Opening 1 May 2025
Directed by:
Alex Scharfman
Writing credits:
Alex Scharfman
Principal actors:
Jenna Ortega, Paul Rudd, David Pasquesi, Anthony Carrigan, Richard E. Grant
Elliott Kintner (Paul Rudd) and his daughter Ridley (Jenna Ortega) are driving along a beautiful Canadian countryside, when, sadly, Elliott smashes into a unicorn. He loads the dead animal into his car and continues onto his planned visit with Dell Leopold and Leopold’s wife Belinda and their son Shepard (who is always dressed in shorts). Elliott is a power of attorney and lawyer; Dell is his boss. Inside their beautiful villa, servant Griff (Anthony Carrigan) offers refreshments. It seems that contact with the unicorn has healed Ridley’s acne as well as Elliott’s allergies. This brings in medical experts Dr. Song and Dr. Bhatia. The unicorn’s horn is sawed off, crushed into small pieces and, along with the unicorn’s blood, made into a type of serum, which they hope will help heal Dell’s cancer. In the meantime, Ridley, who is about fourteen years old and wears rings on every finger, has developed an interest in unicorns, especially as they appear on tapestries. In her research, she learns that unicorns are monsters: a threat to humanity.
As the story continues, the smaller unicorn comes back to life and two larger ones appear. Several adults, believing the unicorn to be a horse, do not take Ridley’s information seriously. Eventually there are deaths. The film ends exactly as it begins: Elliott and Ridley sitting side by side with Ridley’s head on her father’s shoulder, first in a car and then on a plane. The last thirty seconds give us a sudden surprise ending. Death of a Unicorn, which premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2025, is being presented as a horror-comedy. The film is based on an interesting idea, with a unicorn as the main point of interest. However, it seems slow and repetitive. One leaves the film, thinking mostly that it would be fun to investigate more information about unicorn tapestries. (Becky Tan)
