Death of a Unicorn - gore plus greed plus farce equals an unholy mess

2 out of 5

There’s not much in the way of surprises as far as what Death of a Unicorn has to offer. The film delivers on its title quickly and so clearly spells out what it intends to do with this bizarre development that the filmmakers must rely on the script and the actors to keep it all exciting. By exciting, I mean entertained by the scenes featuring wealthy elites concerning themselves more with the profitability factors of a unicorn horn over their own safety and the graphic violence involved when other unicorns come looking to administer punishment. If this all sounds like an absurdist comedy, well, you’d be right. But how funny is it? Not very, is the answer.

Written and directed by Alex Scharman, the story has too many pieces to feel like a pitch for a sketch, but the idea does feel like the result of spinning off as many thoughts as one could from one key sentence – “What would happen if you accidentally hit a unicorn with your car?” In this film, Paul Rudd does just that. He plays Elliot Kintner, a recently widowed lawyer on his way to the secluded mansion owned by his billionaire boss, Odell Leopold (Richard E. Grant). Elliot is joined by his distant daughter, Ridley (Jenna Ortega), whose brief interaction with the seemingly dead beast makes her aware of the foreboding future ahead of them if the situation is not appropriately handled. The problem is the wealthy family, which includes Téa Leoni as matriarch Belinda Leopold and the spoiled son Shepard (Will Poulter), who only see dollar signs upon learning that the properties of a unicorn can cure all diseases and illnesses. Of course, they’ll learn what happens the hard way when interfering with this fantastical side of nature once the adult unicorns come for blood.

Nuance is not really a factor in this film. Wearing its commentary very plainly on its sleeves, the idea of “eating the rich” becomes more than just metaphorical once we start seeing adult unicorns eviscerating cast members. Yes, while films commenting on the dark side of a capitalist society are nothing new, the nature of modern films addressing the haves and the have-nots certainly feels more emphasised, and this is just the movie that relies on the structure of a creature feature to help deliver that same message. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that if there’s fun to be had. It's a pity then tht there's not much fun in this bloated, lack-lustre film

Paul Rudd does what he can, playing somewhat against type as a limp straight man of the group, whose arc so clearly involves realising how vast wealth cannot save his relationship with his daughter. He still hits the beats required of him well enough. Fairing much better is the rest of this cast, who have more exciting shades to play.

Ortega is the emotional center of the film, there is fun to be had watching her attempt to explain why this is a bad situation while reacting (and vaping) to the ridiculous characters around her. Grant and Leoni are ideally cast here, leaning into the loathsome roles of those who look down on everyone while feeling they are doing the right thing. There’s also effective supporting work from Anthony Carrigan (Barry) as the Leopolds’ butler, who battles for having the most quick, hilarious asides with the rest of the cast.

Of course, there’s also the matter of how much these laughs really hit. Since the film is more willing to point to things that are so clearly messed up about a specific type of high society person, as opposed to delving deeper into the true evils that come from the way they can skew an economy by way of medical resource supply, for example, it’s not exactly fitting to call this a satire. As a monster movie, there’s some tension derived from the status of the unicorns, however the CGI is truly appalling.

I got bored and if this film were made in the last century it would have been released straight to video.