DEATH OF A UNICORN – Review

First off, here’s a big warning (or heads-up, if you prefer) to parents looking for family-friendly fantasy flicks: this “ain’t one of those. Yes, I know that “word” in the main title caught your eye, but don’t be misled. The title’s first word should provide a hint, along with the studio producing and releasing it, the “off kilter” current “indie” studio “darling”, A24. No, it’s a satire of current events that involves the mythical title creation, a critter that’s a staple on kids’ clothing and decor (wallpaper, bedding, etc.). And, as with many monster movies, modern-day (wow, 21st century) tech can’t really dominate the magical legends from humanity’s earliest (thousands of years) days. Films have explored this idea in “fairy tale fable fear-flicks” about mermaids and genies (or the djinn). With this week’s release, we find out what kind of carnage ensues after the DEATH OF A UNICORN.

The story begins on a US commercial airliner that’s just landed in the future 51st state, Canada (lil’ joke). On board is a twitchy, nervous middle-aged lawyer and widowed dad Elliot Kintner (Paul Rudd) who’s traveling with his college-age daughter Ridley (Jenna Ortega). Naturally, the plane arrived late, and now there are more complications, something about the exit door ramp, which will delay his arrival for the big meeting that afternoon. They finally get to the airport’s rental car desk and get their deluxe SUV for the drive through the mountains to the private estate of his employers, the Leopolds, scions of a pharmaceutical empire. The drive puts more of a strain of the father-daughter dynamic, especially when the speeding and allergy-plagued Elliot hits some animal on the trail. After parking on the side of the road, the duo is stunned that it’s not a deer or moose, but what appears to be a… unicorn. When Ridley grasps the horn, her mind begins a psychedelic trip full of colorful images and…she’s pulled out of it by a splash of purple blood across her face as her dad tries to “end its suffering” with a tire iron. Out of panic, he puts its body into the rear of the vehicle and proceeds to the mansion. Upon arrival, he meets the Leopold heir, the twenty-something “bro” Shephard (Will Poulter), then his mother Belinda (Tea Leoni), and finally the aging patriarch Odell (Richard E. Grant). After being shown their guest rooms, Ridley stays behind as Elliot makes his presentation to the family of a revised company divisional contract needed since Odell’s health is rapidly failing due to several aggressive cancerous tumors. In her room, Ridley is stunned to see that her skin is now smooth, and the acne is gone. She dashes downstairs to tell Dad, who isn’t sniffling anymore (and he doesn’t need his glasses). Could this stem from the splashes of unicorn blood? And then a noise from the outside startles the group. That unicorn is somehow alive and trying to break out of the vehicle. After the house staff subdues it, the Leopolds call in their security and research scientists, who set up a temporary lab. After a unicorn blood injection, Odell appears to be cured and full of vitality. It’s a new health “goldmine” for the Leopold company. But something’s off, as they hear strange guttural howls emanating from the now glowing woods. Ridley does some internet sleuthing and learns the real legacy of unicorns, which are immortal, nearly indestructible, savage killing machines. And it seems that there are more are their way to retrieve their fallen family member. Despite their wealth and power, can the Leopolds, along with the Kinters, survive the attack of these very real and deadly monsters of myth?

This odd mixing of style and genres has, not surprisingly, attracted quite an eclectic cast. Rudd somewhat pushes back on his ultra cool and charming screen persona making Elliot a jittery “basket case’, espcially in the frenetic opening moments. Yet Rudd balances that awkward “pencil-pusher” with an endearing yearning to reconnect with his daughter and be that perfect “girl dad”. As his “drifting-away princess” Ortega uses a bit of her aloof attitude from “Wednesday”, which adds to the dramatic impact as the “unicorn encounter” energizes her and provides a purpose. It’s then that Ortega’s Ridley becomes the story’s passionate voice of reason and empathy as she sounds an “alarm” that most choose to ignore. Grant brings a sneering gravitas to the callous, calculating “robber baron”, disdainful of nearly everyone, particularly his “fam”, as his new lease on life fuels his greed to acquire “more”. In her first big-screen role in a dozen or so years, Leoni combines snark and a sexy, mature swagger as the “trophy wife” whose brain is mostly a cold “calculator “spitting out a “program” to manipulate and dominate. Once again, Poulter gives a splendid comic performance as a spoiled, dim-witted, motor-mouthed “frat boy” as the “hyper-hustling heel” Shepard. Also adding great comic energy is Anthony Carrigan, best known for HBO’s “Barry” and soon to be the “element-hero” Metamorpho in SUPERMAN, as the Leopold’s fast-thinking, ultra-efficient and abused mansion manservant Griff. His wide-eyed manic “takes” are a terrific commentary on the “fiflthy rich”, making him a superb audience surrogate.

Hard to believe this is the first feature film directed by screenwriter (he did the script, too)/ producer Alex Scharfman, as it has the feel of a film by a seasoned genre veteran. But then, he confidently blends the horror themes with a sharp biting social satire (hmm, I wonder where he got the idea for such a corrupt “pill-producing” family empire, eh). And there are the two, almost polar-opposite family dynamics, with the warmth of the Kinter’s almost destroyed by the avaricious Leopolds. Scharfman also shows a skill for broad slapstick comedy with several terrific visual gags (often with the great Griff) and rapid, bombastic verbal “burns”. Speaking of visuals, much like last year’s THE SUBSTANCE, Scharfman showcases some great “practical effects” along with bits of CGI to bring the title critters to rampaging life, making a film almost an homage to the monster movie mania of the 1980s (complete with Ridley’s “green screen” “head-trip”). Unfortunately he gets a bit too self-indulgent letting the scares and stalkings continue for too many “jump scares’ and multiple endings complete with the old “they’re dead…or not” cliche “twists”. It doesn’t negate the superb comic performances of the actors, or the joy of exposing and eviscerating the “one-percent”, but a tighter edit may have given the flick a greater imapct. This would’ve injected much more laughs and life into the comic chaos ignited by the DEATH OF A UNICORN.

2.5 Out of 4

DEATH OF A UNICORN is now playing exclusively in select theatres