DEATH OF A UNICORN
(director/writer: Alex Scharfman; cinematographer: Larry Fong; editor: Ron Dulin; music: Dan Romer, Giosuè Greco; cast: Jenna Ortega (Ridley), Paul Rudd (Elliot Kintner), David Pasquesi (Pilot), Anthony Carrigan (Griff), Richard E. Grant (Odell), Téa Leoni (Belinda), Will Poulter (Shepard), Jessica Hynes (Shaw), Denise Delgado (Ridley’s mom), Kathryn Erbe (Tapestry video narrator), Sunita Mani (Dr. Bhatia), Stephen Park (Dr. Song), Nick Wittman (Mercenary #1); Runtime: 197; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Drew Houpt, Lucas Joaquin, Alex Scharfman, Lars Knudsen, Tyler Campellone, Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page; A24; 2025)
“The blend of comedy and gore never quite meshes.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
A unique but silly horror pic satire directed and written by the fledgling filmmaker Alex Scharfman. The blend of comedy and gore never quite meshes.
The recent widower, corporate lawyer Elliot (Paul Rudd), is riding with his argumentative college student daughter Ridley (Jenna Ortega) in the Canadian Rockies when he accidentally runs over a mythical magical unicorn on the road that squirts purple blood and will die when Elliot hammers it to death with a tire iron.
According to folklore, the unicorn has a large horn and possesses miraculous healing power.
The meek Elliot is rushing to be on time for a visit with his powerful client, the arrogant billionaire family owners of a pharmaceutical company. Elliot will meet with their terminally ill patriarch Odell (Richard E. Grant), his calculating wife Belinda (Tea Leoni) and his useless addict son Shep (Will Poulter).
Not wanting to upset the family that he killed something of value on the family grounds (it was hoped the unicorns in the nature preserve could provide a miraculous cure for Odell), he hides the dead unicorn in the trunk of his rental car.
The visitors are made welcome on the estate by the head of the staff, Griff (Anthony Carrigan).
Ridley, curious about the mythical animals, conducts a unicorn folklore research, studying the medieval unicorn tapestries that are on display at the Cloisters in Manhattan.
In due time, the unicorn killing sets off a chain reaction of destructive incidents. This is the heart of the film, as the daughter’s grief mystically connects with the grief felt by the unicorn community with their loss.
I found all this stuff to be nonsensical. But the part about the Cloisters, located at Washington Heights in Manhattan, is a most interesting place that the film does a good thing promoting. I immensely enjoyed and found its museum intellectually stimulating on my visits there when a college student in the city.
It played at SXSW Film Festival.
REVIEWED ON 3/20/2025 GRADE: C+
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