The good news is that Unicorns aren’t real.
The bad news is that Unicorns aren’t real.
Welcome to the timely and dark comedy of Death of a Unicorn. Death of a Unicorn, the directorial debut of Alex Scharfman, follows a long line of horror comedies, evoking themes that could not otherwise be earnestly discussed. The suspense is solid, with just enough gloriously squishy kills to satisfy most slasher audiences, and it proves to be a most compelling saga.
How we got here: Elliot (Paul Rudd) and his somewhat estranged daughter Ridley (Jenna Ortega) are headed to a remote country home to spend time with Elliot’s bosses, the sinfully wealthy Leopold family. It was all emo and fun until Elliot accidentally hits “something” on the drive to the Leopold estate: “It was a horse-shaped carcass, with some type of protrusion on its forehead, it’s pretty clear as Ridley states” It’s a F#$! Unicorn!”
As you can guess, it can’t possibly get any worse. <– That was sarcasm. It gets terribly worse…well, for the Leopold Family, anyway. Normal humans with a soul, like Ridley, are devasted at the death of a unicorn.
And then there are the Leoplds. The Leopolds, with the patriarch Odell (Richard E. Grant), matriarch Belinda (Téa Leoni), and heir Shepard (Will Poulter) immediately see dollar signs — in the billions when they decide to strip mine the dead Unicorn for their Pharma empire when they discover the Unicorn has unparallel healing capabilities.
And the stage is set. In this case, we discover that the victim, the Unicorn, was not the last, and its family wants their kind back. If it comes down to a choice between angering a Unicorn and angering a bear, I’m choosing the bear!\
What follows can only be described as an actual ‘Unicorn slasher’ film. I hope that becomes a genre. Payback is indeed a B!tch! The most enjoyable part of the film is the portrayal of the Unicorns. The movie blends practical effects and digital — although there’s a lot of unicorn puppetry in the mix, helping sell these creatures as real
Ultimately, this is a family film about a corrupt family, a Unicorn family, and most importantly, father and daughter, specifically in the most Spielberg-ian of ways. It’s not new or a re-invention of the genre in any way, but the hook keeps you from turning away from the nightmare falling down all around them. It’s what makes the life-or-death struggle so much more compelling than your average horror movie that just focuses on slaughter for the sake of slaughter.
Regarding the cast, Paul Rudd is always likable, even though his character might be a little bit more morally grey and exceedingly hapless at certain times. He still has a good heart and means well. Ortega, for her part, has excellent chemistry with Rudd, and this time around, she is more emo than goth—if you don’t know the difference, google it. In this role, she is mourning her recently deceased mother and is frustrated with her father’s focus on work and constant poor parenting skills in the aftermath. Lesser folk might think this is another moody goth girl run for her, but she displays angst, warmth, and humor that deviates from her other roles, something I greatly appreciated.
On the other side of this coin is the Leopold family; Odell, Belinda, and Shepherd play the vilest characters typical for a billionaire family so far removed from reality, such as believing their servants love being servants…to the Leopolds. All three actors give wonderfully unhinged performances. Richard E. Grant always makes anything you give him the gold standard. He and Téa Leoni have a particular kind of glorious chemistry that is certain to creep you out, and I am making many assumptions about this relationship. There was more of their relationship to explore, but I believe it was cut for time.
And then we have the menace of Will Poulter, who manages to make even something as innocuous as wearing shorts into a hilarious and unsettling character trait, giving a performance that’s a masterclass in entitlement, excess, and hedonism. At one point, it turns into a Poulter dramedy that comes close to stealing the movie.
Perhaps the most unexpected standout for me was Griff (Anthony Carrigan), aka Mr. Steal-Your-Scene. He gets laughs on literally every single one of his well-timed lines as the Leopolds’ butler. Carrigan starts off as meek and mild and, as the chaos builds, slowly turns into an experience unto himself.
It’s a classic “eat the rich” zeitgeist-y concept film destined to be a cult hit. Between watching rich people get their comeuppance, The wonderful get-back of the Unicorn and some silliness yet often scary madcap mayhem, Death of a Unicorn is a fun moral ride that remind me:
The bad news is that Unicorns aren’t real.
The good news is that Unicorns aren’t real.
