A24 Productions does it again, combining comedy and gore to produce a story critiquing current social injustices in its latest film, “Death of a Unicorn.” Starring Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Richard E. Grant, Téa Leoni and Will Poulter, this film does not lack familiar faces, predictable jumpscare or laughs.
Rudd and Ortega play an incredibly believable father-daughter duo, despite falling into roles we’ve seen them in time and time again. The film opens with Elliot (Rudd), a single father, embarking on a European business trip with his daughter, Ridley (Ortega). His goal? To impress his boss, Odel (Grant), and secure a business partnership. However, once there, Rudd and Ortega find themselves in a mess of mythology and moral dilemmas.
The story poses big questions: How far is a single dad willing to go to provide for his family? Or how diabolical and deceitful are the rich playing puppet masters with a hand in the health care system? “Death of a Unicorn” ventures to answer all that and more, while also causing the audience to question their own moral integrity, and what may be happening in our own healthcare industry.
Hayley here, despite the predictability of a story that we are all too familiar with, this film manages to still feel fresh and entertaining. Rudd and Ortega play their signature typecast characters incredibly well, with a father-daughter chemistry that translated impressively on the screen. Meanwhile, Grant, Leoni and Poulter played another family dynamic that unabashedly brought the humor and harsh reality to this story. Every line from Poulter’s character, Shepard, the nepotism baby of Odel and Belinda (Leoni), is a comedic knockout.
Other than the humor, the hard lean into the campy and whimsical elements within production, for me, felt needed. I appreciated the extent they went with CGI and horror stunts to serve up moral forewarnings in a way we haven’t seen unashamedly done before. Had the filmmakers pulled back on these elements, the experience might not have been as entertaining.
Francine here, and the extent of the horror and gore really made this a captivating film for me. While the premise sounds silly on paper, those unicorns were genuinely terrifying! A Jurassic Park-esque use of looming shadows and heart-racing chase scenes landed like classic jumpscares in a way I never expected from unicorns. Some of the death scenes were so graphic they bordered on unbearable– in the best, most A24 kind of way.
I also really appreciated the folklore aspect, especially through the tapestry motifs and world-building details scattered throughout the secluded, vintage estate. It gave the story a layer of ancient, almost cursed energy– like the unicorn wasn’t just magical, but part of something darker that has lasted far beyond the history books say. I do wish the film had explored Ridley’s mother’s ties to the folklore a bit more, especially considering how much they teased that connection, but maybe the ambiguity and mystery were intentional on the writers’ part.
Ultimately, “Death of a Unicorn” works because it doesn’t shy away from showing how human greed can corrupt even the most magical things into something monstrous. It’s beautiful, it’s grotesque, it’s thoughtful– and somehow, it all works perfectly together. A fairytale corrupted by bloodshed and corporate greed? Surprisingly captivating to watch. This unicorn’s death may have been tragic, but as far as movies go– it was worth it. 3.5 out of 5 stars!
