Written & Directed by Alex Scharfman

In Death of a Unicorn, father and daughter Elliot (Paul Rudd) and Ridley (Jenna Ortega) are visiting the remote mountain lodge of an insanely rich pharmaceutical CEO and his family in the hopes of Elliot attaining a partnership in the company. On the drive to the mansion, the duo hit a unicorn with their car, leading to the wealthy family discovering a business opportunity (despite Ridley’s protestations). Before they can take advantage of the situation, however, the slain unicorn’s parents come galloping in for revenge.

By now, readers probably know I love a good horror comedy, and this one heavily reminds me of one of my favorites, 2019’s Ready or Not, with its message of rich people doing horrible things to maintain their wealth using both genres to great effect. While the writing in Death of a Unicorn is a little more heavy-handed than Ready or Not, it’s still incredibly funny, with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, all expertly performed by a great ensemble cast.

Jenna Ortega has established herself as a horror staple over the past few years, and she continues to cement herself as a powerhouse in the genre; the monologue she delivers to her injured father toward the end of the film genuinely brought me to tears. Paul Rudd is always so warm and likable, even when he’s playing a spineless, somewhat greedy character. Richard E. Grant is both hilarious and repulsive as Odell, the pseudo-philosophical pharmaceutical CEO, as is Téa Leoni as his pretentious wife Belinda. Will Poulter is unnervingly good at playing hilariously douchey characters, and his role in this movie is no exception; he is so funny as Odell and Belinda’s idiot son Shepard.

In addition to this film being (mostly) well-written and well-acted, it looks great–when you can actually see it, that is. The expansive mountain scenery is breathtaking; the CEO’s mansion is opulently decorated; and there are some creative and stomach-churning scenes of blood and gore (only a couple of scenes are shown in full, but they pack a punch). However, at least half of this movie takes place outside at night or in the house without power, and the lack of lighting gets to be frustrating. I understand having darker moments to build suspense, or hide some of the more violent moments, or maybe obscure some of the more obvious CGI, but the darkness in the second half of the movie is so relentless that it makes it feel longer because you can barely see anything.

Despite my gripes about the lighting and the slightly ham-fisted messaging, Death of a Unicorn is a creative and enjoyable dark comedy. I already plan on watching it again when I get a chance, and I’d recommend checking it out if you can stomach a little blood and mythical creature violence.

Have you seen Death of a Unicorn? What did you think?

///