Ticketworthy! - Death of a Unicorn

2025 seems to be the year of humorous horror movies, at least early on, and Death of a Unicorn is yet another very solid addition to the genre. There are some small issues that hold it back a little, and it isn’t exactly breaking new ground, but it is exactly the movie that it means to be. More importantly, it’s a lot of fun. 

The story follows Elliot (Paul Rudd) and his daughter, Ridley (Jenna Ortega) as they make the drive to the mountainside home of Elliot’s wealthy boss Odell (Richard E. Grant) and his family. Odell is dying and is considering transferring a large amount of control of his company to Elliot, who is more than happy to ignore his idealistic daughter’s objections and concerns in his pursuit of a better life. These plans get shifted drastically when Elliot hits and seemingly kills a unicorn with his car. This leads to the discovery that unicorn blood and horns are a miracle cure that heals basically everything, which Odell and his family want to package and market to make a fortune. Unfortunately for them, what they have is a baby unicorn, and its parents are not happy about the exploitation of their child.

It’s not a terribly original concept, except for the unicorns. Horror movies like The Menu, Ready-or-Not, and American Psycho have all poked fun at the selfishness and greed of the wealthy before. Meanwhile, the “greedy people kidnap baby monster, get killed by its parents” plot has been done so many times that it’s almost its own genre of film at this point. That said the cast and the earnestness of Death of a Unicorn keep it from feeling stale. It’s not doing anything you haven’t seen before, but it’s playing the hits with so much enthusiasm that you’ll probably have a great time anyway.

Writer/Director Alex Scharfman has no other feature-length directing or writing credits, but he clearly has an appreciation for this kind of movie. He does good work, even if some of the blocking and shot choices caused me to get lost a couple of times. The editing is also pretty spot on, it’s well paced and doesn’t feel like it wastes any of its time. There is a scene at the end where I thought it was pretty obvious something important got cut for time, but it’s hardly a fatal flaw.

The cast is also near pitch perfect. Rudd is his usual awkward, goofy self and Ortega seems to thrive in weird projects like this one. To me, though, the standout is Will Poulter as Odell’s spoiled son, Shepard. A lot of actors would have played the character as a villainous idiot, but Poulter wisely makes him into a likeable, but misguided man still looking for his father’s approval. It’s a believable character that, while you may not root for him, won’t make you hate him. It helps that Poulter is hilarious and makes the most of every punchline.

As a final note, and maybe a small one, the unicorns look great. A creature-feature is only as good as its creature, and I love these monsters’ mix of majesty and brutality. Part of you wants to pet them, part wants to run for the hills at the mere sight of them. If creature design isn’t a big deal to you, then this might not matter. But if you like a good monster, you won’t be disappointed in this one.

Death of a Unicorn may not have anything new to say or add to this genre, it’s a pretty by-the-numbers affair, but sometimes that’s alright if the movie is well enough made. It’s a fun time at the movies that will make you laugh and jump a few times, with a stellar cast and excellent monsters. Maybe it doesn’t have actual magic, but it’s a blast and it’s got killer unicorns. You can’t ask for more than that.