Death of a Unicorn (2025) Review!!

Synopsis – A father and daughter accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to a weekend retreat, where his billionaire boss seeks to exploit the creature’s miraculous curative properties.

My Take – In an era where the release calendar is dominated mainly by franchise films and known IPs, A24 has been delivering the necessary jolt to the Hollywood system by persistently cultivating a distinct brand of quirky and bold fare. Most of which end up being genre-bending experiences that defies simple categorization.

Their latest unpredictable and unconventional offering sees a goofy eat-the-rich satire mixed in with an imaginative and grizzly take on a well-known mythical creature, providing ample opportunity for its talented cast to react to the absurdity of the premise with gusto.

While it is definitely inspired by the likes of Jurassic Park and Knives Out, the debut feature from writer-director Alex Scharfman delivers wholly campy gory fun by slashing all the colorful rainbow mythology surrounding unicorns, and instead turns them into blood thirsty ferocious beasts out for revenge.

Yes, it is slightly less bold with its unusual premise than it should have been and the sudden tonal shift in the third act, turning from black comedy to more full-on horror with some humor here and there, might not work for everyone.

However, I found it quite difficult to not humor the film’s inherent silliness and necessary self-awareness. And if one can breeze past the film’s desperate attempt to extract some bigger meaning from the carnage, it works fine enough as an entertaining and bloody good time.

The story follows Elliot (Paul Rudd), a widowed lawyer and his disaffected college student daughter Ridley (Jenna Ortega), who are on their way to spend the weekend at the remote estate of his big pharma boss, Odell Leopold (Richard E. Grant), who is terminally ill. As a trusted employee, Elliot is in the running to take over the reins of the business now that Odell is too frail to continue, and during this time Elliot hopes to formalize the agreement.

Yet, Odell insists on getting to know Elliot’s family first, which, after the death of his wife, is just Ridley. And she would rather be anywhere else on the planet than meeting her dad’s boss deep in a forest with no phone signal. However, distracted by a tiff with Ridley, Elliot ends up accidentally runs over a unicorn foal and hides its carcass inside their rental.

But upon reaching the estate and discovering the originally supposed to be fantastical horned creature a real thing, Odell, along with his wife Belinda (Téa Leoni) and feckless son Shephard (Will Poulter), seeks to exploit the creature’s medicinal potential, especially when it becomes clear that unicorn blood can cure everything from teenage acne to cancer. Even when Ridley raises her concerns that tampering with the unicorn’s remains would invite nature’s bizarre and deadly wrath.

Framed as a horror-comedy with satirical commentary on Big Pharma and the greed of the elite, the film more or less fulfills the brief of a monster flick, sharing DNA, if not the special effects budget, of something like the Jurassic Park/World series. But it feels rather thin when compared with some of the more satisfying films that have harnessed an anti-corporate message.

Silly as it may sound, here, director Scharfman treats this unicorn bit with sincere seriousness, aiming for relevance on the rapacious state of late-stage capitalism satirized in such recent films like The Menu (2022), Triangle of Sadness (2022), Glass Onion (2022), and Parasite (2019).

But the film works best when it charges into the hilarious splatter horror corner, with a full gallop. When it slows things down to a trot, attempting to beef up the emotional connection between Elliot and Ridley, it starts losing the plot. After all, this is a flick which sees killer unicorns tear a person in half and digest their intestines. These unicorns are not rainbows and butterflies but the all-powerful monsters of yore, capable of terrorizing and impaling, among other gory violence.

On that front, the film is an enjoyable enough trifle with enough oomph behind it to separate it from the set of schlock parodies that release monthly on VOD. Considering the limited budget, the CGI is top-notch, and the gore is well-executed, though at times it’s a bit overdone. The horror elements are solid, with some entertaining kills and at least one effective jump scare.

While his screenplay and story elements might be still rough around the edges, for a first feature, filmmaker Scharfman crafts a lush and suitably tense atmosphere in the Canadian Rockies. And is especially thrilling when he leans into moments of heightened reality — like the near-permanent neon northern lights, or the cosmic explosion when anyone touches a unicorn horn.

Performance wise, Paul Rudd surprises by trading his usual charming every man persona for something significantly more complex and morally ambiguous. Jenna Ortega displays excellent comedic chops while maintaining the emotional depth she’s known for. Will Poulter is effortlessly loathsome as a nepo baby who sees the discovery as a way to protect his unearned interests.

Richard E. Grant and Téa Leoni are great as the cold hearted executives that pretend to care about others, thinly masking their real desires for monetary gain. Anthony Carrigan makes the most of rolling his eyes as the family’s down-to-earth butler, but sadly, Sunita Mani, who is more than capable of turning in an excellent comedic performance, is underused. The same goes for Jessica Hynes and Stephen Park. On the whole, ‘Death of a Unicorn‘ is an entertaining enough “eat the rich” horror satire that works better as bloody creature feature.