NEW YORK (OSV News) – In “Death of a Unicorn” (A24), an off-beat blend of horror and comedy, writer-director Alex Scharfman uses a fanciful premise about the titular beast and its mythical breed as a gateway to social satire. But the unfolding of his story is marked by a needless excess of grisly mayhem that eventually overwhelms its sly humor.
Insecure widowed lawyer Elliot Kintner (Paul Rudd) and his easily alienated college student daughter Ridley (Jenna Ortega) are on their way to a weekend sojourn at the remote estate of one of his wealthy clients, pharmaceutical mogul Odell Leopold (Richard E. Grant), when they accidentally hit and wound an animal with their car. Elliot later puts the creature out of its misery.
What Elliot and Ridley initially imagine must have been a horse is, in fact, a young unicorn. And it eventually develops that, in keeping with much of the lore about them, these storied beings are not to be killed off so easily.
In the meantime, though, Ridley fortuitously discovers that the temporarily quiescent critter’s blood has healing powers. This sets off a scramble to exploit the medicinal value of its entire anatomy, especially its horn.
In the first instance, the goal is to cure Odell of the terminal cancer from which he’s suffering. But the long-term marketing potential of unicorn parts also leaves not only Odell but his shallow wife Belinda (Téa Leoni) and hard-drinking, directionless grown son Shepard (Will Poulter) salivating with greed.
Scharfman effectively skewers the selfish acquisitiveness of the Leopolds, who are obvious stand-ins for the real-life Sackler clan. He also has fun mocking their one-percenter status. Asked by Odell if she has the Davos guest list handy, Belinda enthusiastically responds, “Always!”
For her part, Ridley not only serves as the moral compass of the proceedings but turns out to have a unique relationship with the legendary unicorns. Their fondness for young maidens — who alone can render them docile — is illustrated by a series of medieval tapestries at New York’s Cloisters Museum, images of which the art history major downloads from the Internet.
Knowledge of other aspects of the narrative behind these celebrated illustrations enables Ridley to warn Dad and the rapacious Leopolds of dire impending consequences. But her remonstrances are ignored, and it’s not long before the unconscious unicorn’s ferocious kin descend on the luxurious property to wreak bloody vengeance.
As a result, the Leopolds’ pretensions are hardly the only things being pierced on screen. Horrendous images of a series of gruesome deaths follow one another, even as Scharfman’s send-up of the elite — successful at first — runs out of steam.
The film contains extreme gory violence, including multiple impalements and a graphic disembowelment, mature references and humor, at least one use of profanity, a couple of milder oaths, frequent rough language and occasional crude expressions. The OSV News classification is O — morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
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