Death of a Unicorn (2025) Film Review: Confused blend of satire and creature feature fails to stick the landing
- reeltalkin'
- 21 hours ago
- 2 min read
Following the unfortunate hit-and-run of a young unicorn, father-and-daughter duo Elliot (Paul Rudd) and Ridley (Jenna Ortega) take the beast to the wilderness retreat of a wealthy CEO, who attempts to exploit the creature's magical properties to horrific results.
Written and directed by long-time creature feature fan Alex Scharfman, the film presents a mash-up of goofy, gory kills from vengeful, mystical monsters and a deadpan, 'eat the rich' satire; however, sloppy execution and an uneven tone result in a stale reception.
The film was distributed by A24, a company with a long history of successful horror flicks such as the devastating Hereditary (2018), or the Mia Goth-helmed splatter fest trilogy, and many more. Therefore, it is disappointing to witness the seeming decline in the quality of their output recently. The 'rich people are bad' trope feels overly familiar in today's socio-political climate, with Emerald Fennell's Saltburn (2023) instantly coming to mind, and this movie never really delivers on its premise. It offers the predictable format of an unredeemable rich family intending to exploit nature with no thoughts of the consequences. Sound familiar?
In terms of the performances, Rudd's character is probably one of his most unlikeable as he constantly chooses to prioritize his reputation with his bosses over repairing the strained relationship with his daughter, but there is undeniable chemistry between himself and Ortega. They do bounce off each other well, however, the eventual reconciliation of their father-daughter relationship feels unearned and contrived due to how Elliot is written. Will Pouter is always a reliable, fun addition to any film, and his supporting role does offer the odd chuckle worthy line, as do the rest of the cast, but because the script is so uninspired and too smug for its own good, many of the jokes simply fall flat.
With all that said and done, there is some enjoyment to be found here. The creature effects, whilst not totally convincing, are decently realised and implemented well in tense nighttime sequences. The film is rated R for strong violent content, and viewers are treated to plenty of gory deaths by unicorn horns, trampling of heads, and even disembowelment. There is a nice mix of comedy and horror to satisfy those with a dark sense of humour, yet any drama fails to spark interest as pretty much all of the characters other than Ridley are unlikeable.
Ultimately, with a done-to-death premise (no pun intended) and often bewildering conflicts of tone, Death of a Unicorn marks an unfortunate misfire for A24, despite its star-studded cast and admittedly fun play with fantasy horror.
Check out the trailer for the movie below, and please let me know your thoughts down in the comments!
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