As far as animal-related accidents go, hitting a deer is traumatic. Hitting a dog is worse. Nothing tops hitting a unicorn, especially if it’s at all vengeful. That’s the setup for Death of a Unicorn, a horror comedy that’s about as bizarre as it sounds. Of course, I’ve arguably seen even weirder movies featuring unicorns. Kind of hard to top Legend, which had Tom Cruise sporting his most outlandish hairstyle, Tim Curry in full devil makeup, and Sloane Peterson. But I digress. Bonkers premise and over-the-top kills aside, Death of a Unicorn is a clever commentary on greed and grief with an effective father/daughter dynamic at its core.
Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega play the father/daughter pair. Elliot and Ridley have experienced distance ever since the death of the family matriarch. A parent/child trip turns out to be a business trip as Elliot tries to seal a deal with his dying employer, Odell Leopold (Richard E. Grant). Their getaway hits a speed bump in the form of a horse… with a horn… and purple blood. Although it takes a minute, the characters eventually come to terms with the fact they struck a unicorn. Elliot decides to put the creature out of its misery. Like the deer from Tommy Boy or cow from Me, Myself & Irene, though, the unicorn is harder to kill than it looks.
It isn’t until after piling the carcass into the trunk and reaching their destination that they realize the unicorn isn’t quite dead yet. Their hosts include Téa Leoni as the Waspy wife and Will Poulter as her nepo baby, who has a vast wardrobe or short shorts. Where so many young actors tend to get typecast, Poulter continues to seamlessly transition between heavy dramas like Dopesick and broad comedies like Death of a Unicorn. I’d say Poulter steals the show, but we get another scene-stealing performance from Anthony Carrigan as the family’s loyal servant pushed to his limits.
Taking a closer look, the characters find the unicorn’s remains have the power to heal anything from acne to disease. With only so much to go around, this miracle cure will only cater for the super-rich, as John Hammond would put it. Speaking of which, the family is soon targeted by other unicorns, who are deadlier than the dinosaurs that chased Leoni in Jurassic Park III. Death of a Unicorn makes the most of this idea with every actor perfectly cast and writer/director Alex Scharfman blending horror with humor in creative ways. At times, though, the plot can get bogged down with its mythology. While it never gets too convoluted, you might occasionally think to yourself, “Wait, what’s going on again?”
Although Death of a Unicorn is funny and surprisingly emotional, it could’ve gone a step further in both departments. Some of the exposition would’ve been easier to wash down with more jokes interspersed. Rudd and Ortega create a believable dynamic, but the emotional climax isn’t quite as tear-jerking as you might want. That said, there’s more heart here than one would expect from a film called Death of a Unicorn. The best comparison for this film might be Krampus. Audiences will go in expecting to love it, but they’ll walk away just liking it. The film still delivers what they paid for, getting straight to the point.