The trailer for Death of a Unicorn made the movie seem like it was going to be goofy, gory fun, but I couldn’t help but detect a note of corniness. That wasn’t a dealbreaker though. I’m ok with corny as long as the “gory fun” part wasn’t neglected. It also hinted at some social commentary with the greedy Sackler-esque family jumping to exploit the situation that the group finds themselves in – a dead unicorn situation. So, it piqued my interest enough for me to think, “hmm, I might check that out”. Obviously, it didn’t pique my interest enough for me to see it in theaters. Hence, the belated review. You’re probably wondering if I thought it was worth the microscopic amount of excitement that I held for seeing it. Well you’re in the right place! Let’s get into it, shall we?
Elliot is dragging his college-aged daughter, Ridley, to his pharmaceutical company boss’s lodge in the mountains. (IMDB says they filmed in Slovenia, so maybe it’s the Alps) She sulks and acts passive aggressive like a teenager. They get into it a little bit in the rental car on the way from the airport and end up hitting a small unicorn. Turns out they’re real! Elliot packs the creature into the SUV and they try to act normal for the boss’s family and two house staffers. When the profits-over-people family finds out they immediately spring into action to sell off the animal’s blood and pulverized horn to the ultra rich. Unfortunately for them, the unicorn is a baby and mom and dad are pissed. Eviscerations and skewerings ensue.
I guess the big question is if the film managed to deliver on the gory fun. And, sure, it did. To a point. The film never quite goes full horror. Nor does it go full comedy, but it does have a lot of comedic beats. And those mostly come from Rudd playing another role where he gets to play Paul Rudd. The thing is, his character is supposed to be a top lawyer at this ultra-successful pharma company. You don’t get to that point being a dumb dumb. But that’s what we get from him. There is a line thrown out when the shit hits the fan that implies he is a patsy. But it’s still not clear (to me at least) how that was going to work with him assuming a place on the company’s board if he passed the family’s vibe check. So, we get some enjoyable Rudd style humor but the mismatched characterization kept nagging at me. The same can be said for the mismatched characterization of Ortega’s Ridley. The character seems written for a 15-year-old. She is dragged along on this trip against her wishes, she sneaks hits from her vape, and she acts like a sulky teen. She’s an adult (not just played by an adult, the character is an adult). She couldn’t have turned the invite down? On the plus side, the super capitalists were a lot of fun. They twisted peoples’ words, manipulated, gaslit, and used people. They oozed narcissistic smarminess. There is a particularly good example of that when Téa Leoni pulls Ortega aside to tell her she understands her sympathy for the unicorns. Richard Grant, Anthony Carrigan, and Will Poulter also put in great turns and elicit a few laughs. It’s not bad overall, but it drags at points, which is especially disappointing for what could have been an off-the-wall horror comedy. Oh, well. Another one for the “fine” pile.
The Final Cut: Death of a Unicorn is a fine way to pass the time that doesn’t require one’s full attention. It never quite reaches the comedy or horror targets to make it a must-see, but it has some decent elements of both.
No Real Danger 