Death of a Unicorn

The film is full of whys. Why does comedy exist in an atmosphere that could have been both mysterious and scary, but has turned into a ridiculous satire? Why does the story focus more on the characters' stupidity than on the development of the story and the origin of the unicorn legend?

If a horror film that is rated R, which is not meant for children, tries to make comedy by showing the clumsiness of the characters, it is actually committing suicide, as far as I can tell.

And many other whys, the most important of which is the poor CGI and the unoriginal design of the unicorn itself. Why does the male unicorn look like a dragon from "Game of Thrones" in profile and a donkey from "Shrek" from the front?!

This movie could work with the strange premise and shoddy CGI. But, it requires characters to be likeable or at least relatable. That's the big issue here. It plays hard into the fame of Jenna Ortega. She's supposed to be the maiden with a pure heart. But, she comes off mores like an angst teenager with a terrible haircut. Paul Rudd is decent enough, but you find yourself getting annoyed with him immediately.

The Rich Family: take your typical evil greedy rich family and that's all you get here. They're ready to make a buck. That's their entire drive. There were hints of depth that were destroyed by misplaced comedy. When the father is standing, the son's immediately reaction was great. Then they went hokey.

In the end, this is a forgettable movie. The premise should carry it better, but the characters ruin it. The CGI is bad. But, you can let it pass if the characters are relatable. This movie fails here.

If this movie took itself seriously, I'd give it a low score. But it's so obviously dumb fun mixed with satire, I feel like a low score would miss the point.

If you like dark humor, jump scares, and a bit of gore, I'd recommend it to you. The characters are more caricatures. The satire is not subtle. The humor is low brow. And I say all of this as QUALITIES of the movie.

The level of writing is very much like that of 80s or 90s era sitcoms. The performances are fine - adequate. I left the theater understanding that I saw a "bad" movie by most standards. But I didn't regret spending money on the ticket. To me, it's one of those "so bad, it's good" kind of movies.

If I have the opportunity to see it again, maybe on a streaming service, I will.

I got to see an early screening and it was as expected, campy, gory with comedic elements. It was a good popcorn movie. Some people complained that it was stupid which I don't get because its a movie about unicorns... So of course its a bit dumb, that's the point.

I compare it to Cocaine Bear (2023) because they are both marketed to be a silly comedy with violence, but this was way better than Cocaine Bear. It's aiming to be a cult classic film but missed the mark a bit. Also, not that funny which was disappointing but it had some jump scares and gruesome deaths so I was still engaged the whole time.

I love horror comedies and am ecstatic with the surge of movies we've seen in this subgenre. But most are lacking on the horror side. They're more fun than scary. Death of a Unicorn does the horror side well. There are a few moments that gave me OG Jurassic Park vibes with the tension/suspense.

The comedy side is strong but inconsistent. Some attempts I found hilarious while others fall flat, but not to the point of cringe. I enjoyed the entire cast as well as the visually unique characters.

I do want to point out a couple standouts. One is, to no one's surprise, Jenna Ortega. She has become a full-blown star and has taken the mantle of horror queen like none other. And Will Poulter, once known as the weird eyebrows dude from We're the Millers, continues to impress with vastly differing characters.

I had a fun time with this movie and think most fans of the subgenre will as well.

(1 viewing, opening Thursday Dolby Cinema 3/27/2025)