Death of a Unicorn - Review

A24 most certainly has its own aesthetic, even as a distributor. Better than any other, they select films that fit their tone. This was once thought of as a tone of quality but is now one of zany, poppy, authorial filmmaking. This is apparent through two of their latest releases: Opus and Death of a Unicorn, both of which see the main character journey to a home complex of an ultra-rich man.

Death of a Unicorn follows Elliot (Paul Rudd) and Ridley (Jenna Ortega), a widowed father and his daughter who he takes on a work trip. The trip is to the Leopold’s, who run a wealthy pharmaceutical business. However Odell (Richard E Grant), the patriarch, is preparing for his death, and Elliot is about to receive a promotion to aid in the company’s progression after Odell’s passing. He and his wife Bellinda (Tea Leoni) believe their son Shepard (Will Poulter) is not responsible enough – a spoilt brat who heads to the hot tub to shy away from responsibility.

However, running late on the way to the Leopold complex, Elliot in a state of exasperated panic hits an animal in the middle of the road. It’s a unicorn. It is a moment of mythical confusion and fear at the potential ramifications of the consequences, the father and daughter stare in despair. Ridley is more concerned, grabbing the horn before Elliot kills the beast off with a lever. Their secret is soon revealed at the complex, where it is discovered that the blood of unicorns has healing powers, even curing cancer – an opportunity for a lucrative gain for the business, but what do the unicorns think?

They are indeed unhappy with it, in a film commenting surprisingly heavy-handedly and one-sided about the pharmaceutical industry and specifically animal testing. But there isn’t too much interesting to say about it. Likewise, the characters feel shallow, they don’t have too many quirks or a personality to get behind.

However, there are some good performances. Richard E Grant is playing an iteration of himself effectively, whilst Ortega does well as the audience surrogate, a vape-addicted teen concerned about the unicorn experimentation. However, Will Poulter is the scene stealer a nepo baby, drug addict Shepard.

But, whilst the film has an ‘eat the rich’ narrative it is more interested in a somewhat sappy father-daughter relationship which does have a bit of heart to it. And despite the many flaws the film has, Death of a Unicorn is nevertheless a fun time.