Writer-director Alex Scharfman’ screenplay for his feature length debut, Death of a Unicorn, is full of fun ideas. Assembling a great cast, Scharfman’s exciting premise blends fantasy and horror, familial comedy, and a good jab at both science deniers and Big Pharma’s exploitation of the sick. An intriguing cocktail, to be sure, but the film brings nothing new to the table and struggles to navigate its way to a successful moviegoing experience.

The possibilities are many for a horror comedy about vengeance-seeking unicorns, but Scharfman doesn’t do anything interesting, as he wastes too much time stealing familiar Steven Spielberg setpieces. Throughout Death of a Unicorn, sharp eyes will catch moments lifted from the first two Jurassic Park pictures, E.T., Jaws, and even War of the Worlds. During a moment where one of the more villainous characters purposely puts lives in danger for profit, you almost wait for them to say, “The beaches WILL be open.” There are also references to the Alien franchise that are too liberally cribbed, right down to their framing. While homages (used correctly) can be fun, Scharfman’s entire movie seems carved out of other people’s filmographies. Beyond the unicorn of the title, there is no originality to be found.

The always good Jenna Ortega plays Ridley, a teenager who is forced to join her unhip dad Elliot (Paul Rudd) on a weekend trip to the Canadian wilderness resort of his bosses Odell and Belinda Leopold (Richard E. Grant and Téa Leoni) and their spoiled not-so-adult son, Shepard (Will Poulter, in an absolutely all-in hilarious turn). Elliot is the company’s lawyer and has come to finalize the family’s finances, as Leopold is dying. The career-obsessed Elliot is hoping the time with his daughter will bring them closer, as the two are alienated after the death of Ridley’s mom. Unfortunately for the depressed teen, dad is more concerned with living up to the impossible standards of the Leopold family and seems to blow any chance of bonding in favor of his “audition”.

On the way to the house, Elliot accidentally hits a baby unicorn with his rented car. As Ridley touches the creature’s horn, the two become connected. The mystical beast shows the teen wondrous visions of… something the screenplay isn’t interested in developing.

Contact with the unicorn’s blood seems to have magical powers. Ridley’s acne vanishes and her bespectacled father no longer needs his glasses. Once the Leopolds learn this (the at-death’s-door Odell takes the blood and is immediately healed), they plan to create a miracle cure that will make them the richest company in the world. Profit is the name of the game. The magic of this beautiful creature will become a cash cow. 

As Ridley explores the mythology of the unicorn, she makes the horrifying discovery that something bad is about to happen. The creature is not actually dead and there are other unicorns that will come to the rescue and inflict bloody vengeance on those who would harm it. 

Death of a Unicorn finds its strongest point in its marvelous cast. Grant and Leoni are perfect as Odell and Belinda Leopold, the snooty (and sometimes slimy) head of a multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical company driven, not by the desire to help their ailing clients, but by greed. Will Poulter is a comic delight and elevates every scene by playing a drug-addicted manchild. Anthony Carrigan is a standout as Griff, the family’s butler whose annoyed eyerolls and comedic physical performance are a highlight.

Ortega is solid, although it is time for her to leave the tortured teenager roles behind her. Paul Rudd is fine, but he is doing his standard Paul Rudd thing. The actor has good chemistry with Ortega, but brings nothing new to his portrayal. In fairness, the screenplay doesn’t give him much to work with so it was probably best for Rudd to rely on the comfort zone that made him a star. 

Alex Scharfman designed this film to be a pastiche of different genres. The horror-comedy blend tries hard to work, but never achieves a proper balance. The social commentary is dull and obvious, going overboard with anti-establishment finger pointing while scenes of animal cruelty go on far too long. While it is understood that the film isn’t trying to be serious, Scharfman is trying to raise some serious issues. These ideas are haphazardly explored, causing the whole project to feel shallow.

While the cast digs into their characters and makes something special out of each one, Scharfman’s screenplay doesn’t give the audience anyone to root for. No one is crafted as particularly likable and we really don’t care who lives or dies. 

By the time the unicorn terror begins, the director has made the film so uninteresting that the ensuing unicorn attacks have no bite. The scenes of carnage are very few and much-too-far between while the splattering gore does nothing to help these moments achieve their desired visceral thrill.

A major demerit goes to the creation of the unicorns. The CGI is terrible and the unicorns look like they were designed by the makers of Sharknado. It is unbearable to watch these computer generated messes “interact” with the live action performers. Such awful FX ruins any fun that could be mined from the unicorn moments. Thirty two years after the still jaw-dropping visual effects of Jurassic Park, you would think filmmakers would stop using subpar CGI in major films with big stars. Apparently not.

Scharfman gets kudos for his commitment. The director dives into the film’s over-the-top vibe like an eager mad scientist and there are some clever nods to the filmmakers from whose work he pillages. The best being how Ortega’s character is named “Ridley”. This is, perhaps, a nod to Ridley Scott, who brilliantly used unicorns as powerful symbols in his unfairly undervalued fantasy picture Legend and his science fiction masterpiece, Blade Runner.  

With such a strong cast doing great work and a plethora of entertaining ideas to be mined, the film’s full potential goes unrealized. A tonal jambalaya that never cooks, Death of a Unicorn is a dull, but somewhat noble, misfire. 

Death of a Unicorn

Written & Directed by Alex Scharfman

Starring Jenna Ortega, Paul Rudd, Will Poulter, Richard E. Grant, Téa Leoni, Anthony Carrigan, Sunita Mani, Steve Park

R, 104 Minutes, A24, Ley Line Entertainment