Despite having some solid humor and horror elements, Death of a Unicorn fails to surpass its premise due to its lack of a biting satire.
In Death of a Unicorn, while on the road traveling to an exclusive resort, father-and-daughter duo Elliott (Paul Rudd, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) and Ridley (Jenna Ortega, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice) hit a unicorn. Upon hitting it, the two take the creature to the resort where the resort’s owner – a dying CEO (Richard E. Grant, The Franchise), his wife (Tea Leoni, Madam Secretary), and their son (Will Poulter, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3) begin to conduct experiments. As they do so, chaos begins to strike. So, the five of them wind up fighting for their lives against malevolent forces.
Everyone Comes Together in Death of a Unicorn
With Death of a Unicorn, producer-turned-writer/director Alex Scharfman makes his feature directorial debut. As a result, Scharfman makes a somewhat satisfying creature feature, complete with comedy and horror to boot. Yet, while the film has a bit of a comedic satire, it isn’t hard-hitting enough. Instead, the script written by Scharfman only takes a surface-level approach to these themes, thus providing nothing new or interesting to say. While working at times, the humor doesn’t always blend well with the horror elements.
Speaking of those particular elements, director of photography Larry Fong (Damsel) manages to make the cinematography bright enough to make the location stand out. All the while, the film looks dark at points, especially in the night scenes. In turn, this assists the horror elements, echoing such films as Alien (1979) and Jurassic Park (1993). It also gives the film a slight air of tension and menace. Moreover, production designer Amy Williams (The Idea of You) gives the sets an expansive layout, stretching them out through clever and specific set design. Furthermore, costume designer Andrea Finch (All the Light We See) applies this to her work as most costumes have limited but practical attire.
Visual Effects and Score
Courtesy of a VFX company, Zoic Studios, the visual effects are a nice blend of practical and digital effects. This is apparent with the titular unicorn, which succeeds in blending the line with Fong’s cinematography. By extension, we see the unicorn displayed well within the darkness of Fong’s cinematography, working in its favor. On top of that, the score by Giosuè Greco (Didi) and Dan Romer (Superman & Lois) exhibits an electric feel to it. It is complete with a pulse-pounding sound that verberates from through the score to the screen. Finally, with an hour and forty-eight minutes runtime, editor Ron Dublin (Reality) paces the film expertly by focusing on the humor and scares.
Performances in Death of a Unicorn
Regarding the cast, Paul Rudd (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire) and Jenna Ortega (Wednesday) do a solid job leading the cast from an individual standpoint. With Rudd, he displays his brand of humor with ease as Elliott. Meanwhile, Ortega portrays her character Ridley with a quiet determinism, serving as the film’s straight man. But, when Rudd and Ortega share the screen, the two fail to have chemistry.
In contrast, Richard E. Grant (The Franchise), Téa Leoni (Madam Secretary), and Will Poulter (Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3) have insatiable chemistry. as Odell, Belinda, and Shepard Leopold. The standout among the three, however, is Poulter, who plays Shepard with detestability and laughability. This also extends to Grant, who has the same detestability as Poulter’s Shepard. Rounding out of the cast is Anthony Carrigan (Barry) as Griff, a butler at the Leopold’s estate. Carrigan manages to be a standout despite having limited screen time. Yet, Carrigan provided many laughs, especially in the background.
Final Thoughts
On Death of a Unicorn, writer/director Alex Scharfman makes his feature directorial debut. To provide satire on many themes, Scharfman fails to craft a solid satire, only for it not to hit as hard as it could have been. As a result, the satire doesn’t blend well with the effective horror elements. Also, while Rudd and Ortega lead the cast successfully as individuals, the two fail to have chemistry together. By contrast, Grant, Leoni, and Poulter all have instant chemistry, with Grant and Poulter being the standouts. Despite solid humor and horror elements, Death of a Unicorn fails to surpass its premise.
