it’s in the “uncanny valley” way, so it’s difficult to tell why.
Unfortunately, this is how I felt about the film’s titular creature design. Their vision of a unicorn is, admittedly, outside the norm, and I can’t necessarily say I wasn’t reacting to that. However, something about this over-the-top, cartoony design just doesn’t integrate into this world. These are cartoon-like unicorns on steroids. They’re only able to shine when the film finally leans into the over-the-top horror of the final act. These creatures aren’t magical; they aren’t likable. They’re just … there.
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Bland Victim of Brilliant Marketing
When all is said and done, Death of a Unicorn is a bland victim of brilliant marketing. With a cast this solid, it’s unfortunate it can’t hone in on what it wants to be. While Will Poulter and Anthony Carrigan easily sell the film’s humor, the over-stretched script can’t find its true voice. As a result, these two end up with a lot of heavy lifting. They know what movie they’re in. It’s just unfortunate that the rest of the film isn’t that observant.
Death of a Unicorn opens in theaters around the country on March 28, 2025.
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