Author Spotlight
Preston Hooker
Can you imagine a real-life Twilight Sparkle from “My Little Pony” stabbing someone in the chest and ripping out the victim’s intestines with their horn? If you can’t, Alex Scharfman’s new horror-comedy film “Death of a Unicorn” is sure to paint the picture delightfully dark red.
Loosely based on the real “Unicorn Tapestries” — famous textile Dutch depictions of unicorns from the late 13th century — “Death of a Unicorn” shows the mythical creatures as eloquently violent and vengeful. But not without a cause.
The plot kicks off with Elliot, played by Paul Rudd, and his daughter Ridley, played by Jenna Ortega, running over a unicorn on their way to a mansion owned by Elliot’s rich boss — Odell Leopold played by Richard E. Grant. After Leopold refuses to give the unicorn back because of the profitable healing properties in the creature’s blood and horn, the unicorns come for the corpse of their lost one-horned kin — and they don’t hold back.
The gory cat-and-mouse-style slaughter can be a little over the top at times, but is a plus in my book. As a viewer, I want to feel the impact and stakes at hand for the characters I’ve been spending precious time getting to know throughout the film.
“Death of a Unicorn” delivers, despite its occasional faults.
Although the direct comedic elements and one-liners don’t always land, the movie’s entire concept is inherently funny and makes up for the lack of comedy from this “horror-comedy” flick.
The unicorns are ethereal and psychedelic in design — glowing horns and terrifying tight, leathery skin contrast the tacky and materialistic style of the flamboyant mansion, staying true to the “man versus nature” motif in an eye-catching way.
Every blood-covered horn and skull-crushing hoof was haunting and surreal, making the environment surprisingly immersive for a movie about killer unicorns. The stunning visual effects, in spite of a low $15 million budget, were refreshing to see in an era of $100+ million films with terrible imagery. Cough cough, Marvel movies, cough.
Being based off of real mythology, the film had me imagining what it would be like if unicorns were real — something I haven’t thought of since I was six. It’s ironic such a non-family-friendly flick evokes such nostalgic memories.
I prayed that “Death of a Unicorn” wouldn’t fall into the senseless “killer monster” trope of jumpscares and sappy eye-roll moments — and it didn’t, really. Though the film definitely has both, Scharfman tries something different with character dynamics and plot that outweigh most of my gripes.
Elliot has an estranged, complicated relationship with Ridley after the death of his wife and is struggling financially. He hopes to financially gain from working with the Leopolds, although Ridley just wants to move on and forget the money.
Ridley doesn’t empathize with Elliot’s desire to provide for her one bit, leaving their unresolved conflicts floating in the air of the story.
Another character, Shepard, played by Will Poulter, shines as Mr. Leopold’s son. Poulter’s hysterical out-of-touch performance adds to the snobbiness of the Leopolds and their superficial, transactional relationships. The writing is one-of-a-kind and so are the characters.
No one is really “great” as a human being in “Death of a Unicorn,” but that’s the point.
These deeply flawed characters provide an inward look on the effects humans have on nature and each other — nothing too groundbreaking. But despite the cliché messaging of “humans are bad,” the delivery via murderous horned-horses and decently thought-out dialogue are hilariously clever.
Despite the stunning visuals, I would by no means call “Death of a Unicorn” a truly terrifying movie. Some moments are gross, but the design of the unicorns themselves are much more captivating than any amount of blood and guts they throw at you.
The whole film unintentionally serves as satire for horror movies while simultaneously acting as a character study on human greed and environmental impact. Add that to a cohesive cast, killer soundtrack and out-of-this-world visuals, and you have a potion that’ll keep you entertained.
Side effects may vary.
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