Death Of A Unicorn Review: Unicorn Violence Starts Out Fun Then Grows Stale In This Horror-Comedy [SXSW]

"Death of a Unicorn" premiered on Saturday night at the SXSW festival to a lively crowd. Every joke, no matter how small, received a big laugh, and every time a unicorn killed someone (which was often) the audience gave a massive applause. The movie really does live up to everything the marketing promised: if you want to watch a bunch of silly rich people get murdered by a unicorn, this is the film for you. And if you want to watch Jenna Ortega co-lead a horror/comedy slasher movie again, you're gonna have a good time.

The problem is that the idea that fuels the movie — wouldn't it be funny if a unicorn went on a murder rampage? — is a joke with a limited lifespan. The novelty of a scary unicorn out for blood can run out surprisingly fast, and by the time the final act hits the unicorn violence has already started to feel empty. It doesn't help there aren't many different ways a unicorn can kill you (they mostly just use the horn), so you can see the film struggling hard to make all the death scenes feel distinct. 

It's not just that the methods of unicorn violence don't vary enough, but that the tone in which they're conveyed never changes. This horror/comedy flick is very much a comedy first, but my heart longed for a big, suspenseful set piece. Where's the unicorn equivalent of Gale Weathers getting chased around a college campus? The movie occasionally flirts around with genuine horror and suspense, but it never commits for more than a few seconds. 

There are parts of "Death of a Unicorn" where it seems like it's falling into the "Cocaine Bear" trap, of a movie thinking its joke premise is enough to work on its own. "Cocaine Bear" did attempt a grounded storyline between the human characters to give the bear rampage an emotional weight, but because the movie was so clearly only interested in the bear, the "serious" storyline about Keri Russell reconnecting with her kids fell flat. 

Where "Death of a Unicorn" triumphs is with its centering of Ridley (Jenna Ortega) and Elliot (Paul Rudd). They're a daughter/father duo who start off the movie on bad terms, and have their relationship tested even further as the whole unicorn situation unravels. These two feel real and sympathetic, and they're treated with more thought and care from the writers than you'd expect from a movie this dumb. Some of that might frustrate viewers who are simply here for the carnage, but it gives the carnage more meaning beyond the bloody spectacle. 

The other trick the film uses to avoid the "Cocaine Bear" trap is its crowd-pleasing eat-the-rich narrative. The unicorns may be the ones impaling people left and right, but it's obvious from the moment we meet the wealthy Leopold family — made up of selfish patriarch Odell (Richard E. Grant), his thoughtless wife Belinda (Téa Leoni), and their high-energy son Shepard (Will Poulter) — who the real villains are. 

The more sympathetic characters include the Leopolds' hired scientist Dr. Bhatia, played by Sunita Mani. Mani was delightful for her short role in "Mr. Robot" (and of course that "Turn Down for What" music video), and she once again gives a strong impression despite not having a ton of lines to work with. The Leopolds' high-strung butler Griff is played by Anthony Carrigan, who is not quite giving a god-level NoHo Hank comedic performance, but perhaps that's an unfair standard to put him to. Carrigan's still a fun presence throughout the film, often the best part of whatever scene he's in.

Although I have little qualms about skewering the rich, this movie is so blatant in its class commentary (and so morally consistent with its unicorn violence) that it becomes a problem: it's way too easy to predict which of these characters will die and which will be spared by the narrative. There is one notable exception though, and it makes for a fun surprise in the second act. It's one of the few kill scenes that really is shocking in its creativity, the one moment where the movie gets mean.

The best part of this film is certainly Will Poulter's Shephard, an over-confident man-child who changes his mind constantly. It's easy to parody a mega-wealthy jerk, but it's another to do it in a way that's this consistently endearing. Shephard is a rat bastard through and through, but he's funny in a specific, surprising way that sets him apart from the rest of the Leopolds. Maybe it's just Poulter's performance, but he's one of the few parts of the movie's straightforward class narrative that feels surprising. If only "Death of a Unicorn" had a few more surprises in store. 

/Film Rating: 6.5 out of 10

"Death of a Unicorn" opens in theaters on March 28, 2025.