Death of a Unicorn<\/em> jumps on that bandwagon, but this horror-comedy brings nothing new to the circus. I suppose you could argue that it adds bloodthirsty unicorns, but that is surprisingly less of a differentiator (and less fun) than you might imagine. Instead of rich people being killed by the lower class or each other, they\u2019re gored by the horns of a mythical creature, which is \u2026 whatever. Even as someone who is actively anti-plutocracy, I still could not make myself care about anything in this movie, with the notable exception of Will Poulter, playing Shepard, the spoiled son of a pharma CEO. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I didn\u2019t care about the fractured relationship between Elliot (Paul Rudd) and his daughter, Ridley (Jenna Ortega). I didn\u2019t care when their car struck a unicorn while en route to the secluded estate of his dying billionaire boss, Odell Leopold (Richard E. Grant). I didn\u2019t care when the unicorn\u2019s blood and horn proved a panacea for every imaginable ailment from acne to cancer. I didn\u2019t care when the dead unicorn\u2019s parents arrived on the compound, eager for vengeance for their dead kid, and started killing everyone in increasingly gross ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I\u2019m not even just talking about a lack of emotional investment. Despite its cynicism, the script does seem to be angling for real feeling at times, especially in the father-daughter fracture and inevitable reconnection. Death of a Unicorn<\/em> is weirdly dull and uninvolving overall for a movie about the death of a unicorn and the deaths of a bunch of humans. It\u2019s mildly funny, but nowhere near as hilarious as it should be with a cast that also includes Anthony Carrigan, T\u00e9a Leoni, Sunita Mani, Steve Park, and Jessica Hynes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n None of these actors are as good as you\u2019ve seen them in other, better fare, but the standout is Poulter. As the dilettante douchebag son alternately clad in a double-breasted knee-length robe, swimming trunks, and preppy shorts by costume designer Andrea Flesch, he\u2019s a goddamn delight, delivering every line perfectly while looking perfectly silly. If Death of a Unicorn<\/em> were just Shepard being a rich dick for 104 minutes, it would\u2019ve been a much better movie\u2014which is wild, given that its actual premise centers on murderous unicorns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Beyond its monster movie aspects, Death of a Unicorn <\/em>is also about how the ultra-rich generally lack morals and those who work in pharma make billions off the backs of the sick. No shit. If you haven\u2019t seen The Menu<\/em><\/a>, White Lotus<\/em> or Dopesick<\/em> (or paid any attention to the real world), then you might enjoy its facile, unsubtle satire. The feature debut of writer-director Alex Scharfman doesn\u2019t add anything to the conversation or go any deeper with these ideas than \u201crich people bad.\u201d Yes, and?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Death of a Unicorn\u2019s <\/em>efforts are hampered by the ugly and unconvincing CGI. It\u2019s impossible to buy that unicorns are real, not because we\u2019ve been told they\u2019re the stuff of myth, but because these creations don\u2019t seem to inhabit the same world as the human characters. There are a few amusing touches sprinkled throughout (iridescent unicorn blood!), but the overall execution is sloppy. Death of a Unicorn<\/em> is also, umm, horny for early Edgar Wright, with its fast-cutting montages and the presence of Spaced<\/em>\u2019s Hynes, but it lacks the comedic verve of the British filmmaker when he was at his best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, Death of a Unicorn<\/em> is a horse of a different color \u2014 and a surprisingly drab one despite its fun premise. Its one marvel is that a movie with this good of a cast, that is about fucking killer unicorns, is such a tame beast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Death of a Unicorn” is in theaters this weekend.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/unicorn2-1024x512.jpg\")
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