Death of a Unicorn – Film Review
Reviewed by Harris Dang on the 9th of April 2025
VVS Films ANZ presents a film by Alex Scharfman
Written by Alex Scharfman
Produced by Lucas Joaquin, Tyler Campellone, Drew Houpt, Lars Knudsen, Alex Scharfman, Tim Headington, and Theresa Steele Page
Starring Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, and Richard E. Grant
Cinematography Larry Fong
Edited by Ron Dulin
Music by Dan Romer and Giosuè Greco
Rating: MA15+
Running Time: 103 minutes
Release Date: the 10th of April 2025
Death of a Unicorn tells the story of a high-strung father and an angsty daughter, Elliot and Ridley Kintner (Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega). They are spending a weekend at the estate of the wealthy yet decrepit magnate Odell Leopold (Richard E. Grant), who happens to be Elliot’s boss. The relationship between Elliot and Ridley is estranged ever since the sudden passing of Ridley’s mother, which has driven the two apart. But things take a sharp turn when Elliot suddenly hits something on their way to the estate, which then leads to the titular event.
Hoping to dispose of the body discreetly, the Leopold family – consisting of Odell’s demure wife Belinda (Tea Leoni) and boorish, dim-witted son Shepard (Will Poulter) – discover it and plan to dissect it for their own dastardly needs. Stuck between impressing his boss for financial gain and driving her daughter Ridley further and further away, Elliot has to gain the mettle to decide on whether to do what is right or what is easy.
Death of a Unicorn is the directorial debut of Alex Scharfman, who is best known for being a producer on numerous projects, including acclaimed films like the dark comedy Blow the Man Down (2019) and the psychological thriller Resurrection (2022). With no directorial pedigree and saddled with an entertainingly bizarre premise, he is afforded with an ensemble cast of talented riches that are perfect for both horror and comedy. Will Death of a Unicorn gallop to our way and deliver the goods?
The title of the film is amusingly direct and is ripe for gallows humour and ironic wit. Yet the title can also be seen as a review of the film itself once one knows its main thesis. Ever since 2019, we have seen a surge of films that set their targets on the wealthy through numerous genre means. We already hit the peak quality with the acclaimed South Korean film Parasite (2019) by Bong Joon-ho. Now, we have so many examples – including the upcoming film Opus — that the genre is gradually becoming the idiom of “beating a dead horse”.
Death of a Unicorn is the nadir of the genre that is far less than the sum of its equine parts. As talented as the cast is, the script by Scharfman gives them very little to do in terms of character and even humour. The characters are so one-dimensional that it makes a dollar bill seem robust in comparison. The targets of the rich and wealthy are extremely low-effort and low-hanging. At one point, Grant is seen eating a steak fillet of unicorn flesh ala equine dining. Unsubtlety (like a brick) is one thing but with no creativity or inspiration behind it, it lands like a brick to the head.
These faults unfortunately lead many of the actors to playing the same personae they have played in their earlier work. Grant is doing his Mr. Burns impersonation (complete with hunting gear) that pays off less dividends after doing Saltburn (2023) and The Lesson (2023). Ortega plays the same angsty, passive-aggressive teenager that has been pervasive in her prior work like Wednesday, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) and so on. In fact, Ortega’s talent is so ripped from its potential, most of her screentime is devoted to delivering droning exposition about the history of the unicorns. With a supporting cast like Anthony Carrigan, Jessica Hynes, Sunita Mani, and Steve Park, it is almost criminal with what little they are given.
The cast members that turn out better are Leoni and Poulter. Despite the middling material, it is always a delight to see Leoni on the big screen — even after a fourteen-year absence – as she plays the privilege and ignorance of her character to the hilt. Poulter on the other hand takes his morsels of the script and makes them into a three-course meal with his sharp comedic timing and his dexterous use of his physicality. His use of stances while adorning swim shorts throughout most of the film provides the biggest of laughs.
But the biggest casting blunder goes to Rudd. Much like his character in Dinner for Schmucks (2010) in which he is directly exploiting someone for rich superiors in hopes of financial gain, the character of Elliot is stuck in an insultingly patronising dilemma where he has to find it in his heart to realise that exploiting the dead unicorn for financial gain is wrong, even when his daughter Ridley is saying it to his face.
Not only does this character makes the instantly likable Rudd unsympathetic and annoying, it also ruins any sense of potential drama and pathos the relationship with Ortega would have achieved. The relationship as a father-and-daughter between Rudd and Ortega is the most unbelievable thing to happen in cinemas this year since the romantic coupling of Ke Huy Quan and Ariana Debose in Love Hurts. It is a shame that the drama is given significance in the story — particularly in the third act – that it makes the ending land with a complete thud.
Also landing with a complete thud is the film’s direction. It may have been the low budget or the way it is shot but a lot of the film, bizarrely shot by cinematographer Larry Fong, a frequent collaborator of Zack Snyder, looks murky and ugly. The same goes for the titular creatures as the shoddy CGI lends no weight or menace to them whatsoever, which makes Scharfman’s reliance on blood and gore feel desperate and pandering. On an oddly irritating note, the presence of the underappreciated Steve Park in this film calls to mind a similar scene in the film Mickey 17, which both involve an attempted peace offering. The timing of this film releasing barely a month after Mickey 17 with such a similar scene is just unfortunate.
When one looks at a unicorn, one would think of imagination, wonder, and beauty – things that would motivate inspiration among many. Which makes the title of the film Death of a Unicorn such a fitting way to describe how mediocre it is. Bereft of any inspiration, lacking in any notable humour and wasteful of the talents of the cast, Death of a Unicorn is something that should be laid to rest.
Summary: Bereft of any inspiration, lacking in any notable humour, and wasteful of the talents of the cast, Death of a Unicorn is something that should be laid to rest.
2
Terrible
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