Death of a Unicorn

You know that feeling when you're watching the trailers before the movie showing, one pops up that has the chillest of chuckles and you're like, "Man, I bet those are the only funny scenes in the movie"? Yeah, that's not "Death of a Unicorn" (2025). As soon as I saw this strange, violent, magical, mysterious, funny trailer, I knew not only were those not the only "good" scenes in the movie, but I also had to be there to see the rest. Fortunately, I was not disappointed.

Elliot (Paul Rudd) and his daughter Ridley (Jenna Ortega) venture into the wilderness to his terminally ill boss' cabin in search of a better opportunity. While on the way, they accidentally hit a unicorn, killing it. When Elliot's boss realizes the creature could be a miracle cure, Ridley must do whatever she can to stop him before he can exploit it. Unfortunately for him, she's not the only creature after him.

Jenna Ortega is "Ridley," Elliot's daughter and a college student. She's moody and secretly vaping and connects with the mysterious unicorn. She's written as a more passive heroine, which is vexing. Stuff kind of just happens to her and Ridley learns things in information dumps that should have been paced more strategically and in more cinematically interesting ways throughout the film instead of internet videos. But she's also not irritating to be around as the story's moral compass, which is an easy trap for scripts to fall into.

At first I was hesitant, but after reflecting, I appreciate Rudd's performance more and more. There's a turn in the beginning after Elliot and Ridley strike the unicorn with their car that reminds me of Gene Wilder's somersault in Willy Wonka (you're going to want to read the first few paragraphs of that article or that note'll never make sense). It's so jarring and I struggled reconciling this with the Ant-Man I know and love. Is that perhaps my own issue? Maybe. And maybe that was the point. Elliot's character is a lawyer, pulled between the desires of his morally deficient bosses and the true north that is his daughter. He's a single father trying to find a road between the two and I think Rudd functions fantastically as a stand-in for us. It's tempting to think that we can perhaps get our hands a little dirty, we can cooperate a little bit with evil, but we won't let it consume us. No matter how many cautionary tales we hear on the subject, it's an ever-present quandary.

And then there's Rudd's subtle humor which plays wonderfully against our villains. Richard E. Grant and Téa Leoni are perfect as couple "Odell" and "Belinda," equal parts maniacal, cynical, and greedy. It comes close to caricature of what a Big Pharma exec is like, but it really works well here, blurring the line between fantasy and reality. Indeed, Will Poulter, as their spoiled son "Shepard," is everything you might expect for an idiot heir who fancies himself an entrepreneur, but coming so close to an over-the-top performance is right on the money for a movie about a literal unicorn. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Anthony Carrigan as the quirky and mysterious butler "Griff" whose scenes are easily among my favorites (particularly the one with the omelet and I don't even like breakfast food).

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And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Anthony Carrigan as the quirky and mysterious butler "Griff" whose scenes are easily among my favorites (particularly the one with the omelet and I don't even like breakfast food).

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A genuinely fantastic open to this movie beautifully sets up the father-daughter relationship arc between Ridley and Elliot. Within a minute, without any words exchanged between the characters, their struggle to connect is captured in a funny, taut way. Of course, there are a few other moments within Unicorn that cut away to an obvious shot of something to reveal and/or let the audience in on a joke, cutting the punchline off at the knees. Ugh, I'm being dramatic. Still, it's a travesty to ruin a good joke. Lucky for us, though, these quick cutaways don't ruin the movie. I'll forgive much (because I'm sure the filmmakers were looking for my pardon) since they nailed the intro.

I've mentioned the film's tone a few times now, and its execution (despite my minor grievances) is one of my favorite aspects of Death of a Unicorn. Writer/director Alex Scharfman's commitment to a modern gothic style is oh-so fun. And, in particular, how that's achieved through gory, bloody violence is visceral and equal parts can't watch, can't tear your eyes away. If you don't like blood and/or entrails, you may not be a fan. But, if you're like me and don't typically like that but appreciate commitment to the bit, it's wonderful and chaotic.

Death of a Unicorn was worth every ticket dollar. The film's hiccups don't last the runtime and only warrant notice because a good story can be a great one. A manic tale about man's greedy quest for everlasting youth that may not be subtle, but sure is a trip (both to the untouched Leopold Wilderness Preserve and on a line of snorted unicorn horn).