Director Alex Scharfman delivers a unique film for his debut in Death of a Unicorn from A24. Elliot (Paul Ridd) is a lawyer headed to a weekend retreat looking to close a big deal for his billionaire bosses Odell (Richard E. Grant) and Belinda (Téa Leoni). Along for the ride is his college-aged daughter Ridley (Jenna Ortega), with whom he’s looking to reconnect following the death of their matriarch and before she leaves for college.
While on their journey, they accidentally hit and kill a unicorn, keeping the accident a secret from the other guests, who include Odell and Belinda’s toxic son Shepard (Will Poulter), head of security Shaw (Jessica Hynes), butler Griff (Anthony Carrigan), and on-call doctors Bhatia (Sunita Mani) and Song (Steve Park).
Naturally, things don’t go according to plan when Odell discovers what the unicorn can do and seeks to exploit the creature’s miraculous curative properties. However, the guests soon learn that unicorns aren’t the peaceful creatures that fairytales have led them to believe.
As I’ve been doing for many films in 2025, I purposely avoided any trailers for Death of a Unicorn outside of the first teaser. A24 has been on a hot streak with their movies, and I wanted to experience their last with a fresh set of eyes. Alex Scarfman gives the film some women wit early on in a physical joke that involves Ortega and Rudd’s characters.
You’ll know the moment when you see it, and it gained some riotous laughter at my screening. The chemistry between Rudd and Ortega is organic, and the script makes us believe they are estranged early on with engaging dialogue. However, after Eillot hits the unicorn right before the opening credits start, another moment lets the audience know they are in for a wild ride.
Upon arriving at the house, Scharfman relies on the comedic timing of his cast to guide the film through the first two acts. Nearly everyone gets a moment to shine, but Will Poulter’s take on an insufferable trust fund bro had me in stitches. Poulter goes to wild places and displays crazy, manic energy. The rest of the supporting cast is also good. One of the most surprising things was seeing In Living Color alum Steve Park on screen.
In our lead roles, Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega deliver what you would expect. Rudd was one of the bright spots in 1995’s ill-fated Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers is having a blast in the horror comedy genre while Ortega delivers her usual teen angst theatrics. However, she needs to try something new to avoid typecasting.
I don’t want to go into spoilers for the wildness in the third act, but gore fans and monster movie fanatics will be pleased. My one gripe with the film is that while I did enjoy it, I would’ve tightened up the ending a smidge. Nevertheless, Death of a Unicorn is a fun ride that dabbles in the dangs of capitalism and why a man should bother the beast.
Final Grade: B+
Death of a Unicorn opens in theaters this Friday.
